BANDITcamaro

So having issues with my cooling system. Hopefully you LT1 vets can help. So recently, I let my car idle in the parking lot before PT. Came back to my car, and I see coolant has leaked from my radiator. Got home, filled up a bit more coolant, not too much.

Next day I drive home, all good, and no leaks.

Today, I drive from work to run a few errands. Car was hot, but never overheated. I get home, and I hear bubbling from the hood. I open the hood and hear bubbling from the radiator, but mostly from the reservoir. A bit later, it purs out a good amount of coolant. Frustrated, I turn to you guys for help/ advice on what may be the issue. Please help a brother out. Thanks!

pdxmotorhead

Pressure test the cooling system, could be a weeping head gasket.. between the combustion chamber and the water jacket..

I used a bore scope on my motor a few months ago and could see drops of green on top of 2 pistons,, Honda but the motor is like half a LS motor...

BANDITcamaro

I will definitely do a pressure test. I think AutoZone has one for the lend a tool program they have. Would another culprate be the thermostat?. I've been meaning to do a full flush, cause I found some gunk I. The radiator coils, and the radiator cap had some greyish gunk on it. The previous owner was using dexcool and 50/50 mix, and I've heard that does it. I replaced the thermostat before when it did this. And it was good. Could it be that or air in the lines?. I hope it's not head gaskets, I can't imagine how much of a pain it will be do do it. And I apologize, I'm just starting my journey to restoring her and learning as I go. Haha

Crf450r420

iTrader: (1)

System is simple, so it can be a PIA some times. Stuck closed thermostat often blows the hose up or off. Stuck part open sounds like it could be a possible cause of yours. A dead or really weak cap won't hold pressure and no pressure means your boiling temp is lower so it could just be the cap. A blown head gasket could be leaking combustion gas into the system and could be the issue. A pressure test of the cap should tell you if it's okay, however if it's quite old and test okay then you should still probably replace it as they are cheap. A pressure test is good, but go above the normal system pressure by 4 or 5 psi to make sure. Certain parts of the system are under cap pressure and pump pressure so they could need more than cap pressure to show up in testing.

BANDITcamaro

What is PIA?.

Ill do the pressure test tomorrow after work. The car is 97 Camaro with 140,000. She never over heats, idles fine, and no white smoke or smell of anti freeze from exhaust. But your right, it should be a good idea to go ahead and replace the gaskets. Have you done your head gaskets, and if so, how was the job?, haha 😂.

Crf450r420

iTrader: (1)

PIA, like when you get a new LS head that with the water exit blocked as it was cast. That took a lot longer to figure out than one would want to admit.

I've built hundreds of LS motor, but only worked on 3 in cars. From my intake swap I can say I'd rather do it on a boat. The hardest parts I can see would be cleaning up the deck if it doesn't have the MLS gaskets and torquing the factory bolts without a digital torque to yield wrench. I'd think changing to ARP bolts or studs will help and then you just have the reach and cleaning issue.

chrysler kid

iTrader: (14)

Use the pressure tester mt300 and the domestic radiator cap adapter from your local autoparts store. Pump up the pressure to 15 psi and step back and watch for leaks

The gurgling noise is usually from the system losing pressure and leaking.

Phoenix'97

I was frequently having coolant boil-over issues from my reservoir in the not too distant past. There were many reasons for this but I will list them all to help you diagnose your car's problem.

1.) I had a cracked radiator on the plastic tank on my passenger side. It was a hairline crack but air was getting in and throwing off the pressure of the system.

2.) I had a failing water pump, and I had a replacement water pump fail on me a month after installation.

3.) A newly installed thermostat actually failed after installation!

4.) Poor maintenance over the years, not changing my coolant every two years, there were deposits in the system that needed to be flushed out.

5.) I had a bad radiator cap that was no longer providing an adequate pressure seal and it was leaking.

6.) My coolant system, after all major parts were replaced and functioning properly, just needed to burp out air bubbles that were not successfully bled off after the last coolant system servicing. So, she would burp up some coolant from the reservoir but eventually it stopped and now the system is operating as it should without any leaks to report.

I hope this helps!

BANDITcamaro

Sorry guys, it's been busy at work.

So last Friday, I did a coolant flush. And checked to see the thermostat , and it was stuck in the closed position, so I went ahead and got a fail safe 180 degree thermostat, and refilled the radiator. Monday I was driving on post, to the library for some online training, and it was bubbling a bit in the parking lot, not as bad as last time, but the car wasn't that hot.

Today, I took Phoenix'97s advice on burping the coolant system. There was a bit of trapped air in the system. I waited till the car reached operating temperature, and waited for the fans to kick on (which they did). Bled the bleeder valve a bit more. Shut the car off. And no more bubbling or giant puddle of coolant from the reservoir.

I wanna give give a huge thanks to everyone who provided feedback to help me with the issue. Like I said on my bio, I'm learning as I'm going, and appreciate the help of all y'all LT1 veterans out there.

ikaros23

I'm glad everything worked out for you. Please do as I did and your car will thank you for it . Meziere electric water pump, 160 stat and reprogram the pcm to turn the fans on earlier than factory.

frisco88

iTrader: (3)

thermostat,had the same problem,boiling in the reservoir.