Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I figured its better than starting a new one, and this one contains some good information for others experiencing this problem. That being said:

I had a coolant leak, and I could hear the air "sloshing" behind the dash. The leak turned out to be the thermostat, and the shop that replaced it was suppose to take care of the air in the line, but after I took my car back, I could still hear sloshing, and my expansion tank was basically empty.

Now I'm trying to bleed the system myself, so that I know that it had been done. I filled the expansion tank to minimum, drove the car to warm the fluids and the engine and proceeded to bleed the system. Open valves until fluid comes out, drive around a bit more, open valves, drive, open valves, drive....

Five times I've done this now and I can still hear some sloshing, albeit less than when I started, but five times and I still have air? Is this normal?

 

Be sure to keep the tank full....if you get it low enough to uncover the tube going into it....it will suck air back into the system as you bleed it. Sounds like you are on the right track.....expect to refill the tank 2 or 3 times to get the air purged out. Also the heat should be on max, and the car should be hot enough to allow the thermostat to open, so the fan should come on, with the AC off.
Like I said...It sounds like you are on the right track....I did what you did, drove it for a couple of hours to let the last few bubbles migrate torward the high point, then re-bleed it. Remember when you open the valve (just crack it open....don't remove the plug........fluid will come out....but a few air bubbles will come out too....watch the stream.... (you can squish the upper radiator hose a bit to see if more bubbles come out....be careful when you let go...you could let air get sucked in) it will feel like you are letting a lot of fluid come out, but it is only a few cups. Hose off the car, and you should be done!! Next time you start up...in the early AM...that "mini" waterfall sound should be gone.
I think it too me 45 min to an hour to get it right....I must of had some air trapped in the heat exchanger in the cabin....but it did work...I think a bit of driving helped the most with the difficult bubbles.
Heck maybe somebody has the Beltly manual handy and can quote the way to bleed it from there....but I do remember this same discussions going on a few times after people brought their car to dealers a few years back....so it even too dealers a while to get it right!!

 

Thanks for the quick reply Zippy! I finally gave it a rest last night as I was getting a bit frustrated. I think I had been at it about an hour as well. I made sure to keep the heater on and the fans on max. The car was definitely warm enough for the thermostat to open. I figured I'd let the system cool and go at it again if needed after work today. When I started the car up this morning I didn't hear the slosh, nor did I hear it coming back home after six hours of work.

The expansion tank had gone back down to the minimum level, so I filled it back to just below maximum.

Funny side note: a couple of times last night, I had the bleeder valve open, and because of some awkward angles, and the big screw driver (that was probably too big) I couldn't get the bleeder valve closed again. Even though its just a little trickle of fluid, panic mode kicked in . Eventually I closed the valves and after I finished I had to laugh at myself.