Ok so i replaced my radiator yesterday and everything went great
and i thought i got all the air out of the system
but i guess not.

so i was driving it after for a test drive and temp gauge began to spike.

so i pull off into a neighborhood check my engine and the hoses are not hot.
so at first i think maybe its just a bad ground causing my gauge to act funny.

then i drive it maybe half a mile and on the normal band it hits the L and i shutit of and roll into another neighbor hood.
this time my upper hose is hot and the lower is still cold.
so that tells me that there is no coolant getting to the motor.

my thought is that there has to be a air pocket blocking the thermostat from opening.
so if that is the case how would u guys make the air escape?

thanks
steve

 

the way i do mine is start the car and run it with the rad cap off until the thermostat opens up and you watch the coolant rush through the rad, top it off, close it up and you're done.

 

1) isnt the coolant just going to come out the rad with the cap off

and if i have an air pocket blocking the thermostat it wont suck anything in.

cause i did look and usually the coolant will drain down and it stayed in the same spot.

 

no, coolant doesnt come out the rad. there isnt anything to build pressure. i dont know if its the right way, but thats how ive always done it and it works just fine.

 

OK yea ill give it a try.

any one esle have any idea's?

 

^The boy's right, if the cap's off...the cooling system is recirculating in nature. Just run the car at normal operating temperature with the cap off. Whatever spills over spills over, it's excess. Let the system run for a few minutes and then cap (and or) top it off, that should take care of the air (bubbling) in the line you're worried about...

 

because my mustang sits low in the front and high in the rear the radiator isnt the highest point in the cooling system so id have air bubbles every time. when i put in a new thermostat i drill a 1/16" hole in the thermostat towards the top of it so air can pass through when its closed. i then jack the front of the car up so the radiator is higher then the motor and fill it up with coolant. close the radiator put the car down and run the car till it hits 190 and then shut it off. when the coolant cools down, it sucks in any fluid it needs to fill air pockets from the overflow tank

 

ok cool i will def give those a try thanks for all the help

steve

 

I always pull a heater hose of and fill the rad til coolant runs out the hose and slip it on.

 

I use a flush fitting on the heater hose of my own cars. Unscrew the cap and fill it up. I use them because I tear my engines down so often.