car - 1.8 2006 Mk 2 ford focus sport TDCI.

think it has air lock.

Fill expansion tank and drive a short while, half hour later the bottle appears empty yet It does not overheat and still blows hot air and when removing cap the water rushes up and fills bottle then gurgles back down.
I keep water in car in case of emergency but despite the bottle showing empty I can drive for weeks with hot air still blowing inside and no overheating but I decide to just top it up anyway after a while, but as said as soon as I top bottle up it shows empty 30 mins or so later yet can still drive it for ages / weeks without problems.

how would I bleed the air out if it has any trapped in the cooling system ? it has no bleed things as far as I am aware.

What if I take cap off and drive but not let ti get to low and keep topping it up (without bottle getting empty)

 

I find a good run out sorts it , but before you take it out for a drive loosen the radiator bottom hose or better still remove the jubilee clip this will allow the air lock to dissipate, especially if you've given it some been down the bypass

Ignore any steam from the bonnet this is normal when using this method ,just keep on nailing it...

Let us know how you get on matey

 

removing the clip will most likely cause the hose to come loose and fall off causing an overheat !

What about half filling expansion tank, with cap off and heat blowing inside car drive it but making sure the bottle doesn't run dry and keep topping it up ?

 

If you can find someone willing to do that whilst driving down the road then yes i would try that or if you can get hold of a well trained monkey, that would do it as it wiuld be vastly more agile than any human

 

Put a straw in the header tank and suck the bubbles out

 

Google is your friend:

http://www.focushacks.com/mod/Coolin...,_and_Bleeding

 

The fact that the level has dropped probably means that it has self-bled. Just top it up

 

use the same sort of bubbles from a spirit level and job done!!

pop down to B+Q and see if they have any left as it's common practice in the rally world so they are usually out of stock

 

doesn't matter how many times I top it up it still seems empty after 20 mins or so, however still drives for hundreds of miles without overheating and still blows hot air, I keep water in car in case needs be.
When I loosen/take off rad cap water rushes up to top of header tank, then gurgles back down near bottom


do you think it is air lock ?

 

use a central heating auto air bleed,works a treat on my dax
its next to the indicator stalk,it makes sort of a shhhhh noise,then i know its done its job,but don't get the noise confused with your turbo dump valve.
hope this helps

 

Fill the exhaust with expanding foam, the slight increase in back pressure will push the airlock from the cooling system.

 

I would run the car up to temp and use a hose pipe to keep filling until it overflows, it MUST be going somewhere.