Teh 1nternet Perv

Okay, so every time I put coolant in my car it always ends up in the res. I think I'm doing it right since I'm taking out the bleed screw every time I fill the coolant and I let it run for like 20 minutes with the rad cap off (and filling it as the level goes down but by the next day my res will be almost overflowing and there will be little to no coolant when I take the rad cap off. I keep the res between the low and full marks so I don't know why it's somehow creating reverse suction or something but it is. I was thinking maybe the water pump is the culprit since I've checked hoses and I haven't found any leaks.

Maybe I'm just doing it wrong?

Edit: Oops forgot to mention car, 86 GX

cloudzero

iTrader: (1)

i would guess a bad coolant seal in the motor or possible a small pinhole leak somewhere that is not allowing the coolant to be sucked back by vacuum as the motor cools down

gerald m

pressure check your rad cap and pressure test the cooling system to see if it can hold pressure ( I think it takes a special tester to do the job ) . Do the hoses get real hard when the engine is running ?? where does your temp gauge show now compared to before the trouble ? If you have air getting into the system the bubbles should appear in the filler hole when the engine is running .. just a few things to look for

Teh 1nternet Perv

Uhhgg, that sucks. It bubbles like crazy once the car is up to temperature. I ran it for like 15 minutes too never letting the level get low enough for air to enter the system. How long should it take for the system to bleed? This sounds like it could be quite the problem.
My temp gauge goes as high as about 3/4 which is still within spec in the owners manual but I've been trying to solve the problem for some time now. I'm not sure exactly when it started the reverse suction thing but my coolant level sensor started going off this winter even though it went off every few months since I've owned it which is almost 3 years now. Also my block heater didn't work at all this winter which makes me think their could be a leak in the engine somewhere...
Anyway unless someone can offer some more input, this sounds like a problem I should get my mechanic to look at.

Edit: Also my car has started to become more 'throaty' over the years which doesn't sound like it all the time. Possibly no coolant in the engine makes the exhaust sound like that? It doesn't sound very good though.

duo2999

iTrader: (1)

this is not within spec for an s4 gauge.

gerald m

If you have consistent air bubbles , Excess pressure in the rad , you are probably running hot because I think 3/4 on your gauge is getting pretty hot .. I would say cloudzero is right ..The block heater won't have anything to do with it . Are you running on both rotors or do you have a dead or weak one ?? ((Get the cooling system pressure tested )) If the water pump was giving problems you usually notice wet at the weep hole .. We have one member that swears by alumiseal , you could try it, what have you got to loose ..

puaka

iTrader: (5)

I did the Paul Yaw radiator seal trick on my old 12a once and it worked like a charm. However, when I pulled the motor, it turned out not to be the coolant seals, one rotor housing had erroded around the trailing spark plug and coolant was leaking there. That may be why it worked so well.

The process involved flushing your system a few times with water and purple power degreaser. Then flushing with water several times to get the cleaner out. THEN, use the rad seal stuff. Start with half the sealer and work up from there. Try to use as little as possible or it can ruin your radiator. I ended up having to replace my rad too but it was a relatively small price to pay for 6 months of driveability before building a new motor.

Mike

R.O.D

iTrader: (3)

been having the same issues, but i thought that if the coolant seals were bad, that the coolant would smell gassy/fumy..
i replaced the radcap, as far as i can tell its because im not getting ALL the air out... but
im not 100% Also, car is running like a F1 style top!
(spanked the JESUSFISH out of a 350z lastnight ) so im even more less likey to believe
its from a coolant seal.


is it possible that a thermostat stuck open would cause this?

im gonna run a Rtek data log to see the ACTUAL temps, and NOT the gauge, they're worthless imo

gerald m

Coolant doesn't always go into the combustion chamber and burn and stink , The pressure that the combustion burn makes inside is far greater than the pressure in the cooling system so SOMETIMES the coolant won't go into the engine but the combustion pressure will push air into the cooling system ( the exhaust gas bubbles hitting the coolant also create acids that promotes erosion on all ferrous metal parts ) and pushing the coolant into the reservoir but when the engine cools down there is no vacuum to suck the coolant back into the engine .that is why it is called a sealed system . That is why the hot and cold marks on most reservoirs .. The old style cooling systems needed room in the rad for expansion while the newer systems use the reservoir and the rad is kept Full constantly hot or cold ( It helps prevent air locks ).. A thermostat stuck open shouldn't cause your problems , If it was stuck closed you would be boiling .. Maybe someone else can explain it better but I think you are barking up a dead horses ***.. I don't know about using to many cleaners in the coolant system IMO i think you would make it leak more If anything to get a few more miles you want to try plug it up not clean it out ..... Good luck

puaka

iTrader: (5)

If it were a coolant seal in the motor, you'd know it. The overflow tank would be full and have exhaust fumes in it. It's unmistakable, trust me. Your best bet is to just buy a cheap pyrometer (got one for $15 recently at sears) and get actual temp readings at the thermostat housing. this will eliminate any electrical problem guess work and tell you what you need to know.

When you fill the system, make sure you run the engine with the rad/filler cap off, fill as much as possible, keep filling as the level drops. you want it to get hot enough to open the thermostat (around 185*F) and allow you to fully fill the system. Also run your heater on high to ensure the heater core is filling and to help remove heat during the process. takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. Then you'll ultimately eliminate the air in the system. If you're using gallon jugs, keep track of how much you put in. It should hold 7.7quarts (just shy of 2 gallons) if drained completely first. With the cap off and at temp, you should see the water flowing towards the engine freely. I just did this the other day on my 87 base.

EDIT: Ooops, just re-read your first post and you're already doing it this way. Replace your rad cap. Sounds like it's letting coolant out but not back in. Less than $10.

Teh 1nternet Perv

Yeah, I'm gonna go to the radiator shop tomorrow and get a new cap. There's foam in the coolant too which apparently is a symptom of getting air in your coolant. I bled the system tonight and I got the day off tomorrow so I can muck with it all day if I want. What's strange though is that when I bled it about a week ago, I started driving and almost all the fluid in my reservoir got used up which shouldn't have happened if the system was already full from bleeding. Coolant doesn't smell like exhaust fumes either so don't think it's a leak in the engine. Reservoir is pretty gross inside though... like oily. Been like that since I got it though and I never had this problem when I first owned the car.

Teh 1nternet Perv

Still haven't managed to get rid of this problem. My mechanic pressure tested the rad cap and cooling system for over an hour at 14PSI and it didn't budge a bit. I put hose clamps on my res to filler neck and inside of the hose in the resovoir (the hose was slipping off easily). My temp stays at around 4/10th on the guage when I'm driving in around 30 degree Celsius weather until I give it some more gas then it can shoot up to 3/4. I removed my injector fuse and cranked the engine for about 10 seconds with the coolant filled to the top and only about a teaspoon of coolant spilled out so I think it's safe to say my coolant seals are fine.

I haven't got around to compression testing my engine due to not owning a compression tester and I'm not working due to mono. I think the inside reservoir hose was the culprit so I just need to bleed the system now but these 86's have only have the filler cap on the water pump neck so wouldn't it make sense to bleed the system with the back end up? Whenever I bleed the system on flat ground all my coolant spills out spills out like crazy until my thermostat opens so I'm trying to think of reasons to get around that (other than warming up the system first then taking the cap off).

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

If it keeps on bubbling and the bubbling doesn't go away then it sounds like serious trouble, like a coolant seal. You might not smell exhaust fumes b/c it could be a smaller leak. Also check for the smell of coolant in the exhaust (tail pipe) and whether or not coolant is lost even with the rad cap off, though again it might not be as noticeable in a smaller leak.

A Lisle funnel, simple as it may be, is 10 times easier and more reliable than other methods at removing air bubbles. You can get rid of 99.9% of them that way, revealing even the smallest problem if it still bubbles. Google it.

Teh 1nternet Perv

Yeah, I think I'm going to try and find one around town this afternoon and I'm certain my coolant seal isn't blown because I can get rid of all the bubbles from a rapid bubbling when I first start the car. If anything my water pump isn't working properly but the WP/Alt belt is very flexible and has quite a few cracks in it. Too bad my mechanic is useless and can't figure these things out so I have to. One of the most annoying problems I have come across with this car, the first being the clutch switch and how it can affect your idle when it's broken.