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Does Fizzy Bubbles in Coolant always mean Blown Seal?

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Old 11-15-06 | 01:19 PM
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Does Fizzy Bubbles in Coolant always mean Blown Seal?

Hey guys, I was just wondering,

-If i take off my fill cap and turn on my car and wait about a minute.

-And If white fizzy bubbles that kind of look like bubbles from pouring soda into a cup start apearing.

-And If the bubbles rise and starts flowing out

= Does it always mean I have a Broken Coolant Seal Problem?

(I'm pretty sure I know the answer but I just want to make sure)

Thanks!!
Old 11-15-06 | 01:19 PM
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Its probably okay, but just to be sure, does the coolant smell like gas/exhaust?
Old 11-15-06 | 01:52 PM
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Nope it has no smell of exaust gases. But where do you predict that these bubbles are comming from?
Old 11-15-06 | 02:43 PM
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Hmm.. Okay I'm getting confused because I've read that Fizzy bubbles in the fill cap area means blown Seal, am I incorrect?
Old 11-15-06 | 04:43 PM
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radiator leak?

are you losing lots of coolant?
Old 11-15-06 | 04:45 PM
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did you flush the cooling system recently? could be a detergent still in the cooling system causing the foaming.
Old 11-15-06 | 04:46 PM
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Fuzzy bubbles could be nothing more than the fuzzy bubbles seen in a pan of boiling water. Just FYI
Old 11-15-06 | 04:55 PM
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I like the fuzzy bubbles that come in bottles of wine...
Old 11-15-06 | 05:02 PM
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you like fizzy bubbles in the rear.
Old 11-15-06 | 07:02 PM
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Only you baby!
Old 11-15-06 | 07:05 PM
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LOL! Thanks for thread jacking! hahaha. J/K

But yea, I did flush it recently and no there is no leaks but I am losing coolant but it looks like its going back into the overflow tank. But it has stopped recently. and my overflow is way too full.

Thanks for the reply's guys!
Old 11-15-06 | 07:29 PM
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Ok follow these steps before you assume worst case.

1. Make sure the air is out of the radiator and engine
HOW TO
a. Remove cap from radiator
b. start car and let it warm up until the point the thermostat opens up (youll know its open because the large black hose that runs from the radiator into the engine gets hot)
c. put coolant into the radiator when necissary
I did this when my car had overheating and bubbling in the lines, and it solved it. thanks all yalls that gave me the advice COST $FREE unless you need more coolant.
2. check the lines for breaks, cracks, and holes. COST $10
3. replace the thermostat (its under that black hose BTW make sure you got the right gaskets for it ) COST $30
4. check water pump to make sure its operating, and not operating poorly.
Im going to replace mine on next coolant change to be safe COST $ 60
5. take it to a mechanic and have the systems that control the cooling systems checked. COST $IDK
6. Save up for an engine replacement/rebuild COST $500-2800 depending on a lot of factors
Old 11-15-06 | 07:59 PM
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I have a new thermostat, i got it along with the flush maybe 2000 miles ago. There seems to be no leaks nor any cracks. I did the adding coolant to the radiator while car is on. I did this all at the mechanics place and if there were anything wrong with the water pump he would tell me, he also changed the gasket.

I'm really thinking that it might be the detergent. Because I don't smell any exaust gases from the coolant and its just foamy bubbles comming from the fill cap area.

But my car's "add coolant light" went off about 500 miles ago. I then checked the radiator. The coolant level was low so I put in some distilled water. But the ammount of water that i put in seemed to equal the ammount that overspilled into the overflow tank (Which was a lot of coolant, in fact it was almost to the top)

Thanks for the reply and your patience guys!
Old 11-15-06 | 08:00 PM
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Oh and give more insight if you guys have anything in mind!

Thanks!
Old 11-16-06 | 12:42 PM
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Anyone?
Old 11-16-06 | 12:46 PM
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untill you said you had just flushed it, i figures that it was just worn out coolant. all coolants have any anti foaming agent in them, when the coolant breaks down over time it will eventuall start to faom, but i dont think that is the problem with yours. you probably jus thave some air in it
Old 11-16-06 | 01:25 PM
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Oh okay, So Air bubbles make foamy bubbles also?
Old 11-16-06 | 02:00 PM
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u said u just replaced your thermostat, what brand did u use?
Old 11-17-06 | 12:30 AM
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yea.. see thats the thing, i'm not sure what kind of thermostat he used, I'm thinking its probably not mazda (I'm planning on replacing it). But would that cause the coolant to foam/bubble?
Old 11-17-06 | 08:34 AM
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Originally Posted by jouslee
LOL! Thanks for thread jacking! hahaha. J/K

But yea, I did flush it recently and no there is no leaks but I am losing coolant but it looks like its going back into the overflow tank. But it has stopped recently. and my overflow is way too full.

Thanks for the reply's guys!
It sounds to me like the coolant is expanding into the overflow, then when the car cools, it is not returning to the radiator. I had this problem and it was very frustrating. The good news is that it was not coolant seals.

Put on a brand new Mazda oem radiator cap. This may solve the problem. While you are at it, please put in an oem mazda thermostat.

If the problem persists, get a cooling system pressure test. I rented a tester from Autozone. It's free. That's a good deal!

If the system checks out to hold pressure, then you have an 'invisible' leak. I had such a difficult time that I eventually switched over to Evans NPG+ coolant and ran it in an unpressurized manner. My problem was solved.

Later my thermostat housing cracked and broke. I believe that I had a hairline crack that would hold pressure but would break the vacuum when the cooling system tried to suck the coolant back from the expansion tank.

I have tried running the system with pressure since my t-stat housing was replaced and the system works correctly.
Old 11-19-06 | 02:43 AM
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Wow thats some Good advice and explaination. Thanks A lot i wll tr it out and I will report back thanks so much!
Old 07-14-18 | 04:23 PM
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Your the man!!!! Thank you

Originally Posted by RotaryEvolution
did you flush the cooling system recently? could be a detergent still in the cooling system causing the foaming.
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