2006 Pontiac Grand Prix 3800 Series III V6, 110K miles.
I just replaced the radiator after flushing until clear. I also replaced the thermostat, hoses, and cap. I kept fluid in the funnel for the air bubbles to escape, and I opened up the bleed valve a little and only a few bubbles came out after about 2 mins.
After putting the cap on, it emptied into the reservoir above the fill line, before I added any.
I ran the engine for 20 mins with the heat on full blast. The temp was slightly below the usual level of being right in the middle.
The manual said it needed 11.2qt (10.6L), which is 2.8 gal, but I only used about 1.75 gal.
There were no apparent leaks afterward.
Is this alright? Is there anything I should do?
Maybe some of the flush water is still in there (?).
I was the guy with the “mustard” radiator cap from a few weeks ago.
Also, because I didn’t use a fancy funnel, the bubbles caused a lot of coolant to squirt out (after I just cleaned it well, lol). Is this bad, and what can I do about it?
Go through a couple of drive cycles and monitor the level. It is normal to add less than capacity as you can’t get all of the coolant out.
Would that throw off the water to coolant ratio? Should I drain about a gallon, and then fill it up again?
This might be a stupid question, but do I monitor the level in the reservoir, or open up the cap (when cool, of course)?
Your engine block will still hold some coolant even with the radiator removed.