2" BL done, blowing Upper Rad hose

[DJQuin]

Alright... I just completed my 2" BL and have created a problem. On reassembly, the upper rad hose popped off and proved to be too short after the lift. I replaced the hose with one from the parts store (The one from the 90 something pickup a lot of people use.) and trimmed the length to fit properly. I took a quick test drive and after warming to operating temp, it popped off at the radiator again, this time giving a SES light. The connection point was on a curve in the hose so I trimmed it back a bit (I had wiggle room) and re-installed it, topped off the antifreeze and tried to run it again, it went from bone cold and jumped immediately to overheating and blew the hose off the radiator connection point again. The lower rad hose is fine, no pinches or binding. The heater core connections at the firewall and off the block are fine as well, no leaks, no binding. There is now no heat inside the truck. Thermostat locked up? Heater core blown? Please... HALP!

 

[DJQuin]

Sharing the response I received elsewhere for search purposes:

BIG Thank you to CaptainMOrgan_SOS for this write up:

I had this exact same problem when I did my body lift. Go to Autozone and they have 2 radiator hoses for a 1st gen Xterra. One is longer than the other on the end of the hose that connects to the radiator. Get the longer one. You will need to trim it a tad, but when you do, don't do too much; make sure it slides ALL the way on the tube part it connects to the radiator. Make sure it is touching your radiator. Then put the clamp about 1/8 to 3/16 from the radiator and tighten it down. DO NOT FILL YOUR RADIATOR WITH COOLANT YET.

The next step you need to do is "burp" your engine . There is a bolt that sits on top of the intake manifold, directly beneath the throttle cable. You can see it in the pic below; it is on the right side when you are looking into the engine bay from the front, the throttle cable runs right over it and there are 2 hoses coming out of the intake to its immediate right. It is not holding anything down, it is just there.

Take off that bolt, but keep it close. DO NOT LOSE THE COPPER CRUSH WASHER ON IT. Now, fill your radiator. Once you think you are getting close to full, slow down and watch the hole where that bolt was removed. As soon as you see coolant coming out of that hose, stop filling and immediately put that bolt back on, tightly.

The reason for doing this is because it is likely that by overheating and losing fluid, you got an air bubble up in the intake and you need to get rid of it or you will keep overheating.

Sorry if this was a little long winded, but I hope this helps.