Using a vacuum to refill the cooling system. What is the max vacuum, 16#?

If you can pull a successful vacuum on the system prior to filling, you will be good to go. Position of car is not critical.

Larry

Further to what Larry wrote; the position of the car doesn’t matter at all. The car could be upside down and the vacuum filler would fill the system without any air bubbles!

I like to mix my coolant a day ahead of time in a 5 gallon bucket. If you look closely the coolant is full of very small air bubbles. Exactly what we want to eliminate. Let the coolant sit so the bubbles disipate.

Thanks everyone. It sounded like it was a simple procedure. So, what is the maximum vacuum that should be used?

as you vacuum you will eventually see the upper radiator hose collapse. Watch your gauge for maximum vacuum, shut your valve. Walk away and come back in 20 minutes to see if the vacuum is holding.

if it holds, you are good to go, but if not, you will need to track down where your system is not fully sealed

Larry

Thanks again everyone. I think I'll keep the vacuum below 16 Lb since that is the limit for the system best max pressure.

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I think there is some confusion on this subject. Vacuum is measured in "inches of mercury", not lbs/sq in. The vacuum cooling system refill units usually specify trying to pull about 20 in of vacuum. You can usually get fairly close to this number with most refill units. It is enough to collapse large hoses, but not enough to damage anything. The more vacuum you can get on the system, the more complete the refill will be.

Thank you DWR46, I knew this was a simple operation. It helps the read the little units of measure of the gauge that is being used. And only I was the confused one. All is good now, on my way to driving again.

Maybe I screwed things up again. I pulled 22 inHg. Then opened the valve and it only sucked in almost 4 gals. I had a bucket setup above the swirl tank where it pulled in the antifreeze from. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Did you measure how much you drained out? Comparing how much came out to how much you put in is how you determine if you are getting a good refill.

#5102 holds 16-17 quarts. However, today, there are so many variations on cooling systems in Panteras, I would not use any one number as the "correct" fill volume.

Thanks for the responses. I had maybe a little over 5 GA including what was left in the lower part of the rad. I was going by a spec that I saw someplace that said the capacity was just a little over 6 GA. My system is all stock. I'll file the rest the old way. Maybe the system doesn't real hold as much as I think.

Just thinking back on a system I use to work on that required the fluid to have minimun air in it.    the storage tank had a vacumm and when refilling after servicing, it will "fill up" but be cloudy for several hours as all the littly bitty bubbles worked their way out, then we added more.