Air Bubble in 1963
 

Not sure if this is right place to ask a tech question?? If not,will someone direct me to correct place.../
So,I've owned my 1963 for 40+ years,and just installed a 383 stroker and been having trouble with cooling system...gauge will go back and forth from 180-260-200-180-260 and then back down to normal...assuming an air bubble in system...I've taken hose off at manifold and filled block direct and it seemed to help,but now doing same thing after a couple rides.I've read all kinds of remedies,jacking car up and filling..etc..and now watched a video on Utube about using a "spill-free-funnel" but it seems that needs to go directly on radiator,which the 63 doesnt have a cap..its the recovery can...so one question,if I use the spill-free funnel way and it fills the can totally up to top and gets air bubbles out,would I then need to siphon half out since you dont want the can filled to top....OR..anyone have any suggestions....dont want to use car with temp. gauge going crazy like that and possible engine damage...and..YES...its a new gauge,so thats not the cause...HELP...we only get to use a few months a year in RAINY Wa. State....THANKS

remove radiator cap. start engine and wait for the t-state open and watch for bubbles to appear in the tank

THANKS...but what do I do after bubbles appear.....does that take care of it and just put cap back on...OMG..sounds so simple been going crazy for months.....

you do nothing and what for them to stop. then wait until cold to fill the tank to the correct level

WOW..thanks so much....I guess I tried all the hard ways first....sounds so simple....so one more stupid question...appx. how long would you say it should take for it to cycle thru all the bubbles...5-10 minutes?

I would think 5-10 minutes should be plenty.

THANKS buddy....much appreciated....will give it a try this weekend.....and if it works,owe you a beer or 2 if ever out in WA.....!!

I don't get it -- 1/2 century of driving and working on everything from English Fords to Camaros to Triumphs and I've NEVER had an air bubble issue in a radiator...

I've had air bubbles in a cooling system and I have seen the temperature gauge to exactly as the OP described. All it took to fix the problem was to let the system cool, restart the engine and top off the cooling system.

If the OP's engine has been through 1 or 2 heat/cool cycles and there's still air in the system I'd strongly suspect a compression leak into the cooling system.

An easy way to test if air in the system is causing the problem is to let the engine idle with the fill cooling fill cap off. If the temperature gauge is reporting the temperatures posted here, the oflo tank should be geysering coolant out the open fill hole.

I kind of doubt that's the issue either - but if it is, drilling 1/8 inch hole in the thermostat flange and parking the car nose up on a steep drive while idling and warming up should take care of any trapped air in the block.

I'm with you there, trucks, cars, inboards, outboards, everything. Always thought it a 'will of the wisp'.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...48d45c2b0f.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...b7383526ba.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...93fc39d7a4.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...e3a6bd581e.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...1b54839f14.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...259acf74ea.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...ae6f490866.jpg
Hi Factoid,
Thanks.....I've attached some photos...I also thought maybe I installed some hoses wrong,but they look right when I compare to the 63 manual...what do you think?
Never heard of the Teflon Tape issue,but will check that out also.....
Regards,
George

You could also have a temperature sending unit/gauge wire grounding intermittently. The temperature gauge goes up with more resistance from the sender (or a short) so I don't think a bad ground on the sending uni (due to tape on the threads) would make the gauge show hot

Hi Mike....Thanks...gonna check that this weekend along with a few other idea I've gotten....Great guys on the site...never expected so many relpies...THANKS TO ALL....and will post remedy if I ever get to the bottom of this....
George

THANKS....it runs great,except for the damn temp problem...I did it up as the original,and the vent I assume is coming off the oil filler cap....not sure if thats how you would do it with a 383,but thats what all my research showed for original engine....Here is photo...https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...873e15d386.jpg