Latest update is that after a good re bleed and getting it thoroughly hot again I have the top radiator pipe roasting hot and all the others only warm to the touch. Thoughts please?
I currently have no stat in there the heater will get warm for a while until she overheats. The radiator didn't feel hot at all. also the pipe that goes down from the top rad hose to the metal branch pipe underneath hardly felt warm at all
Is your pump working correctly? I would suppose one way to check would be to let it cool down a bit, remove the bleed screw, start the engine , I would expect you to get a fountain out of the bleed screw hole and rev the engine and see if the water spout goes higher the faster the pump runs.
I will try your suggestion at work tomorrow with the bleed screw I never thought to doubt the integrity of the water pump. The radiator hardly felt hot at all. I would think this must now point towards either radiator blocked right up or water pump failing as very likely culprits.