Cooling off 91 dx 1.5

[snydercj7]

Well...

Just pulled off the freeway and up to a red light. Looked down and noticed the temp gauge climb to about 3/4 of the way up. Light turned green I started moving and the temp went back down to normal, drove the last 2 miles home and gauge did the same thing each time I stopped or accelerated.

Popped the hood at home and looked like coolant was blowing into the reservoir and out. When it was cool enough I popped the cap and radiator was empty. Started by adding water and a new radiator cap . Let it sit in the driveway and run for 15-20 min every thing seemed fine. Later that day ran some errands and coolant was pumping out the reservoir again, not as bad as the first time but I was just doing local driving. Picked up a new thermostat, replaced it, added coolant, ran engine when I noticed the reservoir kind of "bubbling". Pulled the top off the reservoir and put my finger over the end of the tube and seem to have pressure blowing out of the tube.... Really don't want this to be a head gasket, any input would be appreciated

I have also recently replaced the water pump/ water pump inlet pipe/ thermostat housing & cover/ hoses within the past 6 months.

Not sure if it is related, but the engine has been really noisy lately, sort of a rattling noise. Thought it was the bearings on the alternator, but even with the belts removed it is making the noise. It will quiet down a little once the engine is warm. I have adjusted the valves right after getting the vehicle a year and a half ago.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Shaaaft]

Flush your rad. I had the same problem and I had a bunch of crap in there and after it ran perfect.

 

[snydercj7]

I have flushed it twice when I first got the car, it had appeared to have had tap water used due to the rusted out inlet pipe and lots of mineral build up on the thermostat housing and water pump. The heater core went out right after the first flush so I also replaced the core.

Maybe I will take the radiator to a shop to have it flushed this time. Thanks for the input.

 

[dorcus]

Is your fan coming on?

 

[snydercj7]

I have not seen it come on sitting in the drive way. Temp gauge does not go any higher then under the half way point. When the pressure is pushing the coolant into the reservoir the vehicle is not over heating according to the temp gauge any way, coolant does not seem to be boiling at this point. Also I do not see any water in my oil or vs versa.

 

[snydercj7]

Last detail, car sat in the drive way idling away with heat on took a long time for the temp to actually start climbing. The upper radiator hose was hot, the lower hose was not. So I guess that sounds like the radiator could be plugged as suggested. I am assuming the coolant comes into the the radiator thru the upper hose then runs down the radiator to come back out the bottom hose and be pumped back thru the engine.

 

[RonJ]

You should only use 50:50 coolant in your cooling system. Adding water will cause the engine to be destroyed by corrosion.

Also bleed the cooling system and fix the radiator fan, which should run whenever the engine gets too hot.

 

[snydercj7]

Because of the issue I am having I was putting distilled water in the cooling system. I had noted the prior owner had used tap water and all the pieces in the cooling system I have had to replace.

I have tried to bleed the cooling system, but it seems to continually have air bubbles pushing thru the system. The temp gauge takes a long time to get up to normal operating temp and the reservoir has air pumping into it and the coolant temp in the reservoir is cold. If I turn on the a/c the radiator fan comes on, not sure if that means the fan is working properly with the engine temp. But again sitting in the drive way it takes for ever to get the engine temp up, but the heater is pumping out nice hot air.

 

[Deezy]

Did you bleed the system while parked on an incline??(front of car higher than the back)

 

[snydercj7]

Yes.

 

[Deezy]

I can't remember.....is there only one cooling fan, on the 4th geners???

 

[Deezy]

^^Two.......read This......

 

[snydercj7]

You are right, but mine are both the same size. I think my condenser fan relay is bad on mine because I have power right up to the plug the relay goes in, no power from the relay going to the fan and the condenser fan is not coming on when the a/c is turned on.

 

[RonJ]

Sounds like your head gasket is blown.

 

[snydercj7]

What stumped me if it is a head gasket is there is no coolant in the oil and not oil in the coolant. Could a small enough leak just pressurize the cooling system till all the coolant blows into the reservoir?

If the cooling system were plugged up some where as the first suggestion wouldn't the lower radiator hose try to collapse on itself?

 

[RonJ]

What stumped me if it is a head gasket is there is no coolant in the oil and not oil in the coolant.

A common misconception is that a blown head gasket will always result in coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant. This is just wrong.

You should do cylinder compression and leak down tests.

Could a small enough leak just pressurize the cooling system till all the coolant blows into the reservoir?

The pressurization that causes your coolant reservoir to overflow is likely due to exhaust gas streaming past a blown head gasket into the cooling system. There are chemical test kits available that detect exhaust gases in coolant.

 

[snydercj7]

I tried running the flush as a last resort, but the vehicle over heats when I hit 70mph or start any kind of accent. If I back off to 55mph the engine goes back to normal operating temp. I had a strange noise coming from the engine and I thought that maybe the water pump may not be working. Pulled the pump, the bearing seemed to be fine and the pulley/ internal pump spin freely. Put every thing back together, filled the system with distilled water with engine running and flushed the "flush". Mystery noise is gone.. Let the car run for a while while draining and adding fluid. Towards the end of doing this (while the car was at an incline in the drive way) I happened to go to the back of the car and look at the tail pipe. It seemed to have an excessive amount of moisture coming out of it and the exhaust almost sounded like it was gurgling. Sounds like you have it exactly right Ron. I have not done a leak down test. I have never done a head gasket. Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Is it mandatory to have the head resurfaced? Or if a straight edge on the head looks ok can I get away with just a gasket? My cheap Kragen manual made it sound pretty complicated.