BabyGT

If there is air in the system what you want to do is wait until the car is completely cold.
1)Take the rad cap off, get your coolant ready beside the car lids off,


2) Now sit in the car, turn all the heat settings to full blast heat, set the vent setting to legs or face vents, nothing with defrost,

3) Now start the car

4) Slowly add coolant as needed till it wont take anymore.

This will work air out of heater core. If this does not work you have other issues.

TfcCDR

Have you noticed anyone telling you to knock it off?

We've all had problems with cars. This is a place to swap gripes as much as it is to talk story or give advice. And when you DO get it all psyched out, we expect you to tell us what you found, what fixed it, etc, because that's how we learn more.

I've been working on cars (mine, the family's my friends', etc) since I was a kid in the 1960s. I am still learning. So are you. So don't sweat it when the frustration hits your keyboard, we've all been there. REPEATEDLY.

TfcCDR

Before you do Step 2, visually inspect the engine, hoses, etc. Look for seeps, loose connections, or other problems which might be easier to find before everything warms up. With the engine cold, you can reach down in and check things.

Also look to see if you have a flush tap, This will be a connection for a garden hose, plastic with a cap screwed onto it, which will be in one of the heater hoses. If you don't have one, they're usually less than $5 at your local parts place. Installed in as high a point as possible, they let you bleed air out of the system, which is what you're trying to do.

You can also buy a whole kit for probably about $10 which will have a flush tap, hose clamps, backflow preventer and a thing that plugs into the radiator fill hole to aim the water away as it drains out. Install it, flush the cooling system, and that may either solve the problem or let you see where the problem really is.

After that, then go to Step 2 and do what BabyGT said.

While the engine is running, go back a couple of feet away from the exhaust and smell for coolant (it's a sweet smell) in the fumes. If you smell that, then you have a gasket or other leak into the engine itself.

If you find no leaks, have flushed and purged the system, and still have the problem, replace the thermostat.

PNYXPRESS

Do exactly as BabyGT stated. He has more experience with these engines and car apparently.

There is no "flush tap" on these cars and there isn't a need for one as all it does it create another place to leak.

Villiska

Don't I have to do something with the bleeder valve or something like that? It feels like every person/video/website has told me something different and I just want to understand the process and not make any mistakes. Also, how much coolant do you think I should buy before hand? 1-2 of those big jugs? I think it's like 5qt each, I don't know the size.

TfcCDR

I've never seen a car that came with a flush tap installed at the factory. I've seen plenty with them installed by owners. He may have one already installed.

While they do "create another place to leak," the only times I've actually SEEN them leak is when someone didn't have the cap screwed on tight. They're plastic, so I guess it's possible to break one, but I've never seen one broken.

One thing they do which is worthwhile for the OP's current problem is giving an opening in the high part of the cooling system, thus letting an air slug vent.

Villiska

Thank you very much! So it's really as simple as:

- take off radiator cap while the car is cold and get into the car.
- turn the heat **** all the way to the red hot and put the heat vent onto either legs or face but not defrost
- start the car and begin pouring coolant into the radiator until it won't take any left

Once the radiator is full then what? Do I just put the cap back on while it's still on or will that suck air back in? Do I touch the backfill reservoir at all during this? Will I see bubbles or any signs of air escaping to tell me I'm doing something beneficial?

Do I remove any coolant once it's done or is that not over filling?

Villiska

Good update & Sorta bad news but at this point I don't care.

I bled the cooling system and got quite a bit of air bubbles and now my heat is coming out full blast and drive 1/1 from work to home has been a success! I think it was a clogged heater core restricting the coolant from flowing and giving me a lack of heat.

It felt like I was running through a field of daisies in the sunlight with the warmth on my face the whole way home. Thank you everyone for the help!

One con, but I think it has to do with my IAC in need of a cleaning since my idle sucks when the car is warm, but when I parked my car at my house and turned the heat and everything off, right before I turned off the car I could hear my left exhaust pipe coughing every 3 or so seconds. It didn't sound like a misfire exactly, but more of a cough.

Not sure what that is, but at this point I'm just taking this victory right now and enjoying my night.

Again, thank you everyone. A heap of stress is off my shoulders now.

PNYXPRESS

Great news on the fix. Now you need to find out where all the coolant went to begin with.

Villiska

I apparently didn't understand the meaning of hot and cold in the backfill tank so I honestly think I've just been overfilling it every time and it's been spitting the rest up. Who knows. I'll have to monitor it from now on!