Follow this procedure (except don't drain the coolant):

 

Hmm to not drain the fluid I basically skip steps 2 - 9? Put the heater on maximum, take the radiator cap off, fill the reservior, let it warm up (fan comes on twice), turn off the motor, fill the radiator if needed, put the cap on and I should be good? I'll give it a try tonight. Thanks for the cutout.

 

Correct - make sure the radiator and reservoir are filled to max levels when you begin.

 

Idling rough at start-up don't have anything to do radiator fluid.. i'll suggest pulling out your plug and see if it dirty.. and check your oil water residue for possible head gasket problem.

 

This is not an idle problem.

Once the engine has started its fine, it idles normally.

 

I believe that droopy128's point is that bubbles in the cooling system generally cause idling problems, in particular fluctuating rpm. I posted the cooling system bleed procedure because you wanted to see whether it would help. I still think bleeding is worth a try because it's so easy, but I'm not sure it will solve your problem.

 

Yeah I bled the system, and there was a lot of air in the lines. But it still starts rough. I also ordered a new distributor/rotor, and wires. I really think they are the culprits. I'll let you guys know if that fixes the problem.

Bleeding the coolant system did make the engine run smoother. So I think there were at least two factors to my problem. Thanks for all your suggestions and help.

 

ok does it do this? If so your headgasket could be going on ya... cause mine is, and it's steam at teh end not coolent

http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r...t=MVI_1081.flv

 

I checked there's no steam coming out of the exhaust. If the head gasket was going that would really suck... I plan on swapping in a B18C once I have the time, but she's got to last at least another couple months. I think a distributor and rotor will fix the problem. They have 157k miles on them...

 

Was bleeding successful at completely clearing all air bubbles from the cooling system? Or was the amount of air reduced but not eliminated? If bubbles remain, I believe Fiirkan's concern is that the air is actually exhaust gases from a cylinder(s) leaking past the head gasket into the cooling system.