I just completed a waterpump change and flushed the system with distilled water. I have filled the system according to the Rave manual. After it gets to operating temp it still blows cold air. I felt all the hoses and the elbow coming from the bottom of the radiator to the bottom of the thermostat is cold.

How do I fix this. Thanks

 

Is the temp gauge coming up at all? I know these things can be a real problem to bleed sometimes, are you sure there's no air trapped in the system?
My GMC did this same exact thing a couple weeks ago when I flushed and refilled the system. I took it out on the road and floored it and within seconds, I had heat! Just a thought. Good luck.

 

I am thinking trapped air but want to make sure I don't f anything up

 

Jack the front up a foot or so. Open the bleed screw.

 

x2^
Cold air with heater on means air in heater core,,,
Thermostat not opening (lower hose cold) means air in system,,,
Do you hear waterfall sound under dash, when sitting inside,?
It's hard to get air out of heater core by just simple bleeding because heater sits higher than rest of system, try raising front tires about a foot (put something under them). That will make front of engine higher than heater, Then bleed system while cold, & fill reservoir to full line & tighten cap, run engine till gets to operating temp, (while front is still raised).
Run till thermostat opens at least 2-3 times, then turn engine off & let it completely cool off,
(Front still raised) that directs air to highest point which is reservoir,,,,
You will notice that collant level dropped in reservoir , top off to correct level, then keep eye on level for next few days & top off if necessary,
It usually takes few cycles of engine getting hot & cooling down to get rid of all air,,
(Stupid design for placement of heater core by L.R.)

 

The trick of raising the expansion tank (it easily clips out) above the engine until coolant comes out of the bleed screw always works for me. Just make sure you wait until it's just fluid coming out and quickly put in the screw. Keep the expansion tank full and keep it raised until you have the screw in.

 

Yeah, these systems can be a little difficult to get them fully bled. Did you raise the reservoir and run the engine for a while with the cap off? That usually helps.

 

I did not elevate and run without the cap. Will try that withe the front end in the air.

 

I was thinking, I flushed the system with distilled water to remove the old antifreeze possibly Dex-cool. What is the chances that I did not get it all. Should I drain again and start over?

 

Chances are high you didn't get every scrap of old coolant out. But it doesn't matter. Unless you removed the full coolant drain plugs from the block (rave has that procedure). But I don't know of anyone that does that. With progressive flushes you just made the concentration weaker.

Sounds like you've been just a bit vigorous in flushing. And flushed some air into the system.

It will come out eventually.

Did you run the engine with no coolant at all? Even a couple of seconds, in an attempt to pump the coolant out?

What are the temperatures since replacing the coolant, any change?

Are you hearing waterfall sounds from behind the dash?