the heating up and cooling down of the coolant causes pressure changes....if the hose feels like a balloon, with no water in it, its got air in it....and that means the radiator is low on fluid....cutlassguy said:
can someone help me with a cooling system question?
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I agree with everyone else who said that it sounds like an air pocket, and to replace the radiator cap. The blocked overflow tank/hose is also a possibility, I'd check this, and also flush it and the whole system if it's been a while. The lower hose is the intake side of the water pump, that's the side that would normally collapse and needs the spring*. Pontiacgp, I think in cold climates they say you can go to a slightly higher anti-freeze concentration in the winter, no? It never gets THAT cold in Chicago, so I'm not sure. And I also always use distilled water, starting with the flush. A lot of that scale that builds up in radiators is from hard water, things that are removed during distillation.
*Edit: I personally feel this lower radiator hose spring is extremely important. I've had conversations with people who have had constant problems with overheating and didn't have the spring. I also have videos of an engine on a dyno, and you can clearly see that the lower hose collapses at a relatively higher RPM, but STAYS that way until the RPMs drop almost to idle.
*Edit: I personally feel this lower radiator hose spring is extremely important. I've had conversations with people who have had constant problems with overheating and didn't have the spring. I also have videos of an engine on a dyno, and you can clearly see that the lower hose collapses at a relatively higher RPM, but STAYS that way until the RPMs drop almost to idle.
ealier when i just started it and moved it outside (which maybe took a minute or so) it only had a little pressure so i slowly took the cap off and as i was doing it i heard bubbles in the overflow so that line must be clear. i triied pressing the spring on the cap in and it seem like theres decent pressure, nothing broken. can i boil it to check if its working or does it also need pressure? it doesnt seem like any junk cap, just the regular factory looking one. also the coolant was right up and theres some in the OF, but the hose was kind of balloon-y. wierd how its going from collapsed to what looks like higher than normal pressure...this cars got some demons....
Starting to sound like maybe the radiator is blocked? The only thing I can think of would be to take both big hoses off the radiator. Once it's drained, using a funnel where the upper hose goes, pour some water in and see how long it takes to work it's way out the lower side of the other tank. If it takes a long long time, or if it overflows from where you're pouring it in before a substantial amount comes out on the other side, then you've got a problem. This is all I can think of, I've never had a blocked radiator, they always just spring a leak on me.
last night i guess things got worse cuz now my heater core is leaking and fogging up my windows, coming out the vents....i bought a new rad cap and put it on hoping that was the problem and there was just too much pressure in the system but apparently not. after driving with the new rad cap on until i couldnt see, i checked the upper rad hose again and i suppose theres a little less pressure than with the old cap but barely. next thing im going to do is throw a new thermostat in and try a can of bar's leak before i shell out more cash for a new heater core. between this and my choke screwing up for no reason, this cars starting to piss me off... :x :evil:
leaking heater core will let air into the system. Usually, the heater core is above the engine and radiator, so it will drain back to the motor if the level drops. but, if theres a leak in it, you will notice a wet passenger floor, a sweet smell from the heater...and a foggy windshield. I recommend the liquid bars leak...dont use the powder stuff. And, once you notice the leak is fixed, flush it out! Id use about 1/2 the bottle....it does work with small leaks. Get a good thermostat. Cheap ones will fail!cutlassguy said:
it only started happening after i took it out the other night and floored it a few times to check if the choke was adjusted right. pretty sure the third time was when the window started fogging up. i figure there was too much pressure in the system and the weakest stop happened to be in my heater core. either way its bullshit but i'll keep at it until its fixxed. tomorrows thermostat and bars leak, i'll keep ya updated! 
well i'll be damned!!! bars leak actually worked! i changed the thermostat earlier from a 195 to a 180 and added 10oz.'s of bars leak and sure enough everything worked out. the temp gauge that used to warm up to 100 is now inbetween 40 and 100, maybe about 75-80ish so its running quite a bit cooler, but it still has GOOD heat. when i first started it and cranked the heat there was SOOO much antifreeze coming through the vents i couldnt even sit in there, literly pumping out the windows... and after about 15 minutes of running, it slowly went away. honestly i always thought that stuff was a scam cuz i tried it 3 times before on small rad holes and had no luck. either way it doesnt seem to be collapsing or budging so hopefully thats the end of this and i can get back to my choke issues lol thanx again for all the good advice!!
well back to the grindstone! next day my windows started fogging up again so far theres a new rad cap, new thermostat, and now new coolant. i did 2 consecutive rad flushes earlier, then topped her up again and now we're back to everything working ok again...we'll see how long this lasts.
so far theres a new rad cap, new thermostat, and now new coolant. i did 2 consecutive rad flushes earlier, then topped her up again and now we're back to everything working ok again...we'll see how long this lasts.- Status
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