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The typical cooling sytem is a labrynth of hoses and passageways. Simply topping it off after draining, does nothing to address the air that will be trapped inside these various pockets.
The system will need to attain full circulation which can only be achieved when the thermostat is open and the heater core is filled, before it can be considered bled properlly.
To do so, it should be run to operating temp at a slightly elevated idle, with the radiator cap off, the coolant level monitored and the heat on full.
Once you have heat and the temp is normalized you can then put the cap on.
If the car has an electric cooling fan, I like to keep the cap off till it cycles at least one time.
Some cars are particually diffucult to "burp" and may even require elevating the front end.
If the car starts to overheat in the course of bleeding, you need to shut it down, wait till it cools and start again.
Sounds like you noticed in time and most likely,no harm done.
Last edited by allydriver; 10-08-2009 at 12:58 PM..
^ I assumed this is how the tech would have filled it...that's how I usually do it. Must do it with engine running and thermostat open or you won't get it full.
If they didn't do it that way then I see how the op ran into trouble....
Sounds like they forgot to fill something, possibly the reservoir. After replacing my own radiator 2 weeks ago I got tired of waiting for the thermostat to open and hit the road keeping an eye on the temperature gauge. Mine never overheated and didn't even go over a normal temp. The next morning I checked the reservoir and it only pulled about 1/2 an inch of coolant over. Topped if off and it hasn't gone down since.
The typical cooling sytem is a labrynth of hoses and passageways.
Some vehicles have a mechanical bleed valve to assist in purging air from the system. On some, it doesn't seem to matter. On others, you need a vacuum assist bleed tool.
The body shop was in a hurry--no car that comes in for cooling work, or any work involving coolant replacement, should leave until the mechanic verifies the heating fans function properly and the car doesn't overheat. This is just sloppy, dashed off work on the part of the body shop. The owner/manager either doesn't know or doesn't care what's going on in their shop.
It's at the dealer now, they're going to replace the thermostat (under warranty, thankfully), check the oil viscosity, and see if there are any leaks from the head gasket.
Thermostat was fine, oil is fine, coolant is fine.. but apparently the car threw a code for a fan relay switch, they checked and found it was cracked so replaced it. Warranty so no charge. It was nice to have an anticlimactic end to a pretty awful week.
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