What are the consequences of not bleeding air from the coolant?
2 Answers
If air is not bled from the coolant, the cooling effect will be affected, leading to excessively high water temperature. The presence of air in the water pipes prevents proper circulation, resulting in symptoms such as high water temperature and the fan not turning. Some vehicles do not require air bleeding. Relevant details are as follows: 1. Normally, replacing the coolant requires bleeding air. Simply remove the existing air and then pour in the new coolant until it is full to achieve the effect of air bleeding. 2. The engine cooling system of a car can be simply divided into two compartments: the engine block and the radiator. There is a door between these two compartments called the thermostat. The thermostat opens when the engine block reaches a predetermined temperature, releasing the high-temperature coolant into the radiator for cooling. When replacing the coolant, the car should be warmed up until the radiator fan starts spinning, and then the coolant should be quickly drained.
Air trapped in the coolant system can indeed cause a series of troubles. I've personally experienced this in older vehicles - the engine would overheat to dangerous levels because air bubbles block coolant circulation, preventing effective heat dissipation. The dashboard coolant temperature warning light would flash frantically, and in severe cases, the radiator could boil over or even burst. The heating system also becomes much less effective, leaving you shivering while driving in winter. Worse still, the water pump becomes prone to cavitation damage. That grating sound - I knew exactly what it meant when I heard it once. Repairs are troublesome and expensive, potentially requiring pump replacement or even an entire system overhaul. My advice: after every coolant change or repair, let the engine idle until it reaches operating temperature to allow trapped air to naturally escape. Don't try to save those few minutes. Prevention is always better than cure.
