Radiator, thermostat, coolant issues... Help

[guyph_01]

Hi guys,

I've bought this EJ22 liberty that had a blown 4wd auto box so i converted it to a D/R manual box. I have put everything together and started the car.

The cars starts fine, gets warm needle get to normal temp and fans starts but, water level in the rad keep going up(the excess coolant is not hot), the top hose gets hot but the bottom hose stays cool, Fans do not stop turnning, needle stays at the same Warn level all the time. I have let the car run for about 30-45mins, turning it off 1-2mins apart but all that happens is collant don't over flow anymore.

I though it was the thermostat, took everything apart, replaced the thermostat, fill the rad up with the bleeder open and same thing happens.

What could it be?
A second ****ed thermostat?
A blocked rad?
A very persistant air bubble?

Never had this before!!!!:S

I have no idea and can't figure it out. Hope you guys have better ideas
thx
Guy

[TOONGA]

the first thing you want to try is flushing the radiator / engine it could have a lot of sludge in it

then check for coolant leaks in the head area (cool be a weeping head gasket)

good luck TOONGA

[steptoe]

can you try without the thermostat? not sure if ECU switches the fans on or just a sender which might not be happy or has it AC which may turn fans on?

[AndrewT]

This is a direct quote from Al of AM Auto (pro subaru mechanic, frequents the RSlibertyclub.org forums);

-----------------------------------------
"The air trapped often can not be bled out once it is in the system for a period of time. I usually dump the coolant and start again. I use a castrol brake fluid bottle with the bottom cut out of it as a header tank to add more head pressure to the system. Leave one heater hose disconnected and fill the bottle(it is pushed into the radiator cap hole and the reservoir hose is blocked), once coolant runs out of the engine end heater outlet, block it off with your finger and keep filling till coolant comes out of the heater core end of the hose. Sometimes I even force more pressure into the header to force all the air out of the core.
Reconnect the heater hose and fill the tank up. Jack the front of the car up till the rear bumper hits the ground and start it. This is the important part. You have to repeatedly rev the engine from idle to about 4k while the thermostat is shut to quickly circulate coolant through the heater core and remove any trapped air. Continue revving the engine until it get's to temp and then wait till the fans cycle before removing the header and fitting the rad cap.

Hard to explain but the only way to do it properly. This is the official method of preventing air pockets in Liberty's from Subaru.(Except for the cut off bottle , that was a genuine part$$$)"
-----------------------------------------


Give it a go...

[Alex]

fill up the motor with coolant via the top radiator hose. We had exact same problem when trying to bleed the motor we swapped on saturday. Worked strait away.

Also leave that bleed cap valve thing on loose until it gets to pressure and spews out water only.

cheers

alex