Nope, you gotta get the heater core full or it gurgles and burps air forever, leading to having to fill the coolant tank multiple times.

You can simply put the defrost on with max heat, I think, but even so, with warm air temps, the aux pump may not run, so no wate rwill go though the heater core.

Follow the procedure, it's there for a reason.

I have to bleed the air out of the 280 SE by opening one heater hose at the heater core, it won't push the air out under water pump pressure, and the heater cover gets airlocked -- no heat.

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!