Really need HELP can't fill coolant system after flush

You can get an airlock at the front of the motor. Did you loosen the bleed screw and let the air out of the system?

 

It seems like a strange problem!!
How about filling the recovery tank, then creating a slight leak by loosening the front radiator drains (one at a time) and use pressure via an air hose at the tank opening? Once coolant comes through, then open the other radiator drain and do the same thing. Once both sides have coolant coming out, then loosen the bleeder screw by the thermostat housing and slowly fill until coolant comes out.
Other than that, I don't really have any other ideas. Just be careful not to run the engine too much with air pockets because the engine will get hot spots, and can cause damage.
Please advise us what finally works, I will follow the thread until it's solved.

 

I use an AirLift. Makes filling any cooling system a 10 minute job, no bleeding necessary.
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There is a bleed screw on top of the thermostat that will let you fill it up. You'll probably have to take the engine access panel off to get to it at the front of the engine. Its below the air intake but behind the belts on top of the motor. (#9 in diagram above) Note the pulley. You might, might be able to loosen it by reaching under the air intake on the top of the engine... Haven't tried it yet so perhaps someone else can chime in with their experience...
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Actually, you can reach it over the top but it isn't easy and you need a pretty long extension.

 

are you getting any hot air comming out of vents when heater is on?

 

I have the airlift also, but haven't had the chance to use it yet. I'm glad to hear that it works well!
I wasn't sure how effectively it would work on the Ferrari because it is designed to collapse the soft hoses. I was told that the 360 has hard pipe running front to back.
Can you confirm that it works on the 360 well enough that I wouldn't even have to open the bleeder screw on the thermostat? If so, that would be fantastic!
It becomes a pleasure to do the job then.

 

It'll pull about 26 inches of vacuum, that'll pretty much get liquid where the sun don't shine. The best way to know how well it works is to keep track of how much went in and compare it to what the book says. Should be pretty close.

 

Can the collapsing of the hoses create any problems or premature wear on the rubber parts?

 

None that I'm aware of.

 

I have had a couple of stubborn ones too. Here is what I do when needed

Remove both front wheels and the front inner wheel well section to access the rads.
On the top inner corners of the rads you will see a hose. Loosen the clamp and CAREFULLY remove the hoses. Open the bleeder on the thermostat housing. Try to have the car as level as possible. Start pouring in your coolant. You will hear the air being pushed out.

Once coolant begins to flow out of the bleeder on the t-stat housing, close it and keep filling until the rads are full, and coolant is flowing out of the nipple on the top corners of the rads..quickly put the hoses back on tighten the clamps. Obviously through out this prosess you need to keep the expansion tank topped up.

Start the car and turn the heat on full blast. Let it run until the cooling fans have completed at least 3 cycles..

That should do it..the hard way..

 

If the hoses were that delicate, good luck with them trying to hold in pressure while hot.

 

I have an air lift. I own four cars, one of which is a 360. The air lift works well on three of them. Guess which one on which it has no effect. Right, the 360. If there is a secret to it draining the 360 using an air lift, I would love to have that information.

 

I think the problem is down to the fact the coolant tank has a small feed pipe that runs down, then across from the back to the front of the car, then up to the top of the rads.

I would have guessed the best wasy to fill it is to remove the top hose from each rad, fill till it starts to come out, then open the bleed screw on the thermostat and keep filing, this should get the coolant through the two large coolant pipes that run from the rads to the pump.

But, due to the fact the pump is higher than the rads filling would be a slow process, you need to get the coolant from the tank, through the rad and back up to pump.

You need to let the coolant push the air out of the system at the high points in the system, the rads and the pump.

Neil

 

It's for filling not draining. There is virtually no way it can't work. When you remove most of the air from the system, the fluid flows in to replace it. There really can't be too many air pockets left when you're done.

 

Guys does the bleed screw have a notch in it part way or a hole so that we don't have to remove it completely? Or do we have to remove it completely to purge air from the system?

 

if your not getting hot air when heater is on you have air in system .are you getting hot air out of vents when heater is on?

 

That's why I mentioned the concern of the ridgid piping from the front to the rear. Those pipes, the radiators, and the engine passage ways can't collapse. I never changed the coolant in the Ferrari yet (I got it a year ago, I'll be doing the coolant next year), but I would like to be prepared so I'm taking in all of the advice on this thread.
Have you used the air lift on the 360 without a problem? When you did, did the air lift work without using the bleeder after the air lift did its job, or was it good enough with just the air lift? If you were able to do it with the air lift only, the OP's main problem is probably that he used compressed air to blow out the lines completely.

 

Hi Chris. Yes it has rigid pipes BUT even if you had the pipes completely clear of fluid the airlift should work. Think of it this way. You remove all of the air so there is nothing there. When there is nothing there (vacuum is vacuum, collapsed or not) the fluid has nothing to stop it from filling the gap. In fact, it will want to fill the space because it is at a higher pressure than the pipe is at vacuum.

I haven't used one so I can't say if you need to bleed the system after you use it or not.

 

That's a good point about the negative pressure, I guess when logically speaking, you HAVE to be correct. The confusing part is when I see posts like Mardi Gras. Why did he have trouble using it on his 360, but not on his other cars?
These are the inconsistencies that I would like to work out before it comes time for me to change the coolant on my car. I can't believe how finicky these cars can be!

 

Dumb question, sorry to hijack a thread but figured it's related so I don't need to start a new topic.

What is the best way to check the coolant level to make sure you have enough and to inspect the quality of the coolant?

 

I can't answer that question; I haven't tried using one on my 360. Maybe some that have will chime in with a good answer.