cooling system question
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Teching In
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 2
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cooling system question I just bought a 2001 firebird, v6. About 10 seconds after I start the car, coolant starts bubbling out the reservoir cap. I shut the car off and it gargles for about 30 seconds.
Sounds like your cap is trashed. If it cannot hold in the pressure then coolant boils . They are known for failing. Go to local autoparts store, they are $20
TECH Junkie
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,916
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From: Western North Carolina
.... and make sure that you have a properly mixed coolant/water ratio after it is 'fixed'. The prior owner may have just been putting water in there with no Dexcool or whatever coolant he was using.
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1
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If the radiator was full to the cap (cross-flow style radiator) it may have been too full to begin with but a good cap should hold until the thermostat opens and the coolant expands with temperature. Lower the level of coolant about 2" and try again. If repeats then replace the cap. If still continues to happen have the radiator checked for carbon monoxide gasses coming from a cracked or warped head or possibly a bad head gasket.. There are two types of caps. One is called a vented system cap and when held up at eye level the silver disk in the center of the seal will hang open away from the rubber seal.. Wrong cap for your car. The other is a sealed system style cap where the silver disk is held snug against the rubber seal by a 6 oz. spring. Pull on that silver disk and it should move away from the seal slightly indicating it's working properly. This is the valve that allows coolant to return to the radiator from the overflow bottle as the engine cools keeping air out of the system.. Good luck. D-
You probably have at least one blown head gasket - maybe two.
Add compressed air to each and every cylinder using a test fitting that screws into the spark plug hole and find the source of your bubbles.
Add compressed air to each and every cylinder using a test fitting that screws into the spark plug hole and find the source of your bubbles.
