[Arcruze_11]

I have a 2013 gen 1 Chevy Cruze with a coolant leak that appears to be coming from where lower hose attaches to the reservoir.

Is it necessary to bleed the cooling system after replacing the reservoir? My plan was just to remove the remaining coolant with a turkey baster, install the new reservoir, and then follow the procedure in the manual for adding coolant (letting the engine run with the cap off, waiting until the upper radiator hose can be felt getting hot, looking out for the engine cooling fan, monitoring the coolant level and adding more if necessary).

I don't have a level surface to work on my car (gravel driveway) and most of the tutorials l've seen on YouTube for replacing the reservoir involve draining the coolant and bleeding the system.

Input would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[thebac]

You shouldnt have to. Just deal with it if you do.

 

[Goat Boy]

^ +1
Pulling the expansion tank shouldn't get any air into the lower system but if for whatever reason if you did need to bleed it, there's a little twist plug hidden away at the top left hand corner of the rad (as seen when stood in front of the engine bay). It's a right PITA to get your fingers onto with enough grip to twist but loosening this (not removing) is the way to open the system when doing a big refill to bleed out any trapped air.

 

[Blasirl]

I have a 2013 gen 1 Chevy Cruze with a coolant leak that appears to be coming from where lower hose attaches to the reservoir.

Is it necessary to bleed the cooling system after replacing the reservoir? My plan was just to remove the remaining coolant with a turkey baster, install the new reservoir, and then follow the procedure in the manual for adding coolant (letting the engine run with the cap off, waiting until the upper radiator hose can be felt getting hot, looking out for the engine cooling fan, monitoring the coolant level and adding more if necessary).

I don't have a level surface to work on my car (gravel driveway) and most of the tutorials l've seen on YouTube for replacing the reservoir involve draining the coolant and bleeding the system.

Input would be appreciated. Thanks!

Just so you know, it is a surge tank not a resevoir. A resevoir is not under pressure, but a surge tank is. On most newer cars, you will not see a "radiator" cap. That function is taken care of by the surge tank cap.

Having said that, as alluded to above, unless you ran the system pretty low, there should be no issues.

 

[12ecofamilycar]

The benefit of doing a drain and fill is to change out plastic coolant parts at same time like the outlet and thermostat plus radiator sensor etc if the mileage dictates.

 

[BDCCruze]

The benefit of doing a drain and fill is to change out plastic coolant parts at same time like the outlet and thermostat plus radiator sensor etc if the mileage dictates.

Right, 5 years or 150k miles is the GM spec for replacing Dexcool. Just do it all at once if you are due.