Planned to do my plugs and wires today, gave up and decided to order the IM gasket as I have no idea how I could get back to the coils, had a new serp belt to install and T-Stat so I decided to change over from Dexcool to Peak Lifetime, and long story short, I have NO Heat now and overheated after 10 minutes drive time..

Details in hope of helping you guys troubleshoot: I pulled the bottom rad hose, did not mess with the cylinder block drain plugs(as advised on the forum), drained it, ran water through the top hose, filled the reservoir with water, let it sit, hooked everything back up, ran it for a few minutes, and repeated three times.

I filled it up with Peak, started it up, it sucked it all down and then I filled it until I got it leveled off at the line, had a really healthy return stream, everything good, had about a gallon and a half in. One thing, I had forgot to put in the Water wetter, and I added it thinking it would not be a deal, and it was definitely really full, bubbling up right to the top and then dropping back down, and then after two minutes started bubbling over. I let about 8 Oz bubble over so that it would not be too full, and then put the cap on.

Drove to pick up food, only cold air which scared me, but it stayed pegged on the temp gauge, but I thought it looked a micrometer above the line, got out, popped the hood, and looked like there was not coolant in the tank and I had a few drops on the ground.

Put some more coolant in, about 16 oz. drove off, 1/4 mile down the road the gauge hops up, pull into a parking lot, cranked the temperature, shut it down and called for a ride.

Could I have purchased a bad T'stat from Atlantic British? Did the overflow cause problems? Is my truck addicted to Dex Cool? Please help!!!

 

You did not bleed all the air out of the cooling system.

 

Maybe I am missing something with the bleed, I have read the instructions 100 times and it seems so simple but it gets everyone in trouble. So all i need to do is fill it without the bleed screw and then let it heat with the cap off for 5-10 minutes?

 

How much coolant does one of these trucks take anyway? I thought I had it full but maybe the T-stat was not opening and it was not full?

 

I think its a little less than 3 gallons of coolant. Basic bleeding is to Lift & hold up the reservior tank. It unclips from its holding brackets. Fill the coolant tank 2 inches over the Full line. Bleed it till there are no more bubbles. Then bleed it some more. Massage/squeeze the coolant lines to help push through bubbles. That is what I did when performing a full flush. It worked great.

 

Our truck hold two gallons of coolant. You did not bleed the system before starting the first time. Before Starting>Fill coolant tank, unclip and raise the tank with the bleeder screw out. When fluid starts flowing out bleeder replace screw. Re secure tank. Leave coolant cap off..start and run the truck to operating temp with the heater controls set to high. Add coolant as necessary during operation. Replace coolant tank cap with engine running. Do not shut the engine off then replace your coolant cap as it will suck in air.

 

FYI...It isn't required, but it helps to have the front end of the truck elevated when you bleed the cooling system using the methods above. I just put my front wheels up on ramps before I bleed it...seems to work pretty well.

 

Make sure the heater is set on high temp. The idea of pulling the overflow tank and raising it may break the brittle plastic lines. Another suggestion is to use a tall funnel - you can buy it at advance or auto zone - that you can snug fit into the opening raising the level of the coolant above the bleed screw position and then bleed it as suggested.

 

Yes. While it's true that you could break the plastic lines, they shouldn't be THAT brittle. If they are, then they need to be replaced anyway and you're better off breaking one while you're standing there bleeding the system than having it fail while you're out driving around...

 

Well, after all these replys, if you are still having problems, send me your number and I'll cqall and walk you thru this.