1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo coolant flow problems

Tiny
RADD02
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO
  • 3.4L
  • V6
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 140,000 MILES
Car had noisy water pump. Replaced pump. Refilled coolant per spec. When car has warmed up, there is no coolant flow out of engine through top radiator hose. Replace t-stat, still no coolant flow when warmed up. Do I need to run the car with radiator cap off to purge air from coolant lines? Old water pump had serrated hub that moved coolant. The new pump has more of a fan-like hub. Possible wrong water pump? The rotation of the pump is counter-clockwise per serpentine routing.
Thursday, February 12th, 2015 AT 4:22 AM

2 Replies

Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Try replacing radiator cap if car doesn't overheat don't worry about it
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Thursday, February 12th, 2015 AT 5:48 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 48,363 POSTS
Nope, I would remove the radiator cap and fill with coolant, then start the engine and allow to get hot, do not install the radiator cap. It might bubble over a little which is okay as the air is getting purged out of the system, once the engine is hot and you can see the coolant flowing then install the radiator cap.

Here are the cooling system refill instructions

Refilling

1. Close the radiator drain valve. Reinstall all engine block drain. Reconnect the inlet hose to the engine oil cooler.
2. Install the coolant recovery reservoir and empty. Flush the reservoir with clean water, drain and reinstall.
3. Slowly fill the cooling systems through the radiator neck using the following procedure:

If the coolant system has been flushed, first add 100 percent ethylene glycol in the amount listed in figure for the appropriate engine application. Then slowly add clean water to the system until the level of the coolant mixture has reached the base of the radiator neck.

Important:

When refilling the engine cooling system, add two engine coolant supplement sealant pellets, GM P/N 3634621 or equivalent and GM approved new Ethylene Glycol coolant antifreeze GM P/N 9985809.

If the cooling system is being refilled ONLY (no flush), a 50 percent ethylene glycol and 50 percent clean water mixture should be used to fill the system. Fill the system until the level of the 50/50 mixture has reached the base of the radiator neck. Wait two minutes and recheck the level of the coolant mixture, add a 50/50 ethylene glycol/water mixture as necessary to restore the coolant mixture level to the base of the radiator neck.

4. Install the radiator cap making certain the arrows line up with the overflow tube.
5. Close all air bleeds. DO NOT over-torque the air bleed valve. The air bleed valve is made out of brass.
6. Fill the coolant reservoir with a 50 percent ethylene glycol and a 50 percent clean water coolant mixture. The proper amount of this mixture to be installed into the coolant reservoir is listed below:

All engines Add 1.7 liters (1.8 quarts) of a 50/50 mixture of ethylene glycol and clean water to the coolant recovery reservoir.

NOTICE: The low coolant indicator lamp may come on after this procedure. After operating the vehicle so that the engine heats up and cools down three times, if the low coolant indicator lamp does NOT go out, or fails to come on at ignition check and coolant is at the level indicated in step 3 go to Testing and Inspection. If at any time the "TEMP" warning indicator comes on, immediate action is required.

Inspect: The freeze protection of the engine coolant after the engine heats up and cools down three times using a refractometer or a thermohygrometer to ensure proper freeze -37°C (-34°F) protection. Obtain the coolant mixture for the inspection from the base of the radiator neck, NOT from the coolant recovery reservoir.

Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.
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Friday, July 5th, 2024 AT 12:12 PM

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