Bleeding nightmares...

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rgorke

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I got everything back together after my overheating episode, new radiator, DCCV, and upper hose. Everything else is 3-4 years new.

I bled the system using the manual's procedures twice but the temp keeps rising up into the mid 220s. I always monitor the temp via my OBD2 reader.

My thinking is that I was a bit hasty in filling through the fill top at the thermostat and have air pockets, especially with a new radiator.

What might be the best path forward?

Start over and patiently refill at the thermostat housing or use one of the vacuum fillers (radkitplus) to bleed out the system? Everything I have seen with the Radkitplus is that the cooling system is empty and then you pull a vacuum. Also, I presume the device attachs to the degas bottle or does it attach to the thermostat housing?

Finally, I am 99.9% sure I don't have a leak since everything has been replaced with Motorcraft parts in the past 3-4 years (except the DCCV and upper hose).
 
You really do have to follow the fill procedure to the letter.
Using a vacuum fill, you use the degas bottle cap.
I have found that the manual fill procedure will not work if the nose of the car is pointed up at all. Level can work, but having the nose pointed downward (rear on ramps of jack stands if you don't have a handy hill) makes it a good bit easier.
 
joegr said:
I have found that the manual fill procedure will not work if the nose of the car is pointed up at all. Level can work, but having the nose pointed downward (rear on ramps of jack stands if you don't have a handy hill) makes it a good bit easier.
Click to expand...
That’s probably a big part of my issue!
 
I filled the front fill cap with some additional fluid and did take Joe's advice and back my vehicle into the driveway. I went through the entire process again and more air splattered out. Then the temp started to climb again to the upper 220s and I turned off the engine. I could hear the aux pump going strong. I got under the engine and looked around for any leaks and low and behold a leak on the passenger side, under the DCCV and Aux.

I then tried to see from where it was coming and saw a drip from one of the top heater hoses into the DCCV, the one with the worm clamp. I have tried to keep constant tension hose clamps on all my hoses but for some reason, I couldn't find one when I was reassembling the system and had to use a worm clamp. Well, it was snug but not tight. I few turns with the ratchet and no more drip. UGH!!! Can I express how much I hate worm clamps?!?!? No I can't or maybe I can!!! I had even gone to the local auto parts store, the one named after a wine region in CA. I asked the kid behind the counter and he couldn't find them in their system. He then asked the "old smart guy" and his wisdom is "we don't well them, they're unreliable." I rolled my eyes at the kid and said, "disagree" and he concurred.

Anyway, temp stays below 210, not ideal but after all the bleeding, the degas bottle needs to be topped off.

Such a small thing that ends up being a very big thing.
 
Yep, I am not a fan of worm gear clamps on cars at all. They're okay on the garden fountain where the temperature doesn't vary much, and a drip here and there is not a big deal.
 
joegr said:
Yep, I am not a fan of worm gear clamps on cars at all. They're okay on the garden fountain where the temperature doesn't vary much, and a drip here and there is not a big deal.
Click to expand...
Yep, that and how they can tear into the hose makes me nervous. I never know how tight to tighten them...case in point, obviously not tight enough.

Is there a good list of which clamps go where for the cooling system? For example, the clamps for the DCCV are different than the clamp for the hose that comes off the upper hose and obviously different than the ones for the upper and lower hoses.

Many times I will grab some when I go to the junk yards, that's if I remember my trusty hose clamp tool and hose picks.
 
I have no such list. It will be good if there is one.
 
Every single leak I experience after engine cooling system work is always from a worm hose clamp. And I know I got them tight when I installed them. They still get loose. I find the same thing with my turbo hose clamps on my wrx-s. Every oil change, check and re-torque is my routine. I try to re-use all factory clamps, but some will not expand in diameter enough to make it over the thickness of the aftermarket hoses, usually the radiator hoses. Best of luck and keep an eye on your degas coolant level.
 
I suggest calling your local dealer, and get the part numbers and needed quantity of the factory clamps.

They even may be to tell you the sizes of the spring clamps.

So far... all of my clamps are holding up with 280k on the car.

IIRC... most (if not all) new hoses from the dealer have the clamps on the hoses.

They are tacked on with a little bit of glue... and the factory even has them "oriented" on the hoses properly.
 
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