Getting hot at idle. Second opinion please

[HSVenforcer]

Hi all, replaced radiator and cap about 2 months ago and in the last month or so been noticing that when i am driving it is sitting about a needle width higher on the temp guage and it gets hot quickly when i am stopped at the lights. Once i get moving it cools down pretty quickly.

I am thinking its the thermostat and just discovered how much of a pain it is to do. Is this likely to be thermostat or should i look elsewhere first?

Radiator and cap replaced with genuine parts along with new hoses and clamps.

Thanks

 

[yamahahatim]

Are your thermo fans working???? or, air lock in cooling system????

 

[HSVenforcer]

thermo fans work well. as far as i can tell there is no airlock it seems to have purged the air out ok (is there anything that stands out as evidence of air lock i might be missing?)

 

[99notout]

Bleed the system properly from the radiator bleed screw, not a bad idea to have the front of the car on ramps as well while doing it. I bet there is an air bubble in the system. Remember to have the heater full on while doing it.

 

[HSVenforcer]

Thanks for the reply. I will give it a go now

 

[HSVenforcer]

got it up on stands as i dont have ramps that fit under my lowered car. would you believe it she doesnt wanna get hot!! monitoring with Torque Pro and sitting at 93'c and happy atm. I did however get a small bit of air from the bleed valve. gonna keep it running and see how it goes.

 

[HSVenforcer]

If i said i got 2 small discharges of air do you think that would be enough. Torque Pro says now at 103'c and fairly stable. Looking like its not the thermostat after all

 

[HSVenforcer]

got a bit coming out now. thanks for your help looks like that was the problem

 

[diysv6]

If the cooling system has been bled at the radiator top tank and the heater tap/heater radiator has been primed and working properly, then the thermostat could be the culprit. On my VZ, when the cooling system is running nicely there is a smooth swirl pattern in the coolant at the radiator cap filler point. Don't know if this is universal.


Some other check points if it continues:

Are you losing any water? The coolant should be within about 10mm of the lower radiator cap seal on the inlet pipe. ie almost full.

Is the overflow tank filled to the circles/triangles markers? In the alloytec it is about 550ml of coolant.
Have you any idea of the water pump's performance? No gland seal leaks, or gasket leaks? No O ring leaks on the thermostat heater pipes, cold water inlet to the thermostat, and radiator filler pipe? No slipping of the serpentine belt? Belt tensioner OK within the markers?

 

[HSVenforcer]

Hi sorry for the delayed reply i have been away from my comp for a bit.

I do get that swirling when the cap is off and there are no leaks or slipping of the belt. After elevating the front for a while with the engine running i did get some air out and it seems to have done the trick.

Thanks for the assistance, much appreciated.