what's the best....way to bleed (burp) the coolant system
 

I just did a complete belt job (including the updated water pump) on my 84 NA 944.... It's running great except that it seems to be running a little hotter then normal....up to the 3rd line on the guage...it used to be in the middle.........I'm not sure if I bled the system correctly.....any help........thanks

the best way to do it is to fill with coolant and pump the system up with a pressurizer that hooks on the fill tank and uloosten the bleeding screw. Pump some water out of it to ensure the airs all gone and tighten the screw. you can loosen the screw and blow into the fill tank and this works too but you gotta be carefull because of the toxicity of the antifreeze.

Is this done on a cold or hot car....sorry for the stupidity.....do I loosen the bleed screw or remove it...????

If you heat the car up, it's going to pressurize itself. If you don't have a pressurizer, this is the way to go. Run the car and get it hot, then crack the bleeder screw SLOWLY ( on the top of the engine) until the fluid is slowly drizzling out. Wait till you have solid fluid drizzling out ( no air pockets), then tighten the screw. I will say that you should watch your fluid level for the next 2 weeks or so becuase small air pockets will always make their way out.

Yes, what Rmills said! You only have to loosen the bleed screw a little bit - DO NOT remove it while the engine is hot.

After after driving around for a week or so loosen the bleed valve again with it hot just to make sure all the air is out.

kinda of a newbie here (only had my 944 for a week) but i just had a post sale inspection by a cert mechanic and i have some work to do including replacing all the front seals (while doing it i should also do the water pump and timing belt too) and also have to replace the oil cooler gasket as its leaking slowly into the coolant

my questions is where did you get your directions on how to do the belts, etc. and did you buy the belt tension gauge that is required

on that point i was told that the haynes or chilton is a decent book for these cars as the factory manual is $300+ (i'm used to a helms FSM for japanese cars)

tia

clarks-garage.com is a most excellent place for step by step repair procedures. The Haynes manual is good for some things and has some pictures which clarks doesn't usually have - and Haynes is cheap. Also check your PM ;)

Haynes is a good reference... A little vague and assumes a bit of mechanical ability. Definitely not an idiot's guide to 944s. (Which I was/still am. Only think I knew from owning my maxima was where to put the windshield washer fluid).

If you ever plan on performing serious surgery, the factory manuals are the way to go. (Anyone have the Tech Bulletins btw?)

IMO, Clark's is an invaluable reference if you plan on working on your ride. Between this board and clark's, there must be 500 years of knowledge available. I'd be lost without either.

I currently have a leak in the cooling system. I think it could be from a loose hoose or from the thermoswitch(recently replaced). My question is do I need to bleed the system each time coolant leaks out? ( I should really just get under it and fix it but I havent had the time)

I wouldn't have thought you need to bleed the system if it has just leaked a bit - It is only leaking water out because it is pressurised - it won't leak unpressurised air from outside into the system. That is unless it has leaked so much so as all the water has gone out of the expansion tank and then when you fill it up you could trap air in there.