I referred to the tools in the post I was talking about and gave a little cost analysis of the mechanic verses DIY But I don't see that post anywhere on the thread. Can you see it?

 

Still have not been able to get it completely full. Having a little overheating still but kind of think it is what the one person said about hot air pockets or a sticking thermostat. Been adding fluid to the overflow which is getting sucked up. When I stop hearing noises in the heater core will see if I still have the issues and if so when weather breaks gonna throw in a new thermostat. Hoping it is not something else like head gaskets but will stop at Autozone to get it tested next few days. Can drive it fine and it gets a bit warm and then goes down to normal operating temp. Heat is operating pretty good anyway. Don't know what happened to that post but just wanted to impart my gratitude for all the help you guys offered. Thanks...it was much appreciated. Will follow up later.

 

I found it, It just needed to be approved .

 

Thank you. :-)

 

If your pulling coolant into the cylinders you will have a lot of steam coming out of your exhaust and it will have a sweat smell. I doubt you have a blown head gasket. You probably just have a little air still in the system. These trucks can be tricky to burp without a pressure filler. A little FYI in cold weather it is normal for he temp to go past operating temp the first few times durring warm up as the coolant in the radiator isnt circulated until the thermostat opens so it is around the same temp as the outside air... when the stat opens it rapidly cools down and closes. it keeps doing this till it eventually finds a happy median... its called thermostat flare up. To the paranoid eye it can sometimes look like it is very slightly overheating... If its just irregularly spiking then immediately dropping back down then its hot air pockets. if it does it at regular intervals then the thermostat is on its way out. Glad to see your saving yourself a bit of money... Dont spread the word though or i might find myself out of a job lol.

 

Thanks KSteng. Pretty sure it was just air pockets. Seems to have stopped. Also the overflow tank stopped getting emptied. Will be flushing heater core and throwing in a new stove-top tested thermostat with the two drill holes as recommended over the summer. Heater is better but not like it used to be. Thanks EVERYONE. You guys are the best. :-)