96 Caviler cooling problems?

[Slowhawk]

 My daily driver(96 Caviler 2.2 5sp)has a weird cooling problem.
 Here's what I did.
 With 124k miles I changed the coolant,waterpump,and T-stat.I bleed the air out of the system.First the coolant,then the rest while trying to get rid of this problem.
 Now when driving the temp gauge is higher reading 3/4,but when I bring up the rpm the temp will go down to 1/4-1/2.
 The car doesn't go into the red ,but close anough to keep an eye on it.
 Also the damn coolant light won't go off-cooolant is full and I disconnected the battery-still on.
 Any Ideas?

[99VenomSVT]

I think you still have some air in the system. Is there any special proceedure to bleeding the system ?? If there is no air in the system the your new water pump is probably bad.

[Slowhawk]

 Could be air.There is no procedure in the manual.I opened the bleed valves a couple of times already.
 The problem started after the antifreeze change.Since then I changed the T-stat and pump.

[slyex]

Is your low coolant warning switch in the overflow tank? How are you actually bleeding the system? I have an adapter that sits on the radiator with a funnel, then you run it until the t-stat opens and the coolant drains from the funnel. Do you have heat? Thats another good indicator of air in the system.

[Slowhawk]

 I have heat(very hot)
I bleed the system by the 2 bleeder screws on the motor.
The overflow tank is the main tank w/sensor.I've topped it off and let it blow through the pressure cap.

[Mustang5L5]

When I do coolant flushes, I fill the rad like this. First off I turn the heat on max to cycle it through. I pour a whole bottle of coolant into the radiator and then a another bottle of pure water. Then I have a mix sitting nearby. I start the motor and let it warm up adding enough of the mix to keep the rad full. When the t-stat opens you can tell because the coolant level drops. Just keep adding til the car is at operating temp and the level doesn't drop. Rev the car a few times. Actually, when it starts to get hot you will notice the coolant start to heat up, expand and bubble out. That's when i toss the cap on the rad and fill the overflow bottle up to the FULL HOT line. Then I go for a ride, check things out and when I come back i check the overflow again.

Things to check on cooling system:

Does the fan come on?
Is the coolant fresh?
Is the T-stat sticking?
Bad water pump?
Check rad fins, are the bent?
Check inside of rad for calcium deposits (you should only use distilled water in it.)

[slyex]

I guess the big factor is the fact that it happened after the coolant flush. So unless it's coincidence, something isn't right there. If racing the motor brings the temp down, then it's not flowing normal. It has to be an airpocket.

[99VenomSVT]

Stupid question, did you put the thermostat in correctly ? In the right direction ?

[Slowhawk]

 Like it was said,probly an air pocket since it all started after the coolant change.
 This car is freeky on adding coolant.You can not add coolant directly into the radiator.You have to put it into the resivor,then it flows to the radiator.The pressure cap is on the resivor tank.
 I'm going to try jacking the pass side of the car up(fill bottle the highest point)and bleed it again.

[slyex]

That kind of system really sucks. The worst I've come by is a mercury villager that literally takes 45min to bleed because of the rear heater core

[Slowhawk]

 It was a bad freeking T-stat   (new)
I took a lazer heat gun to it,at 220deg it would open.
So I put a new one in and drilled a 1/8 hole in it.The gauge is lower while driving and doesn't go up on back roads.Tommorow I'll take a temp reading.