boiling coolant
05-31-2010, 05:42 PM
#1
boiling coolant hey guys, it seems like every time i go for a long ride, and when i get back, the coolant is boiling. first, i had a hole in my coolant cross over pipe, and thought that was the problem, but i fixed it, and its still boiling. what could the problem be? i dont think it did it before my cam swap, and the car doesnt get hot.
thanks
thanks
05-31-2010, 07:42 PM
#2
Coolant can get up to 280* and hotter with no problem and it shouldn't boil over at all. It should just sit in the cooling system and be hot. My temp guage has pegged completely into the red twice and no coolant made a sound and none came out. It cooled down and that was it.
You have "air" in the system.....or it is getting in. Thats how coolant boils or boils over into the over flow reservoir.
You may have a blown head gasket and the piston(s) is pushing air into the cooling system.
OR
You may have a slow leak somewhere that is pissing coolant out...then when you shut down and it cools, it sucks air into the system. Like a leaky water pump or gasket. As that air pocket grows you will then start to overheat.
You may be lucky and just need a new radiator cap...happens all the time. They loose their tension and as you drive around the coolant pisses out into the overflow reservoir. Then it sucks air in after you shut down.
I say...go buy a new cap, Stant makes a good one with a pressure relief valve for like $3.00. I use it, its great. Run the engine when its cool with the radiator cap "off", let it get warmed up till the t-stat opens and the coolant starts to flow, if the level drops top it off IMMEDIATELY as it drops down. Then stand there and wait one more time for the t-stat to open and top it off again if needed. Then put the cap on. See if that fixes the problem.
If it doesn't....I'd say you have a blown head gasket. Leakdown check will tell you for sure.
.
You have "air" in the system.....or it is getting in. Thats how coolant boils or boils over into the over flow reservoir.
You may have a blown head gasket and the piston(s) is pushing air into the cooling system.
OR
You may have a slow leak somewhere that is pissing coolant out...then when you shut down and it cools, it sucks air into the system. Like a leaky water pump or gasket. As that air pocket grows you will then start to overheat.
You may be lucky and just need a new radiator cap...happens all the time. They loose their tension and as you drive around the coolant pisses out into the overflow reservoir. Then it sucks air in after you shut down.
I say...go buy a new cap, Stant makes a good one with a pressure relief valve for like $3.00. I use it, its great. Run the engine when its cool with the radiator cap "off", let it get warmed up till the t-stat opens and the coolant starts to flow, if the level drops top it off IMMEDIATELY as it drops down. Then stand there and wait one more time for the t-stat to open and top it off again if needed. Then put the cap on. See if that fixes the problem.
If it doesn't....I'd say you have a blown head gasket. Leakdown check will tell you for sure.
.
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06-12-2010, 10:23 AM
#9
i would also suggest that if you do your own radiator fluid change, that you use on gallon of concentrate and fill the rest up with DISTILLED WATER. that type of water is pure. you could cook it on the stove to about 500* before it would even start to bubble! it also will not cause corrosion in your system like tap water will
