ruddy ell, i was that convinced it was a head gasket bennie, so much for closure eh, ok the Q & A's
Q: When you say that the temp rises quickly how far up the gauge do you let it go before you shut it off? I would say that half way or a little more is where it usually sits.
A: The temp rises to the point of melt down but only when i accelerate with cap on, with cap off it just blows a few bubbles every push. i have let it get to critical and shut it off , my latest attempt i shut it off when it was hot real hot but at a point i was game enough to tackle the radiator cap with a towel..
Q:When the water in the radiator is luke warm what was the temp gauge on? And did you run it until the thermo's came on at least once? That could take some time with the cold weather we've had...
A:When the water is luke warm the temp gauge is normal , which is a mm below the first mark as it has been since the day i picked the car up and drove it for a week or so before the drama began. Thanks to all the feedback its all clear on how this began..On the night of the so called drama the water hose above the knock sensor was leaking( thanksyou Alex and his sis for that insight ). as i drove the water level was obviously down and engine overheating , it got to the point where the hose let go and coolant everywhere, i didnt notice being the bright spark that iam until the liberty started bunny hopping and loosing power and for an instance plenty of smoke came out the rear end, the timing was all over the place, then it stabilised enough to get me back, about a k away.. i crawled home and got straight into the forum

.. i didnt notice thermo`s come on this latest time cause to the touch the water was cool almost cold for 20-30 min or so, it wasnt until i put the cap on and accelerated for about 40 seconds that i could see the temp gauge just keep rising, and i mean quickly rising . Altho the previouse 2 times i tried to bleed the air the thermo`s did come on several times while radiator cap was off..
Q:And how long did you wait until "depressurising" the cooling system - straight after shut down or once cool/cold? If straight after shut down I would expect some coolant to push into the overflow bottle or out around the cap - if cool/cold I would expect some suck back into the radiator.
A:I depressurised cooling sys immediately after turning engine off , as i say this time i didnt wait for it to get to extreme temps as i had allowed it to previously, tho i did allow it to get ruddy hot , to the point where the radiator was above its comfort zone . yes on undoing the cap with a big towel the coolant flowed out around the cap soi let it do its thing for 30 seconds then took cap completely off, it is then the draw sucked water back into engine, the water being steaming hot..
sorry its all so long winded , heading off to melbourne in 20 min.. i hope its all a little clearer , thanks bennie , enjoy your holiday and drop in on the way back

i should be back to give it a forth try later this arvo..