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I noticed a lot of air in my intercooler tank.How much is it to vaccum bleed and fill intercooler to specs at a dealer? I know a lot of you guys have done this. Would appreciate a range of costs.
See pic of the air in my intercooler tank.
Last edited by Checkmate1; 09-16-2018 at 05:17 PM.
That’s about how mine looked when car was brand new. I had it bled under warranty. I am not sure what the tech did other then have a hose attached to the input slowly dripping in antifreeze over the course of a day. There is a kit from a forum vendor gspeed for 150 bucks . There is a post on it. Google search gspeed intercooler bleeder kit.
Thanks but I want it done at the dealer as I am still under warranty. That being said, I do not expect this service to be covered under the warranty. I am doing it proactively.
From what I understand, there should only be a quarter sized air bubble in the intercooler.
Would appreciate the cost of what this service should entail at a dealer.
Last edited by Checkmate1; 09-16-2018 at 07:06 PM.
Thanks but I want it done at the dealer as I am still under warranty. That being said, I do not expect this service to be covered under the warranty. I am doing it proactively.
From what I understand, there should only be a quarter sized air bubble in the intercooler.
Would appreciate the cost of what this service should entail at a dealer.
if your car is still under warranty it should be covered free of charge. Take it in and show them.
I realize you repeatedly said you want a dealer to do it, however, at the risk of annoying you ....
Most dealers don't know how to do it properly. Been there, done that several times. Even after I took them the GM procedure they don't get the air out. I see you're near Baltimore. I STRONGLY suggest you go to TPC Racing/DSC Sport . They're in Jessup, MD. TPC/DSC owner Mike Levitas owns a C7Z and got very frustrated with air in the system in his car and made his own tool to get it all out. He will do it right the first time, odds are a dealer won't.
A better option would be to spend $3.00 on a 2' piece of 1" I.D. clear vinyl hose from Lowe's or Home Depot and do it in your garage as shown below. The "hose" technique is so simple and easy it's silly. NO tools needed and all you do is push the hose over the fill port, fill it 3/4 full, let it sit overnight for gravity to do it's magic and good to go in the a.m. This technique got more air out of mine than pulling a vacuum.
A better option would be to spend $3.00 on a 2' piece of 1" I.D. clear vinyl hose from Lowe's or Home Depot and do it in your garage as shown below. The "hose" technique is so simple and easy it's silly. NO tools needed and all you do is push the hose over the fill port, fill it 3/4 full, let it sit overnight for gravity to do it's magic and good to go in the a.m. This technique got more air out of mine than pulling a vacuum.
A better option would be to spend $3.00 on a 2' piece of 1" I.D. clear vinyl hose from Lowe's or Home Depot and do it in your garage as shown below. The "hose" technique is so simple and easy it's silly. NO tools needed and all you do is push the hose over the fill port, fill it 3/4 full, let it sit overnight for gravity to do it's magic and good to go in the a.m. This technique got more air out of mine than pulling a vacuum.
I don't see how this would get rid of air trapped in the higher parts of he system, or at the top of the reservoir.
I don't see how this would get rid of air trapped in the higher parts of he system, or at the top of the reservoir.
If there is air trapper this won't displace the air. What a lot of people on here are doing is that exact technique, but jumping the intercooler pump relay to get the coolant moving through the system at the same time. I have not tried this but it seems to work for a lot of people. I just bought a vacuum filler and if I ever need to bleed my system I will certainly try that first as that is the procedure they use in the factory service manual.
Sorry, there's 0 percent chance a gravity bleed will get air out of the Reservoir. The hoses into it are below the top of the tank / side tapped. Also running the intercooler pump doesnt help with this issue
Sorry, there's 0 percent chance a gravity bleed will get air out of the Reservoir. The hoses into it are below the top of the tank / side tapped
Right. Pulling a high vacuum will expand that bubble enough that most of it can bleed out the hose on the side. When the vacuum is removed, the bubble will contract again, hopefully to the size of the two quarters or 50 cent pieces mentioned in Bill Dearborns posts.
Same thing with other places where air is trapped, like maybe at the back of the supercharger bricks. Even with the circulation pump turned on, I'm not sure that the coolant flow has enough velocity to drive all the air out of the high points in the bricks (the highest point in the system). That's why it's recommended, even with vacuum purging, so raise the front of the car. That can get the fill point very close to being the highest point in the system.
Right. Pulling a high vacuum will expand that bubble enough that most of it can bleed out the hose on the side. When the vacuum is removed, the bubble will contract again, hopefully to the size of the two quarters or 50 cent pieces mentioned in Bill Dearborns posts.
Same thing with other places where air is trapped, like maybe at the back of the supercharger bricks. Even with the circulation pump turned on, I'm not sure that the coolant flow has enough velocity to drive all the air out of the high points in the bricks (the highest point in the system). That's why it's recommended, even with vacuum purging, so raise the front of the car. That can get the fill point very close to being the highest point in the system.
what about a gravity bleed with the clear plastic tube jammed on the fill port with the front of the car raised and the car idling. Would the pump motor kick on when idling or does it only run when in high throttle operation?
while I like my dealer and the vett tech it’s just a hassle to take it in for such a seemingly trivial item.
Unless you are tracking your car, the air bubble probably will not affect you.. I had cylinder misfire codes and Vette engineer at NCM VIR event said it was probably due to the excessive air in the tank. They are coming out of the assembly plant this way. First time I did it, it was covered under warranty. Second time I did it it was out of GM warranty and cost me $160 bucks. It is difficult to get all the air out and requires that the tech bleed, drive it and check it several times. I had to take mine back twice after the second non-warranty bleed to get it right.
what about a gravity bleed with the clear plastic tube jammed on the fill port with the front of the car raised and the car idling. Would the pump motor kick on when idling or does it only run when in high throttle operation?
while I like my dealer and the vett tech it’s just a hassle to take it in for such a seemingly trivial item.
Running the pump isnt going to do it either. Heres my very crude drawing. ( I may have the inlet and outlet reversed, but it doesnt matter) Theres no way for that air to escape short of vacuum.
atljar, flow goes into the reservoir at the top where you have indicated outlet. But you are correct that without vacuum the reservoir can't fill completely. Not sure why GM didn't put the inlet connection higher in the tank unless they were allowing for expansion.
atljar, flow goes into the reservoir at the top where you have indicated outlet. But you are correct that without vacuum the reservoir can't fill completely. Not sure why GM didn't put the inlet connection higher in the tank unless they were allowing for expansion.
a millennial design — they don’t understand the top from the bottom. That’s why the population is going to start dropping. Millenials are using the wrong hole.
09-16-2018, 05:16 PM
Cost to Vacumm Bleed Intercooler at Dealer?
