Bleed more

 

 

These systems are notoriously hard to bleed

 

I've had the opposite experience, and find these cars very easy to bleed, at least on the later engines.

With the front end raised up a bit, and one of those spill free funnels (I use a lisle) that holds coolant, let the car warm up with the heat on full blast.

Make sure you have the bleeder screw undone almost all the way, (do this before starting the car). Keep adding coolant as needed, and re-tighten the bleeder screw when you get a steady stream of coolant dropping out. Make sure the level in the reservoir is correct also.

The heater should be hot at idle even, as long as the car is close to operating temp.

 

I suspect the common mistake is people don't know about the bleeder screw or never turn the heat on during the air purging process. It's spelled out in the FSM, but many new owners aren't able to obtain a digital copy of the FSM anymore.

Good tips from Chihuahua.
-Icer

 

 

Well, the difference in radiator hose temps, tell me there is either air in the system still, which is not allowing the thermostat to open. Or that the thermostat is defective.

Did you test the thermostat in boiling water? I can't think of much else that could be a problem, and allow such quick overheating, besides the water pump. But a water pump should give a clear sign such as leaks through the weep-hole.

Are you able to verify the actual coolant temp with something like an OBD2 scanner, and an app such as 'Torque.' Perhaps the coolant temp sensor/where the gauge gets its reading has malfunctioned. Just some more thoughts..

 

 

You need one of these:


- Place the funnel in the mouth of the radiator and fill to about 1/3 full
- Start the car and let it run for about 30 mins (yes, 30 mins) with heat on full, revving to about 4K every couple minutes
- Make sure the funnel never goes empty during this process!
- Shut the engine off. Leave the funnel in the radiator so there is at least a couple inches of antifreeze in the funnel
- Walk away from the car for about an hour (yes, an hour)

While the engine cools the antifreeze in the funnel will slowly replace the small bubbles of air trapped in the system.

 

^^ Literally worth every cent
Trying to bleed your system without that is like trying to run backwards without falling over