New Radiator, trouble bleeding air from the system.


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Old 07-13-19, 05:13 PM
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New Radiator, trouble bleeding air from the system.

Hello all,. I just put a new radiator in my 2003 Isuzu Rodeo today, that part wasnt bad,.. but I have now made 4 attempts to bleed the air out of the coolant system with no luck. the first two tries produced no heat from the heater at all. the next two both produced heat,..hot heat... All four tries were done with the front end of the vehicle higher than the back end. During the last two tries, I could hear what im guessing was air entering the radiator on the passenger side, could also feel it a bit while putting my hand on the radiator when it happened. The bubbling in the funnel was mostly minimal the whole time. each try, running the engine maybe about 5 or 6 minutes til the temp gauge was starting to get higher than it should ( about 3/4 up, usually it runs just over half up). I would then shut it off, with coolant still in the funnel, which it would suck in in about 10 minutes after shutting off, I would then cap it, and let it cool before the next attempt. also, overflow res was at least half full each attempt. what am I missing?
 
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Old 07-14-19, 06:47 AM
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Bad head gasket? exhaust getting into coolant?
Bleeder screw? Japanese like having them in the system highest point. Simple hex insert. Likely rusted in like heck.
Also, you did not mention that you topped system after coolant level starts falling down. At least, I didn't notice that.
 
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Old 07-14-19, 07:23 AM
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there were no heat, or overheat issues prior to changing the radiator,. I noticed a crack in the top of the radiator a few days ago, parked it, and changed it out yesterday, been trying to get the air out now . I always kept a full funnel of coolant in the top of the radiator while trying to burp the system,... after i would shut it off, it would suck the coolant in from the funnel, I would keep it topped off til it stopped taking it in. then before each start i would top it off again.
 
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Old 07-14-19, 09:24 AM
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If you have a thermostat in the engine, the thermostat must heat up to open allowing coolant to flow. I follow this procedure after I drain the coolant from the engine. I fill the coolant system to near top of radiator. With the radiator cap still off, I start and run engine and look for coolant flow (after thermostat opens), After a few minutes to allow any air to escape, I fill the radiator to top and replace radiator cap. Hope this helps.
 
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Old 07-14-19, 11:48 AM
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If you have a thermostat in the engine, the thermostat must heat up to open allowing coolant to flow. I follow this procedure after I drain the coolant from the engine. I fill the coolant system to near top of radiator. With the radiator cap still off, I start and run engine and look for coolant flow (after thermostat opens), After a few minutes to allow any air to escape, I fill the radiator to top and replace radiator cap.
That's all I have ever done, never did anything else. If you are having overheating problems now and didn't have them before I would question the new radiator you installed. Unless of course you messed something else up while changing it, double check everything.
 
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Old 07-14-19, 11:57 AM
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just tried a couple more times,.. this time I have the actual 'burping funnel" after it reaches temp, and the stat upens, its does push coolant to the point of overflowing the funnel,.. then after a bit it will show signs of air moving, bubbles though dont seem to be as much as the air sounds like. after my last attempt I put the cap back on, after it sucked as much as it was going to back in,... made sure the overflow was full so it could take more in, gonna let it set for a bit.
 
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Old 07-14-19, 01:02 PM
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not so much overheating , but the temp is going up higher than normal for sure, and still hearing air in the radiator.
 
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Old 07-14-19, 03:09 PM
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FIXED!!!! turns out Autozone packing puts AN EXTRA PLUG in the return port of the radiate, not just the two external rubber covers, one on each,. there was a third one INSIDE one of the ports. and yeah, its black and was tucked all the way in the friggin hole!!! now first off, why not make it orange so it stands out, and second, why only in one end? had to be a screw up.
But thank you very much to those who offered any kind of advice/help! it is always very much appreciated!
 
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Old 07-14-19, 03:22 PM
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SANCTA SIMPLICITAS! As always.
And all you had to do was to hand check to and from engine hoses, for even temperature. Otherwise, with limited through radiator flow, one would have been colder and "softer".
 
 

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