Heater Not Hot

[Walker]

I have a 2004 grand voyager 2.8 ltd, I have just rebuilt the engine after replacing a cracked cylinder liner.

All ok but the heater does not get hot, the thermostat, pump, radiator are all new, I suspect an air lock in the coolant system and would like to know if anyone has any tips or suggestions on bleeding the system.

Thanks

[QinteQ]

They are self-bleed via the expansion bottle. Just the usual, take off the pressure cap and wait .. .. a long time. These 2.8 lumps take a very long time to warm and never reach the half-way mark, indeed often bever get past a quarter even in a stonking summer. During this bleeding / burping process the heater setting in the cab should be at its hottest, and the fan should be on in order to clear any trapped air in the heater matrix. You should be able to verify the throughput volume of coolant by looking at the RHS input pipe on the above pic, there should be a steady strong visible squirt every second or so into the expansion bottle and both hoses shoud be hot to the touch indicating that the stat is open, [all stats are fail safe only ever in a open position, yours is supposed to open at 88°C] and that the fluid is going through the heater matrix and the water pump is operating well. Coolant not getting to and through the heater core is a favourite for air locks on any vehicle.

 

Good luck lad !