Just burped the M

[Aonghus]

So I had a messy overheating episode a few months ago, had a lot going on, couldnt afford even a diagnostic and so I had to park the M for a few months, starting it and running it around the block once a week, and like clockwork it started overheating even though the coolant reservoir was full...

Anyway, last week I read about the burping procedure, and went out today and did it. The system ate 3/4 gallon of coolant mixture through the burping process, and now it is running without overheating. I took it out and ran about 10 miles, and no trouble.

Now, I'm wondering about the next step. Obviously 3/4 gallon of coolant didnt just evaporate from a closed system... Do I need to replace the thermostat and have the entire cooling system gone over before I trust it for any serious driving, or if this burping process works, has it been known to have been a stand alone problem, and dudes regularly just keep on trucking after burping the system?

[fastblackmerc]

So I had a messy overheating episode a few months ago, had a lot going on, couldnt afford even a diagnostic and so I had to park the M for a few months, starting it and running it around the block once a week, and like clockwork it started overheating even though the coolant reservoir was full...

Anyway, last week I read about the burping procedure, and went out today and did it. The system ate 3/4 gallon of coolant mixture through the burping process, and now it is running without overheating. I took it out and ran about 10 miles, and no trouble.

Now, I'm wondering about the next step. Obviously 3/4 gallon of coolant didnt just evaporate from a closed system... Do I need to replace the thermostat and have the entire cooling system gone over before I trust it for any serious driving, or if this burping process works, has it been known to have been a stand alone problem, and dudes regularly just keep on trucking after burping the system?

Did it just overheat?

Did you have any work done recently?

Your thermostat might have stuck closed.

[Aonghus]

Did it just overheat?

Did you have any work done recently?

Your thermostat might have stuck closed.

Yeah, it overheated out of nowhere. Boiled over actually. And no, I hadn't had any work done. It overheated, I pulled it over, had it towed home, filled the reservoir, and then just started it and ran it around the block periodically to keep the internals lubricated (and yeah, the temp headed north every time I started it. I shut it down before it got too hot each time.)

At this point its great that it isnt overheating but Im kinda afraid to trust it. Then again, I dont want to take it to a dealer and cough up 200 bones for nothing.

[fastblackmerc]

I'd replace the thermostat and flush the cooling system.

[MOTOWN]

i had the same problem @ 20k!, turned out to be a bad heater core, on the dealers dime