bad_408_vert

iTrader: (6)

Hey,

I started the car in frigid cold this morning and it was a hard start.
The car was warming up just fine but I noticed coolant coming from the overflow reservoir cap. The car ran for another minute and I decided to turn it off but there was banging noise coming from the engine bay.

The noise was still there but stopped after I turned the car off. The coolant color looks normal in the overflow reservoir and theres no white smoke.

So I started the car again and there was no coolant overflow or banging noise?

The heat in the car works fine so I'm assuming thermostat is fine and there's no leak from water pump.

The only other thing I can think of is that my radiator cap is going bad on me and not holding pressure?

Input please.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

How cold did the car get? Do you have the proper amount of anti-freeze in there so things don't expand in the coolant system as it gets colder?

The banging....thats wierd. Maybe lifters tapping. But "banging"...... :confused"

Usually the two things that cause coolant to get pushed into the overflow tank is....blown head gasket or a bad cap. A bad cap does it slowly over time though.

Cold makes things stick....thats probably why it was a hard start. Or maybe the voltage was low?

Do you keep your car in a garage or outside?

.

O2Form

Frozen coolant goes from ice to steam and could cause a banging noise as it does................

1 FMF

iTrader: (1)

frozen coolant does not go from ice directly to steam

and if the coolant was frozen the water pump pulley would be frozen and the belt would squeal, i used to deal with this when i kept my boat in the water till mid december.

the hard starting in cold weather is more or less normal. The colder it gets, the harder it is for the battery to discharge current and power the starter so the engine will turn over slower. If you have a weak battery then the cold really affects it and if the battery is weak enough then you won't have enough power to turn the engine over.

O2Form

bs it does so...i've seen it many times.

1 FMF

iTrader: (1)

it just goes from frozen solid ................... to steam vapor ?

BRUTL

iTrader: (27)

Wow, someone didn't pay attention in Grade school, Middle school, and high school science class. Seems how steam is a vapor derived from a superheated liquid......I would say, you're dead wrong there buddy.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Well, ice can go straight to a vapor depending on the pressure: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublima..._transition%29

I don't recall ever studying sublimation until after high school - but I had a hot lab partner and my attention strayed from time to time.

Not sure if sublimation is happening here, but if ice is exposed to a vacuum, I think it could happen. (I could probably calculate it, but that wouldn't be much fun.) Regardless, the OP's car probably has some kind of gas. Testing the coolant mixture with a cheap tester might be a good first thing to check.

O2Form

The problem is if the water is frozen in the block the engine gets hot before the ice can melt back to liquid water SO all you get is steam as the ice flashes off in the hot block. Trust me i've seen many engines ruined this way. Try it if you don't believe me.........

O2Form

BS you know less than nothing...you don't even know what superheat is so save it for your moma.

myk

iTrader: (4)

'408, so how's the car?

upincomin

iTrader: (1)

Ok I'm having this issue as well. Only it seems to be WAY worse. I went to the movies last night. When I stopped my car looked like it was pi$$ing itself. I popped the hood and the overflow cap was spewing. There was a hissing and bubbling noise coming from it. My 92' Camaro used to have over heating issues and this is what it sounded like. The difference is that my temp reading on the dash gauge reads just under 210* to me, this is normal running temperature. I watch it go from 0-210* I'm assuming the sensor is working. There is not milky substance in the oil OR white smoke from exhaust. No real loss of power either. ONLY issue is it keeps throwing the "low coolant light" because it keeps pissing out fluid. (It's it's own fault lol). I replaced my radiator recently includding the cap. I have not touched my thermostat or my overflow cap. I'll check my water pump tomorrow to see if it's leaking, but I'm at a loss of ideas. I've run through all possibilities. I'll check these things, then I'm out of ideas. Anyone else?

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

First thing should be a cooling system pressure test. Some autoparts stores will rent the tester. Just a simple hand pump thing.

upincomin

iTrader: (1)

I'm going to go get a pressure test now. I changed out my T-stat yesterday and checked the water pump, it doesn't appear to be leaking. I took a video yesterday and I can't figure out how to load it up here, maybe later tonight. What I think is weird is nothing leaks and everything runs fine UNTIL I stop. Within about 10-15 seconds AFTER I shut the engine off you can sit and watch it all start. It's quiet, then you hear a bubbling noise, then seconds later you watch it spew out of the top of the overflow filler for a few seconds, then it turns to 1 second spurts of spewage.
I'll go get a pressure check done right now and post the results. I just want it to behave lol. I go on deployment in a week and it's going into storage. I just need to make it there ya know? UGH!!

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This is so weird. I don't know what can be the source of the pressure after the engine is shut off. The only thing I can guess is that your pressure cap may be bad or gummed up and is bleeding off pressure after it should be.

BCKNBLK

iTrader: (3)

it was froze up, or your thermostat stuck closed (is say #1),, test your antifreeze to see what temp its good till.
you should replace it if not low enough.
you will have air bubbles in your system now so refill and let run with cap open to contiue topping up. get that air out.