I have a new problem that I hope someone can help me out with. I changed my thermostat yesterday and didn't get a chance to top off the coolant. So today I figured I'd drive the truck to Kragen and buy some coolant then top off. as I drove it there I notice the temp guage warmed up relatively quickly. It went up to 200 then started to go just passed the 200 notch. it would go back and forth slowly like that. I figured that air got in the system so I took it to a steep hill (I live in San francisco, gotta love those hills) and bled the air out. no luck, still does the same thing. Am I missing a step here? Do I need to reset the pcm? I'm starting to get kind of paranoid and I don't like it. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

take the cap off the radiator and let it idle. wait for the tstat to open and let it burp the air out. cap it up and go.

 

let me start off by saying thanks for the quick reply. i really appreciate it. as i stated in the previous message, i did that already. I took it to a steep hill. the front of the truck was pointing up. opened the cap, and bled the air out, but still the same result. any other suggestions...even a shot in the dark? could it be the fan clutch?

 

You more than likely got a bad stat. Do a search on here the issue is all over the place. Main cause: faulty thermostat, mainly found on the cheap stats that are inhouse brands in most parts stores.

 

I didn't get a cheap stat. my wallet knows that much, but thats what I think happened. I've never received a defective part...ever. so this is my first go round. I've gotten my share of wrong parts, but not defective. I'll follow up on that. thanks Laramie and pcfixer

 

Yea even high dollar thermostats can be faulty. You can try putting it in a pot of boiling water to see if it will open correctly before you take it back, and do all that work to replace the damn thing.

 

"Invest" in a Stant Super Stat.

 

and if there is no bleed hole in the diaphram, drill one, does not need to be big, use a very small drill bit. this will allow air to escape during the re-fill process. I'll bet you have an air pocket trapping air which is not allowing the stat to open.

 

Thats what it sounds like to me too.... thats why I said what I said even though he already tried it. wish ya luck OP.

 

Good one. Nice way to come back on me with that word. In all seriousness, why use stant superstat? I use Fail-Safe thermostats only because if you start to over heat, it will trigger the stat to lock open so you won't stuck on the side of the road. People don't plan on overheating their truck or car. From my experiance, it almost ALWAYS happens when you LEAST expect it...or for that matter when you don't want it to.
thanks again everyone...