Scirocco 1.4TSI air locks in cooling system

[Bimble7116]

Hi everyone

I wonder whether anyone can shed some light on how to get airlocks out of the cooling system on my 2011 1.4 TSI. I've just fitted a new water pump and a new thermostat housing. I filled the cooling system and ran the engine, the cooling fans cut in after only a few minutes, well before the engine was warmed up.

There was a fair bit of bubbling in the fill tank indicating air was getting out but after 20- 30 minutes running the engine the thermostat housing was barely lukewarm and the bottom radiator hose was cold.

Whilst running the engine, I squeezed the hoses to the thermostat in a pumping action several times with each hose, which did get air bubbles into the filler tank. But after a good half an hour running the engine, the hoses in this area are a bit warm instead of hot - and the bottom hose is still cold. The cooling fans are running the whole time.

I ran out of time and had to leave it for today. I'm hoping for some advice, shared experience/know-how to overcome this. Any responses would be gratefully received.

With best regards