Just changed the headgasket, block and radiator were completley drained. I filled up the block through the top of the cylinder head when i still had the upper coolant neck off the car. I then filled up the expansion tank until i had water coming out of the high point vent. Turned the car on.. full heat and let it run and opened the vent again, got a steady stream of coolant. All seemed well so far.
I drove the car over 150 miles yesterday as a shakedown. Runs great on the highway and even around town. Temps never go much higher than the first white line on my dash gauge and my aftermarket gauge dosent read higher than 190-200 degrees. The aftermarket gauge is reading off the upper radiator hose.
However when i come to a stop and let the car idle for maybe 30-60 seconds, the temperature steadily raises up to about 210 degrees on my aftermarket gauge. I dont trust the dash gauge as it only reads about halfway, once it went up to just under the 2nd white line. I think the dash gauge is off by about 10-15 degrees when comparing to my after market.
I am just wondering if this sounds like i have air in the system or not. I am not loosing coolant nor does the car overheat. It just seems to run a bit hotter than it used to before the headgasket fiasco. Fans still come on also.
Going to try and bleed it more this weekend. Any other reasons this would be happening?
I came across this nice diagram that shows the actual temperature with the dash gauge...
and for us Americans, i converted the 'C to 'F.
BTW, has anyone wired a LED or light to come on when the fans kick on? Any idea how i can do this? I am not very electrical savy...thats why i am a mechanical engineer
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