Newb: Coolant Flush with AC delete? Keeps overheating

[AlexMac]

Hey guys,
I did a full tune up the other day (timing belt, water pump, thermostat, valve adjustment, valve cover gasket, plus, cap/rotor, new radiator tubing). That all went pretty well and while I was down there I took my ac pump and condenser/fan out considering the thing looked like it hadnt been working for quite some time and i have a convertible so who needs AC. Now, embarrassingly I have never done a coolant flush so thats the only part of the whole tune up that still has some work to be done. Ive tried bleeding it from the 8mm bolt about 20 times, each time I have a bunch of air come out and then it goes to solid coolant. The temp gauge goes to the half way mark and then starts creeping up as the car idles. As soon as I hit the accelerator for about 4 seconds the temp goes back down.

My question is: Does the fan on that condenser also cool the radiator enough where that would be the problem or do I still need to bleed the system properly.

Thanks for your help guys!

[Denniswhat]

You sure it's bled? Did you drill a little hole in the thermostat?

[jlevie]

The system may not be completely bled and/or the fan clutch could be weak or bad.

After bleeding the system (procedure below), with the engine and radiator at operating temperature drag a rolled up newspaper against the fan blade tips. If you can stop the fan, it needs to be replaced.

A cooling system that is operating properly should never need the aux fan. Its purpose is to provide additional airflow when A/C is in use.

1) Using ramps or a jack get the front of the car 1' or more higher than
the rear. That will make the radiator and bleed screw the highest point
on the engine and facilitate removal of air.

2) With the bleed screw open, add coolant until no more air comes out of
the bleed.

3) Leave the filler cap off, or at least loose, and set the heat for max
temp and fan speed. Leaving the cap loose will prevent air that's still
in the system from causing a "coolant fountain" once the engine heats
up. Start the engine and allow it to warm up to operating temp. As it
warms up occasionally crack the bleed screw to release any air and top
up the coolant as necessary.

4) Once the engine is at temp bring it up to 2000-2500rpm for a few seconds
several times. Then crack the bleed until no more air is released. At
this point the heater should be throwing lots of hot air, which
indicates that the heater core is filled with coolant. You may have to
repeat this a few times to get all the air out.

5) Drive the car a bit, allow it to cool back down, and recheck the
bleed for air. Over the next few days you may get very small amounts (a
few bubbles) of air out of the bleed screw.

[drumad]

I swear you have that permanently Ctrl+C'd.

[AlexMac]

Wow Jlevie... Thanks so much for spending the time to write that up for me. Clears a lot of things up and makes me feel a lot better. Appreciate the help!