Coolant System Issue!

[averagewhiteboy]

Hey guys.

Well, I've had a coolant issue since I bought my GP almost a year ago. Hasn't been an issue since it was only driven a few months after I bought it. However, I'm getting int back on the road this month and it needs to be resolved. What happens is this:

When the car builds up heat (ie, highway driving) the coolant in the radiator begins to actually bubble out of the reserve tank thingy in the passenger side rear of the engine bay. Up by the AC thingy. How there's a little opening in the cap. There. It didn't do it last time I drove it a distance becasue it was 10 out. haha! Regardless, it sucks. The rad is full, but someone told me that something isn't hooked up properly for that to happen. Is this true? Is it something I can fix myself so a shop doesn't charge me hours of labor for nothing? THANKS ALOT!!!

 

[ss4ever]

I would replace the radiator cap and go from there. If it still does the same thing after replacing the cap I would start checking into the headgaskets.

Randy

 

[averagewhiteboy]

Word! It can really be that simple? Isn't one of those like 5 bucks? lol.

 

[jerrycad472]

Are you sure that your reserve tank is not over filled? As the coolant gets hot and expands it over flows into the reserve tank. As your car cools off it gets sucked back into the radiator. The reserve tank should have a fill line that says how full it should be when it is hot or cold. Don't exceed that line.

You may want to try flushing the cooling system. Sometimes the Radiator and engine block can become full of gunk if the previous owner did not change anti-freeze often enough. You can by a kit at the autoparts store to do this yourself. (At least you used to be able to) Basically, you drain the anti-freeze into a container. Then hook up a garden hose to your engine with this flush kit and run the motor with fresh water going through it. You can get it done at a shop for under $100 if you don't want to do it yourself.

 

[thebaron]

Change out the thermastat and check the condition of the water outlet, since mine was rotten through. Beware when buying the water outlet that the bypass tube is correct as we had to remove and solder in a new one. They wanted it to travel through the alt.....

 

[GP403]

I'm with ss4ever on this one, replace the cap (hey if $5 will fix it great) but if that doesn't work then you're probably looking at head gasket.

Wait until it cools off, then take the cap off and run it. If you see bubbles coming up inside the radiator, then you're most likely getting gases blowing out a busted head gasket into the water jacket. Where else is it going to come from? With the cap on it creates a closed system and it will eventually pressure this out thru the cap into the overflow bottle, when it gets hot enough.

I'm assuming you don't have gauges or you'd be able to tell if it was running hotter than it should without tripping the light.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

It's probably not the problem, but do you have the correct radiator in the car? If you have a V6 radiator with a V8 it likely would not have sufficient capacity and could cause the problem you mentioned. Other than that, I would remove the radiator cap when the car is cold and start it. Look for bubbles in the coolant. If present, they indicate a bad head gasket. If not, try flushing the system, but be sure to remove the block drain plugs on either side of the engine at the bottom of the water jacket to ensure complete drainage of the old coolant. Not all engines have these, but I know my Chevy 350 does, as does the KA24DE in my 1998 Nissan pickup. You need to do this because the level of the water pump is higher than the bottom of the water jacket in most engines and it is the only way to thoroughly flush the system. Also check the condition of the radiator tubes for clogging as neglected radiators tend to become clogged with rust and corrosion. The dissimilar metals in the radiator tend to go through electrolysis and leave white, crusty deposits which can clog it over time.

 

[averagewhiteboy]

I bought the Rally gauge pack, but haven't gotten to installing them yet is the problem. But the temp light never came on. The reserve (the one in the front of the engine bay next to the rad) is empty. Does that mean it isn't working properly? Is there any way of testing a few things without actually buying anything or paying for services? Thanks!!!!

 

[pontiacgp]

you should check/change the thermostat and do a flush and fill it with new coolant. Check the flow in the rad to make sure the coolant is circulating...Also check the clutch on the fan to make sure the fan is doing it's job...

if you overflow is empty check to see if it's cracked and leaking....you might be low on your coolant since it flows to your overflow when the engine in hot.

 

[Chevyman85]

you should check/change the thermostat and do a flush and fill it with new coolant. Check the flow in the rad to make sure the coolant is circulating...Also check the clutch on the fan to make sure the fan is doing it's job...

if you overflow is empty check to see if it's cracked and leaking....you might be low on your coolant since it flows to your overflow when the engine in hot.

I would start with that, and replace the cap. Make sure it has the right PSI rating on it. You don't want something with anything more than 15PSI. Aside from that it sounds like you have a bad radiator, your overheating. Mine did the same thing with the stock radiator. If you do replace it get one for a Monte Carlo they made larger 3 core ones with more capacity.