Ok so i have a 95 Accord LX that I cannot get to properly bleed the air for the life of me.

Started out because I put in a new thermostat, previous owners decided to remove the thermostat all together. So I got a thermostat from autozone put it in and go to bleed the coolant.

I put the heat on hot with fans off, take of the radiator cap, put on my funnel, start filling with water, loosen the bleeder valve located on top of the thermostat housing and continue filling...

Nothing EVER comes out off the bleeder valve, nothing no air, steam, coolant, nothing. Even with the engine on nothing. I've taken the bleeder out completely and it is not clogged, also changed with a known working valve, still nothing.

My coolant fans also aren't running unless the ac is engaged,I thought maybe there was air in there so the coolant wasn't making contact with the fan switches, but I don't know anymore.

Any ideas? How can I get this system to bleed properly? Could there be a clog somewhere in the block or something? How can I test for this?

 

Buy this at Autozone- Lisle spill-free coolant funnel. You can find it cheaper but Autoaone carries it. Watch the vid.

 

I actually have a funnel already that fits perfectly in the radiator home so I can burp it just like with one of those, only difference is mine makes more of a mess when you're done unless you take you're time with it.

That's definitely not the problem, the technique in general is not the problem, I've own two Accords before this one I know how to properly bleed the air, just this one the fluid is somehow not getting up to the bleed valve...

There must be a clog somewhere, or maybe it's the water pump?-How can you test for that?

 

Bleeding is bleeding. You do not need to use the bleed valve to bleed the air. Did you watch the video? You would see the air bubbles in the funnel.

You may have owned 2 accords, but I have worked on countless coolant systems. If air is your problem, this technique will work.

If you are concerned with bleeder bolt, then pull it out completely as it may be clogged. If fluid starts to come out, the bolt is bad- but this should only be done with a cool car and it is totally worthless and unnecessary. If no fluid comes out, you have an internal clog.

To test the water pump, look to see if fluid is coming out of the weep holes. You can also remove the belt and see if it spins freely. But again- if the water pump is bad, fluid should be coming out the weep hole. Removing the belt and spinning it is unnecessary....at that point you should throw a new one on because it only a few bolts.

 

Yea I already pulled out the bleed valve completely and no fluid came out whatsoever during Lee bleeding process, car off or on nothing. Where do internal clouds tend to happen on this system? Any easy way to unclog then?


And by the way man sorry I didn't mean to sound arrogant or anything by saying that about having owned them,I didn't man it like that I'm just frustrated. Need this car working and I've done everything already.

But yea I went back and watched the video again that's how I've been doing it, just in the manual it says to use the bleed valve and when I follow the shop manual to a t it says fluid should be there and it's not- I'm starting to seriously think there is a clog somewhere before the thermostat housing/bleed valve.

 

So when no fluid is coming out, is the radiator full? Again best way is have some funnel full and connected to the radiator. Then turn the car on, turn up the heater and squeeze the upper radiator hose gently and carefully.

Are you maybe leaking antifreeze somewhere? How does your oil look? Is your car showing white smoke out of the tailpipe and is there a sweet exhaust gas smell?

You inability to get air out of the system is a separate and unrelated issue to the bleeder bolt not releasing fluid. Check to see that the thermostat housing is not wet from an incorrectly installed thermostat or from a gasket that isn't seating properly.

 

Yes, the funnel is in the radiator cap and has fluid about halfway up the funnel
I haven't found any leaks no, the oil is a bit dark I'm planning on doing an oil change tomorrow I'll report how it looks coming out, no white smoke from the exhaust though, I'm really hoping it's not a head gasket
I recently replaced the thermostat with new gasket following shop manual instructions, jiggle pin on top and what have you, maybe I should continue testing without a thermostat in to rule that out? It was a cheap thermostat maybe I should just go get a good one...

 

Are you 100% sure you installed the thermostat the right way and it works. Do you feel coolant in the upper radiator hose? Does the hose stay cold?

You could always remove the thermostat housing and inspect it for a clog. But you will need to get a new o-ring and it is really not necessary. Run the car and see if the upper radiator gets warm- if it does- coolant is in it..or you can squeeze it.

In the pic below, it shows the bleeder bolt on the spring side so fluid should be coming out. Make sure the spring is correctly oriented. If it is, coolant should come out even with a faulty thermostat as long as the housing is not clogged and the coolant is flowing.

You haven't mentioned over heating. Is your heater core connected- if so, do you feel warm air once the car is warmed up if the heater is set to hot?

 

Pull the thermostat housing and check for some sort of blockage in the water pipe.

 

Yes, the upper radiator hose does get hot,I honestly thought it was the other way around I thought the lower one was suppose to start getting hot after the engine was running...

My upper radiator hose gets hot very quick and the lower one stays cool and I don't really feel any coolant flowing through it if I squeeze it

 

^This.

Drain your coolant to allow removal of the thermostat housing and thermostat.
Remove the bleeder valve and verify with a wire that you can actually pass something through that exposed port.

Similar with brake bleeder valves, if corrosion or junk has blocked the port there will be no-mo-flo.

I would highly suggest using the Honda Thermostat. One of those areas where I would not futz with a jobber part.

 

First off, thanks for all the help you guys, y'all are great. I know we together can figure this thing out! Okay so I took apart the thermostat housing today and took the thermostat completely out to further test.

So with the thermostat out the lower hose gets hot as it should so there is noclog in the block and the water pump is working... However when trying to bleed still nothing comes out.

I took the bleed valve out and can blow straight through it, and like the original post says I've tried two bleeder valves, it's not the valve itself.

The fans still aren't coming on either,I thought it might be from air in the system not letting coolant heat up the switches properly, but now I don't know, I even changed the fan switch that's on the upper radiator hose bracket, the one that is suppose to make the fans turn on when you turn the car off. I replaced it yet the fans still aren't coming ibn. Both fan switches bake the fans turn on when I jump the harness connector, but the fans only come on with the ac turned on they never cine on to cool the system.

Also yes the heater is working, and I'm not really overheating, but I have to run with the ect switch a (fan switch on thermostat housing) jumped so the fans run

 

If the fans come on when you turn on the ac, then it's most likely the fan switch(thermo switch A) at the thermostat housing is bad.

It's highly recommended to only buy Honda cooling system switches and thermostats.

Does it come out of the bleed valve with the thermostat removed ?

 

Agree with this...especially thermostats. Only OEM honda. Unless in a pinch, I always make the trip to the dealer...and buy the OEM. Too many bad aftermarket thermostats right out of the box.

 

I still cannot get anything to bleed out, thermostat or not, and now I'm having slight idle issues due to air in the system. If I Jack the front end and try to burp it that way rather than properly bleeding do you think I'll be able to get all the air?

I'm thinking it's a problem in the thermostat housing, the valve itself is completely clear, but I don't know about the thermostat housing, it's not a straight hole down because I can't stick a screwdriver in the hole I think the coolant comes in from a hole where the threads are maybe? Maybe I'll make a trip to the junk yard to get a new thermostat housing... How does it come off the pipe just suppose to pull off and have an o ring right? Like it's not threaded on it or anything

 

Correct, the bleed hole in the thermostat housing will be offset. The bleeder valve itself is drilled down the center. When the bleeder valve is screwed in it seals the bleeder valve nipple off from the bleed hole, and the bleed hole is blocked by the nipple.
If the nipple is clear, then look into the bleeder hole, you may need a mechanics mirror, to find the bleed hole and verify it is clear. If you cannot see the hole then it may be closed off from corrosion or foreign material. Use a wire to poke open the hole.