Coolant issues

[trevstuh86]

So I'm having this problem with my coolant boiling in the overflow but my car temp gauge is staying in the middle. When I log the data using ecmlink my temps go from 180 then 200-223. The highest temp I seen was 226. I have done a compression test and have 160 across the board, replaced my head gasket twice and head l19 head botls are tq'd to 100 lbs, replaced the thermostat twice, changed from a 90 style water neck back to the coolant neck with the coolant temp sensor on top. When I burped the coolant system I notice the coolant isn't circulating, rather just rises. I just went from a 16g to hy35 turbo. My water pipe isn't wrapped, I am using a scircco radiator from amazon. I have searched countless of overheating threads on the form, galantvr4.org, dsmtalk and googled. I'm going to replace the water pump in the morning and if that doesn't work I will get my spare head resurfaced and redo the head gasket again.

I'm thinking it could be the radiator I'm using from amazon. My water pump is a gates water pump, current head gasket is a fel pro that I copper sprayed on both sides. At this point I'm lost and probably put the car back on jackstands.

 

[gvr4ever]

Have you made sure you don’t have a heater exchanger blockage? Have you checked the thermostat? I once had one that opened late, but did eventually open.

 

[yubh8tn]

Radiator was the only possible red flag I saw. You're sure the system's fully bled?

 

[gvr4ever]

Scratch the thermostat. Reading glasses are new to me, but it seems like a possible blockage. Not sure if if the radiator you chose would cause that or not. Did it have a flow rating? I’m far from a radiator expert, but I thought they either cooled enough or not. Never heard of a flow problem.

 

[trevstuh86]

I have heat, I redid my heater hose as well. I just replaced my water pump, I did see coolant starting to flow re bled the system. After bleeding the system I took it down the street and running stream watched the temps climb from 186 to 216. Turned around pulled the car back into the garage waited for the car to cool down a little. Coolant was full in the overflow bottle. Opened up the radiator cap and upper hose was empty. I topped it off and left the cap open, temps was 190 and climbed to 216, I noticed a bunch of bubbles so I will be getting a spare head sent off the machine shop.

 

[yubh8tn]

Let us know how it goes after putting the new head on. I'm new to a lot of this so forgive me asking, but how will a new head help? Are you worried the head surface is messed up? How does that affect coolant flow if its not leaking?

 

[trevstuh86]

I'm think the head is cracked. I not mixing coolant with oil but with the amount of bubbles I have in the coolant, it makes me think I have exhaust gases pushing through.

 

[tyeler18]

Coolant wont boil at 226 if your radiator cap is holding pressure. You either have a leak in the system or the cap isnt holding pressure. Also if the upper hose was empty when you drove it you don't have enough coolant and probably have an air bubble trapped, hence the small bubbles you're seeing. Bleed the system, replace the cap with a quality cap and make sure there's no leaks.

 

[KiNgMaRtY]

Is the thermostat an OEM unit? 70% water, 30% coolant mix?

 

[diambo4life]

Here is what you need to do:

1. Is your engine oil contaminated with coolant? Remove your oil cap after getting the car to temperature and check for milkshake like residue on the bottom of the cap.
2. Are your fan(s) operating correctly? Is your cooling system holding pressure?
3. Is there any evidence through the tailpipe of coolant combustion? Visual or smell?
3. Perform a leakdown test. A compression test in this scenario is not very useful! If combustion gases are actually going into your cooling system, this will be evident using a correctly performed leakdown test. It will tell you how much and where! Note: For best conclusive results...ALL valves have to be 100% closed when you do this which may require the removal of your cams.

 

[trevstuh86]

So an update. I have a bad head. I did a leak down test and air is escaping out from the number 4 cylinder. I have a spare head I'm sending off to the machine shop. Back to being jsb. I can't catch a break with 1209/2000 sigh...

 

[diambo4life]

How did you determine it was the head? Did you also rule out the block?

 

[trevstuh86]

Well after getting the head back from the machine shop and putting a new head gasket as well. I'm still pushing coolant into the reservoir. I will be getting new studs, doing the head gasket again. I did a coolant test and the fluid changed from blue to green. I bled the coolant for an hr and temps climbed up to 226, coolant was bubbling in the funnel as well. I will be checking out the block as well. This block was running fine before I pulled it and had it sit for a year only to find the oil pump gasket was bad, it had a major oil leak.

 

[trevstuh86]

Fixed my issue, coolant tempts are holding between 174-190. It was the radiator I was using from amazon. I had a old mishimoto civic radiator laying around. I just thought maybe I should try it. After bleeding the coolant and I let it idle for over a n hour in the garage and temps was holding. I then took it our and cruised for about 45 minutes and no more boiling coolant in the reservoir. Logging on ecmlink temps never went over 196. All this time it was the radiator hahaha. After I spent the cash on getting my spare heard resurfaced, 3 head gasket, 3 thermostats, 3 radiator caps, water pump, and multiple times doing the timing belt. I finally get to sleep at night and not think what could my issue be.