Random Overheating Issues Help Needed

[quad_ova]

Car: I have 1989 Nissan 240SX 5-speed Ka24E
Whats been done: Replaced water pump, thermostat, some hoses, replaced coolant.
Issues that have popped up: The car overheats intermittently.

When: Today was about 75 degrees and after driving 30 minutes through the streets getting to my destination the car started to overheat. I turn off the car and I can hear the coolant system bubbling. I pop the hood to see what's going on in there and I see the reservoir tank is very full. All the hoses are hot to the touch even the heater hoses in the back. So I let the car sit for about 30 minutes and then I drive home which is another 25 minutes at a speed of 25 miles per hour the whole way. I noticed that cold air comes out cold and the hot comes out hot which is fine and normal. There's no AC on the car so it's literally just ventilation. I get home and the car didn't overheat. I let the car idle for 45 minutes with the vent off and vent on. Car doesn't overheat. I've noticed though that the temperature gauge is like one needle thickness higher than the usual temp gauge level.

This is the only time it's happened so far but I normally have a commute of 5 miles so I'm not too sure. I don't have much time to test it for longer so I'm going to try again hopefully soon. I am kind of hoping somebody recognizes this issue and might have some insight.

My gut feeling is either the coolant needs to be bled or that I need to replace the radiator. I told the shop to bleed it and I pointed to the bleeder valve but I really doubt they did that.

Side note: Before changing the water pump or anything like that the car never overheated it just hasn't been maintained for the last 10 years or so, so the coolant was brown. Decided to be pre-emptive and replace those when I bought the car.

If you made it through all of that, bravo. I wanted to be as descriptive as possible. Any ideas or suggestions or experiences with the issue?

[[240sx]]

Made it through the whole read.😅
Question: Was this the first (or longest) trip since the repairs?

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[quad_ova]

You deserve a milk dud! Yea it was the first longest trip so far. I am hoping I will have time Sunday to try again or maybe hop on the freeway but not too thrilled.

I should add that I also replaced the radiator cap and the coolant reservoir to troubleshoot this.

[[240sx]]

Alright!! So is it coming in the mail, or how does this work?🤣

Anywho,
I asked because I would bypass my heater every summer (Don't ask, Im an idiot) which would introduce air into the system. With my bleeder screw being snapped off, I would have to bleed the it through the radiator with the front of the car lifted as high as possible. If I didn't get it right, the car would boil over... sorta randomly, on my first long distance trip. Oddly enough, that would be the only time it would overheat, as if it blead it self by boiling over, purging itself of air. I suspect this is what you experienced due to the car not being properly blead, and you should be fine from here on out.

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[quad_ova]

Here is your gift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-LgmhL_WP4 if it works

Yea I was wondering if that would be the case.

[[240sx]]

Lol.
I know it's not tech advice that you could use to diagnose your problem, but it did happed to me just as you described. Car has never overheated on me otherwise, and I commute with it 90 miles daily.

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[quad_ova]

F-it. Road trip time. Ultimate test.