Hello. I recently acquired an 2007 ES350 3.5(92K) that had been sitting. It had overheated. I took a look and noticed the inlet nipple was cracked going into radiator. replaced the radiator and it ran hot while sitting in the driveway.. Checked it for air lock while filling coolant into it. It appeared to fill with coolant fine. Is there a second bleeder valve other than the one at the front of the motor on the inlet housing? I checked by the exit port from the motor and could not find one. I pulled the thermostat and hot water tested it( i know that is not always accurate but a start) it opened up long before it got to a rolling boil. There are NO leaks anywhere. No noise coming from the water pump. There was not any significant water loss like it there would be from a blown head gasket or cracked head. I'm going to try a new thermostat tomorrow anyway when i get of work tomorrow. Anyone have any ideas?

 

Use a temp gun to measure a few spots on the engine and rad. Make sure that it is not a gauge problem first. Also check the oil to make sure there is no antifreeze in it. You might want to get the coolant checked for gasses where the head gasket has an internal leak. Also the water pump.

 

Do the electric cooling fans turn on? They are thermoswitch activated and the thermoswitch can go bad.

I do not recall if there are 1 or 2 fans. If 2, then one usually comes on with the A/C and the other is operated by thermoswitch.

 

they both come on at around 160 degrees

 

Maybe power flush the entire cooling system in case there are clogs somewhere. Or your water pump is shot and cannot move enough water to cool the motor doe to blade corrosion or internal failure.

 

I'd open the radiator cap when the car is cool - start it, and start watching for coolant transfer in/out of radiator, making sure coolant is flowing good. is your heater working? if not, possible sign of something blocked. is it only over heating while sitting in drive way or when going down road? if going down road, then maybe something is missing that directs cool air into radiator fins. Are your radiator fins clogged, should not be if new.....? - just a few ideas. in the end, its all about coolant transfer to radiator and air flow over the fins.

 

I don't remember a bleeder valve at the inlet housing. There is one on the intake, visible through the black, wire protective wrapping.




Some more tips from Scotty:

And Eric the Car Guy

 

Ha! I love Scotty Kilmer! His videos are great. ChrisFix is another good YouTube source on car DIY.