update,just reversed hoses and took it for a short ride,water gurgle is gone,can i leave it like this? i read a post that said core doesn't know direction of coolant? if it runs at normal operating temps would it be ok? i'll switch it back and see if gurgle comes back but if it works ok like this why bother? how long should i drive it this way?

 

switched back,gurgle is back! done for now although if it was ok i'd leave the hoses in reverse position!

 

had to try and reverse hoses one more time,it has no water shlosh and runs cooler than before so i'm thinking maybe that's the correct way, ran at 199 to 204-206 in 90 degree temps and hgwy at 50 was 204-206, highest it got was to 210 sitting for a few minutes,ordered new hoses anyway because these are really old,but i'm thinking leave it the h-ll alone! since coolant flow is waterpump to heads/engine,throttle body to heater core then back to lower hose [no valve involved] it should be fine,appreciate any imput or i'll be letting you guys know if something goes wrong!

 

update,put new heater hoses on and left them reversed,drove maybe a couple miles and let her sit,came back and there was coolant on ground so switched hoses back [gurgleing is back] there's no coolant in the passenger well but it must be from the hoses from core to firewall but there's no coolant leaking down under the hood,any ideas well appreciated,frustrating!

 

sorry didnt see this before
I fill it cold - and put both caps on.
start and let idle to temp.
shut down and let cool
check coolant level - usually dont need to add any.

there is a little bleed hole in the t-stat - I place that at the top so it lets the air out with out needing the tstat open.

Im wondering if you heater core has a leak

 

thanks for response,that's what i'm thinking too,the truck runs cool for the most part,hasn't gone over 220 and that's sitting in 90 outside temps in traffic, if the core had a leak would it spill coolant out the ac drain tubes?,my leak looked like it was coming from firewall so incase I didn't tighten clamps enough I retightened this am, then I did the burping with funnel on rad hole and let it get to temp,bubbles came up,but there still seems to be air getting sucked in,will a coolant pressure test tell me if the leak is in core? and can I do it from exp tank? autozone wants 250 bucks deposit to rent one!

 

yeah it will run cool until the coolant is low

see attached page 739 from workshop manual - looks like if there was enough coolant leaking it may jump the barrier and drain out the a/c tubes but I have never been into my dash that deep to confirm.

yes a pressure test will tell you if you are loosing pressure - a leak in the system but you will still have the joy of hunting it down.

 

thanks for response,i'll watch to see how much coolant I go thru,was curious about leaking thru drain,this leak seemed to be from around the firewall which makes me think I may not have tightened clamps good enough! still would like to know if reversing hoses and running it that way does car any damage cause it was nice for awhile!

 

the reason I asked if leak would come out ac drain is because I figure if not there then it would spill into passenger side footwell [or carpet], since it hasn't i'm thinking I didn't tighten clamps so this am replaced clamps and reversed again! now we'll see.

 

update,after putting additional new clamps on [with hoses reversed] been driving for days with no leaks and same nice temps as I mentioned above,i'll keep watching coolant level but if it isn't leaking outside or carpets don't get wet I don't know where it could go! so will let all know