Radiator bleeding problems

Hi Guys, car is a 1991 sportline cabriolet.

The nightmare started when the radiator sprung a leak last week, I removed it and being curious decided to see if a 16v (mk2) radiator and fan would fit. The rad fitted fine but the fan fouled the oilcooler, so ever more curious I swapped it for a Rallye fan and shroud and the whole lot slotted in perfectly.

Unfortunately now I can't seem to bleed the system sucessfully. I start by filling the system with coolant from the expansion tank leaving the cap off, then let the engine warm up. Checking the water hoses in the order of matrix hoses, top rad hose then bottom rad hose. when I feel the bottom rad hose getting warm I put the cap back on but what happens then is the hoses, shortly, go solid and then the cap releases pressure after a few minutes.

To top it all off the fan then stopped cutting in, think the thermo switch went, so temporarily I swapped in a G60 switch as the temps were similar.

Is there something I'm doing wrong, I've tried all different ways of filling it up and when I put the cap on the tank but no result!!

Please someone help  

You could try the method below ? Have you flushed the new radiator before you fitted to check it was okay ?



It is not that difficult a job to get the air out of your car radiator. You don't need professional help for this as its easy enough to be done at home manually. Firstly start your engine with the radiator cap off to avoid building up of pressure and let the engine run for approximately fifteen minutes. Then turn on your heater and turn it up to 'hot'.

This will help circulate the coolant and push out any trapped air. The space that is emptied by the air that has been flushed out could be now used to pour more coolant. Be careful as the air that has been released is quiet hot. Make sure you keep your hands miles away from it as you don't want any injuries. Then you just put the cap back on and wipe of the remaining fluid around it with a cloth or a rag.

Thanks chudd, was just getting a bit panicked. Turned out the water pump was cream crackered and wasn't circulating so getting a build up of pressure and obviously not bleeding  

So new waterpump did the trick and she lives to fight another day  

Thanks again

Nice one pleased you are sorted