bubbling coolant question

[sethtroy]

i have read some of the threads on this forum and they arnt helping my situation any. the proble i am having is that i just picked up my 1991 eclipse gsx. before buying the vehicle i checked the oil for any milkness and the coolant for any smudge and both were fine. after purchasing the vehicle driving it home 2 hours on the freeway. turned the car off and then a few minutes later coolant is comming out of the resovore and making a bubbling sound. the wierd thing is the car never over heated. i saw the gauge move very so slightly but then dropped. it satyed right between the e and m on the temp gauge (straight up and down).checked the resovore an hour later and it was empty i then read the forum and decided to check some stuff i had read. i tried the pulling off the radiator cap to see if the coolant would come shooting out of the top and it didnt. it flowed into the radiator. waited for the fan to come on and and nothing had changed. so i then tried to turn on the heater to make sure it blew hot air and it did. shut the car down and the car was fine no bubbling. the coolant level was good in the filler neck also. please someone help.

thanks
nate

 

[Loewen21]

It could be that your cap is shot and is letting excess amounts of coolant into your resevoir, or a blown Head Gasket, pushing the coolant out.

 

[roadrunner2176]

Its possible the water pump is bad, or starting to go bad. Look for leaks around the pulley neck. Could also be caused from an incorrect mixture of water to antifreeze, a bad radiator hose, or a dirty clogged radiator. But if you said its bubbling, when running, idling, or boosting, its probably from a headgasket. You dont have to have milky antifreeze to have a headgasket leak. It could be a small internal leak, smell your exhaust.

 

[sethtroy]

when i let the car sit for a minute after shutting it off is when it starts to bubble. i then quickly start the car back up and the temp gauge is normal.

 

[ZmanIV]

Try a new cap and also a new thermostat. In that order
Doesnt sound like a blown HG, blown HG would be bubbles in the water that are visible while the car is running.
Water should only be going into the overflow tank untill around 200 degrees (depends on what yours is at) the same goes for the Tstat.
Your system sounds like it is unbalanced and the pressure from the block side is overcoming the cap when there is no coolant flow

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

What you are describing is pretty much normal. When you are driving down the road there is cool air moving across your radiator, or your cans are working because your car is on. When you stop the motor is still hot and the coolant it not circulating so it is just sitting in the block/head/radiator boiling because it's not moving. First thing I would do it flush all the old coolant out and put a new 50/50 mix in there and then make sure your fans are operational.

 

[blcknspo0ln]

Sounds normal, but you may have air in your system. When the car is COOL, remove the radiator cap and turn the car on. Let it idle for a bit until the thermostat opens and then let is sit for another 1 or 2 minutes. You'll see all of the air bubbles come out.

 

[sethtroy]

i think i am going to replace the radiator. which one is going to fit like stock? also will be upgraded to a 2g manifold later on and a 16g if that changes anything as far as the radiator. also added some water that spilled out from that trip and then drove it about an hour on the freeway and samething happen but not as bad. there wasnt as much water /coolant that spilled out. also i live where the temperature out side is 100+. any suggestions on where i can feel (like the hose from the radiator) to feel for bubbling? thanks again everyone


nate

 

[ZmanIV]

if you want to go big get a fluidyne or a koyo.
I am using a fluidyne myself, as far as feeling for bubbles that isnt what we said.
When the car is off and cold, remove the radiator cap. slowly squeeze the lower radiator hose to remove (burp) the air if any out of the system. If you squeeze the lower tube several times and there is not any air escaping then the system should be fully purged.

This is a 1G right? what manifold are you going to upgrade. and what does that have to do with the coolant issue.

 

[sethtroy]

i was talking about the manifold maybe hitting the upgraded radiator. thats why i was letting you know what manifold i was going to be using.

 

[spitfireskatr7]

What you are describing is pretty much normal. When you are driving down the road there is cool air moving across your radiator, or your cans are working because your car is on. When you stop the motor is still hot and the coolant it not circulating so it is just sitting in the block/head/radiator boiling because it's not moving. First thing I would do it flush all the old coolant out and put a new 50/50 mix in there and then make sure your fans are operational.

the coolant still shouldn't be boiling....under pressure the boiling point of the coolant should be significantly more than the temperature of the engine...the engine isn't getting hotter once it is off

 

[bling5tatus]

Spitfire is right, water in a closed pressurized system cannot boil.

 

[sethtroy]

so then what could be my problem? it never has overheated the gauge does go up alittle after i shut it off and wait to hear if it is going to bubble. never while the car is running does it bubble and it usually doesnt bubble until about 1 or 2 minutes after i have shut the car off.

one other thing i noticed was that when i try to pull off the radiator cap it seems to be stuck and i have to wiggle it back and forth and pull it pretty hard to get it off

 

[papasapusc]

I am having this problem along with you. After reading this thread, it makes me think that it may be an unequal water/coolant ratio, because my seal is bad on my turbo so my coolant leaks a little, and I just add water, and the more I add, the more it bubbles after long drives. I'm going to try replacing the cap anyway, and I will let you know how it goes.

-Mike N.-
'91 GSX

 

[sethtroy]

if it was a blown head gasket wouldnt there be coolant spelling out of the radiator car part of it when i took it off and let it idle for awhile? where is the bubbling comming from the radiator or from the engine?

 

[sethtroy]

fixed it. it was the radiator cap. the owner had put on a 9.0 psi cap and the stock one is a 13.0 thanks for everything everyone

 

[Defiant]

I would do it flush all the old coolant out and put a new 50/50 mix in there and then make sure your fans are operational.

Don't go more than 30% antifreeze if you aren't in snow.

 

[Turboeagletalon]

you gies have completelty missed what he said. When he shut the car off. Coolant boils out of the resivior. I would say the vehicle has a fualty radioator cap. 6 dallor fix. i would also recomend duing the thermostate. Iwould go with a 180 degree one.

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

the coolant still shouldn't be boiling....under pressure the boiling point of the coolant should be significantly more than the temperature of the engine...the engine isn't getting hotter once it is off

If his radiator cap is broken that the system won't hold any pressure and the coolant will boil out. Make sure you have the proper cap on there and that it is functional.

Edit: Just saw you fixed the problem. Congrats. And to Turboeagletalon, We didn't completely miss what he said, but you must have missed the rules printed on the first page of the forums regarding spelling and grammar.

 

[Loewen21]

Who got it right in the first post
haha jokes
Glad you got it all figured out, coolant systems can be a pain in the

 

[ZmanIV]

Who got it right in the first post

Bragger have a cookie