68jcode

I just completed the TB service on my 2001 2.7T which included water pump, thermostat, cam seals, tensioners etc... I searched and followed instructions for filling and bleeding the cooling system, but it doesn't seem to be working. Here's what I did:
1)Slowly fill the coolant tank until coolant is at the top line. I let it set for a few and refilled when it went down. It took about 1.5 gallons so far (note, when I did the TB service, I drained from the lower radiator hose and also what came out from replacing the water pump. I didn't drain the block). I left the cap off the coolant tank for this procedure.
2)pulled back the top hose going into the heater core enough to expose the bleeder hole.
3)Ran the car with the heat setting on highest setting for at least 15 minutes, could have been 20.

I didn't get any coolant coming out of the bleeder hole and the top hose inlet on the heater core was cold, while the bottom heater core hose was hot. I also noticed the lower radiator hose was cold, while the top radiator hose was hot. I cracked the bleeder next to the drivers side head and coolant immediately came out, so I closed it. What am I doing wrong? The temp guage was in the middle, so the engine should have gotten hot enough to circulate the coolant. Please tell me I don't have a bad thermostat?

scooter80

Bad thermostat is the first thing that comes to my mind... sorry.
It sounds clear from your description that coolant is not circulating, and I doubt air bubbles would be the cause as you would typically have some circulation with air in the system. But none (as evidenced by the cold lower hose) is almost certainly a closed thermostat.

4Driver4

Was the cap on when you tried to bleed out the heater core?

68jcode

I was afraid it might be the thermostat. It's brand new from Blau, so it is supposed to be the good stuff! Is it possible I did something wrong when I installed it? It seemed pretty hard to screw up. Put on the o-ring, place thermostat in the housing with the bar going across in the horizontal position, bolt the cover/manifold back on. Do these things fail DOA sometimes?

4Driver4 - I had the cap off during the first 15 minutes of the process and put it on for about the last 5 minutes. Didn't seem to make a difference.

I can't believe I have to remove the bumper and carrier again for this. What a huge friggin PITA!

WOWDee

I replaced the T-belt only to replace the pump and stat 6 months later ..... at least the process is fresh in your mind.

68jcode

I know, I can't believe I have to tear this down again. I knew it went too easy. So my million dollar question is, do I need to remove the timing belt in order to remove the thermostat housing cover? I could only find one thread where 1 person said it could be done and another said he couldn't do it. The thread said to release tension on the belt and slide it forward on the cam sprockets, but leaving it on. This would allow me to avoid the very worst part of the process for me, which was getting that $%#@$ crankshaft locking pin put in. Lastly, I am considering putting the old thermostat back in a)because i know it works and b)because I have it and don't have to wait for another to be shipped. I know it's nt ideal, but the brand new one I just put in was DOA, so I'm less than confident that another new one will be any different. Arg... I will call Blau in the morning to discuss before I do anything. Maybe I will ask them to ship me another one overnight. I know that is probably a better thing to do. I think I will test it in a boiling pot of water to make sure it opens before I install it. They should add that step to all the instructions to avoid problems like this.

68jcode

I can't believe I am going to have to tear this thing down again!!! I am going to call Blau in the morning and have them overnight me a replacement and will check that it opens in a pan of boiling water before installing. Wish the instructions suggested this step in the first place.

So the million dollar question is, do I need to remove the timing belt in order to get the thermostat out? I found one thread where someone said you just need to slide the belt out to the end of the sprockets, but keep it on and another guy who said he tried, but couldn't get it. Keeping the belt on would allow me to avoid the very worst part of the TB service for me which was putting in the $#@% crank lock. It's in the worst place in the world and probably ate up 1.5 hours of time. Anyone had luck with this before?

4Driver4

It won't build pressure without the cap on. That's why you got nothing out the heater core hose.

4Driver4

I recommend some diagnostic work before tearing the car apart based on an internet armchair assessment. No offense to scooter, but do a little more digging before you go crazy.

Personally, I like to bleed the system with compressed air when the car is cold. Works great.

scooter80

None taken. Hopefully there is another solution. I was just going on the description of the problem. Good Luck indeed.