HELP! Please? Water shooting out breather!

[BuNcHeSs]

This is going to be lengthy.. but ill start off with the mods

type s blow off valve
homemade boost controller 13 psi
hardpipe intake, high flow filter
2.5 cat-back exhaust

I decided to replace my thermostat, even though I wasnt getting any temperature fluctuation other than maybe once a month and never over 3/4 of the way up. This was sunday, 4 days ago, and didn't bleed the system. (dumb i know, I'm a rookie). but i didnt have any problems until 2 days after I drove to milwaukee (about 60 miles) and it started to run warmer on the way back. about 2/3s of the way up. and only on the highway. the next day i went on a cruise with some friends and was driving it pretty hard and it almost went all the way up and i quickly stopped, and went home. the next day (today) as i was driving on the work it was slowly creeping up closer and closer to the max but never fully reached the maximum point. i bled the coolant system and my car would still overheat, now while driving in the city but never at idle. thinking i might have mixed the coolant with too much water I drained some, and put a higher mixture of 70% coolant to 30% water, started it up, went inside thinking it wouldn't over heat while at idle i went inside to well.. take a dump.. to only come out to water spraying out the breather from the overflow reservoir and the heat gauge PEGGED.

when i was bleeding the system earlier i did notice the water was flowing so its not my water pump, i think.. coolant would spurt out sporadically about 3 or 4 inches high every minute or so when i was bleeding it if that has any relevancy

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

It sounds to me like you never properly filled the cooling system. I am not sure I understand what you mean by "bleeding" the cooling system. You fill the cooling system and you bleed your brakes. I sure hope you didn't warp the head with it getting that hot.

With the car cooled down you need to try to remove the radiator cap and fill the cooling system with a 50/50 mix of coolant and water as much as possible. Then start the car and let it run with the cap off and and the heater on and blowing. Wait for the thermostat to open (should be around the middle of the temp gauge) and when it does you may notice the temp drop and/or the coolant in the hose under the radiator cap may have gone down a bit. If the coolant goes down fill it back up to the top of the pipe/hose where the cap goes and put the cap back on. The cooling system should now be topped off and you should not overheat anymore.

One more thing to do to make absolutely sure that the cooling system is topped off is to pop the cap off one more time AFTER it has completely cooled off and make sure it doesn't need a little more added to top it off all the way. If it does, just top it off again and put the cap back on and you're good to go. Good luck!

 

[TSiAWD666]

It's possible the issue is your radiator cap not holding pressure. Or of course you've blown a headgasket. The former is the easier test, so just pick up a new oem rad cap and see.

When looking to keep your car cooler in summer don't add more coolant. Add more water. By increasing the coolant percentage you've actual decreased your ability to transfer heat from the engine. A 70% water 30% coolant ratio is commonly used to give you enough lubrication and coolant benefits (like increased boiling point) but maintain the high heat transfer water gives you.

To the guy just above me, bleeding the coolant system is for getting out as much air from the system as possible. Air does not transfer heat well at all to the water/coolant mixture and thus air bubbles can cause hot spots in the engine. Also air in the coolant itself decreases its ability to transfer heat something like ten fold. You definitely want to bleed the air out of the coolant/water mixture. On a stock system this is typically done by running with the rad cap off until up to operating temp, all the while burping the lower line of the radiator, sometimes smacking random locations on the block with a soft hammer, and even shaking the car around. Whatever works really.

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

To the guy just above me, bleeding the coolant system is for getting out as much air from the system as possible. Air does not transfer heat well at all to the water/coolant mixture and thus air bubbles can cause hot spots in the engine. Also air in the coolant itself decreases its ability to transfer heat something like ten fold. You definitely want to bleed the air out of the coolant/water mixture. On a stock system this is typically done by running with the rad cap off until up to operating temp, all the while burping the lower line of the radiator, sometimes smacking random locations on the block with a soft hammer, and even shaking the car around. Whatever works really.

I know you have to get the air out the system, why else would I explain the procedure? I just have never called it bleeding, nor have I ever heard it called that. Bleeding to me is when you crack a line and force, or allow gravity to force fluid out, which is nothing like what you are doing when you burp a cooling system. Not trying to be abrasive, just want you to know where I'm coming from.

 

[TSiAWD666]

Explaining how to fill coolant didn't really cover why you were doing it and what you were actually accomplishing, hence my explanation of what "bleeding" in this context meant. it wasn't clear to me that your explanation covered the necessary info for the op.

Pretty common use for the term in my experience, and if you look at definitions 4a and b of the transitive verb you'll understand why I think:
Bleed - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

 

[WES_393]

thinking i might have mixed the coolant with too much water I drained some, and put a higher mixture of 70% coolant to 30% water, started it up, went inside thinking it wouldn't over heat while at idle i went inside to well.

This was a bad move. In terms of cooling, there's no such thing as too much water in a cooling system. Your only limited by how much freeze protection you need. However, you can have too much antifreeze (or "coolant") in the mix. You should never run anymore than 50% coolant, which typically gives freeze protection down to -30°. It would be best to run as close to 70% water and 30% coolant which still offers freeze protection down to 0°.

Also, 90% of parts store thermostats are bad out of the box. I would pull it out and test it in a pot of boiling water. Then refill the system with an appropriate mix of water and antifreeze.

And for what it's worth, I have never bled, burped, bubbled, whatevered, a DSM cooling system. I simply fill it to the top, wait a minute, top it off, and then run the engine. Once the engine is cooled top off the coolant and make sure the overflow is at the proper level. Done. I'm still using the stock radiator, stock water-oil cooler, and even water cooling the wastegate with a single slim fan and no ducting. Not a single cooling issue.

 

[T2Small]

I've had a brand new thermostat fail to open properly when hot. After removal I tested it and the replacement in a pot of water. I'd make sure you have all the air out of the system, replace the cap with a known good one. If it still overheats, pull the thermostat again and test it. If that all checks out think about the fans perhaps not activating properly or a blown head gasket.

 

[BuNcHeSs]

I have changed it back to the old thermostat, and a new radiator cap and now it doest overheat in idle, i let it idle for a good 20 minutes or more. and it only over heats when I accelerate, then it will drop down a little, then heat up when I continue to accelerate. the temperature doesnt seem to rise unless i accelerate and i drove it a good 20 miles in the city without until it got into the danger zone

i had forgot to mention previously that when this started there was a hissing noise that would come and go from the passenger side while driving. also the heater blow cold air, possible heater core?

 

[WES_393]

Sounds like you might have blown the head gasket. Does the coolant level drop after driving for a while?

I would run a leak down test ASAP: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/338152-compression-leak-down-testing.html

 

[BuNcHeSs]

Sounds like you might have blown the head gasket. Does the coolant level drop after driving for a while?

I would run a leak down test ASAP: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/338152-compression-leak-down-testing.html

The coolant level doesn't change, there coolant or water in the oil, no misfire (I drove it hard for a bit after it cooled down, under almost full boost), coolant looks fine, and the exhaust smoke doesnt look abnormal at all. no white, or discoloration

Flushed and now the car doesn't over heat. It runs warmer, but nothing significant.

I went ahead and did a compression test and I have low compression in all cylinders, all were just around 135. Wet tested adding 1 tbsp of 5W30 and every one went close to 180. Tested each cylinder multiple times, after multiple drives with engine at operating temp and WOT.

Where do I go from here?