2G Pushing coolant

[ryancampbell98]

Lately my car has been pushing coolant. Overflow reservoir will boil up and get close to the cap. After a drive today the reservoir was boiling over and when I let it cool down, it’s now at low on the reservoir when I filled it before the drive. Is it normal for the thermostat housing to not have coolant sitting in it? Mine is empty and when I start it up, once the car heats up it starts to boil and flow out the rad cap hole.
I filled it with coolant today and filled the overflow to the correct amount. I will replace the thermo and rad cap before thinking about head gasket replacement. Need input

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[danl]

Test the headgasket. It’s likely blown.

 

[jdxnc]

Test the headgasket. It’s likely blown.

I would bet money on the rad cap and not the head gasket. From seeing the stock UICP, I doubt its making enough steam to push the gasket in my experience.

First step to boiling over is changing the rad cap, if the spring gets weak or the seal deteriorates the coolant system will not be able to pressurize and have this exact problem. I've fixed a handfull of these cars with a simple $12 Stant rad cap.

 

[chrisman287]

Have you tried burping the system?

 

[pauleyman]

I would bet money on the rad cap and not the head gasket. From seeing the stock UICP, I doubt its making enough steam to push the gasket in my experience.

First step to boiling over is changing the rad cap, if the spring gets weak or the seal deteriorates the coolant system will not be able to pressurize and have this exact problem. I've fixed a handfull of these cars with a simple $12 Stant rad cap.

I'm in agreement. Do what you know to do then make decisions. Rad cap and thermostat are fast. You'll know what to do shortly

 

[ryancampbell98]

I would bet money on the rad cap and not the head gasket. From seeing the stock UICP, I doubt its making enough steam to push the gasket in my experience.

First step to boiling over is changing the rad cap, if the spring gets weak or the seal deteriorates the coolant system will not be able to pressurize and have this exact problem. I've fixed a handfull of these cars with a simple $12 Stant rad cap.

I think you’re right boss. I did some troubleshooting on the rad cap. It’s faulty forsure. I visually saw coolant leaking out the rad cap and bubbling out of it. I ordered a new one. I’ll keep y’all updated.

 

[pauleyman]

You should also check your coolant concentration. Now would be a good time to flush after you check concentration

 

[ryancampbell98]

I flushed it yesterday, i put some cleaner in the system with distilled water but I don’t think it flushed out completely cause I’m still getting white soapy foam in the coolant from the cleaner when it rises and heats up.

 

[pauleyman]

Stick a hose in it and flush it completely

 

[jdxnc]

I don't advise any cleaners or whatever in these motors for the future, there's so many little passages and what not for it to get trapped in, only real way to get it out is to turn the motor upside down with the head off. That being said, just flush it with water a few times to dilute it.

 

[ryancampbell98]

I would bet money on the rad cap and not the head gasket. From seeing the stock UICP, I doubt its making enough steam to push the gasket in my experience.

First step to boiling over is changing the rad cap, if the spring gets weak or the seal deteriorates the coolant system will not be able to pressurize and have this exact problem. I've fixed a handfull of these cars with a simple $12 Stant rad cap.

Now that I think about it. Wouldn’t it ultimately be a blown head gasket if I took the radiator cap off and filled the car with coolant, started it and then once it got to operating temps it immediately started to foam up and bubble up? Wouldn’t that ultimately mean pressure from the combustion chamber has entered? Or did I just not flush all the cleaner out and that’s what is foaming up? Im not seeing any white smoke.

 

[DSMPT]

I’m still getting white soapy foam in the coolant

If bubbles that look like beer foam keep coming up after the engine gets operating temp and never stop, that's a typical sign of blown head gasket.

 

[ryancampbell98]

If bubbles that look like beer foam keep coming up after the engine gets operating temp and never stop, that's a typical sign of blown head gasket.

This is a reasonable analysis. I do have to add if you didn’t see already that I did add a coolant cleaner that I don’t think flushed out completely. That it the reason for the soapy foam coming up. Because when I tested it before i added the cleaner the coolant didn’t foam up like that out of the radiator cap opening. I’ll report back though after flushing all the cleaner out futhermore with water and I replace that thermostat and radiator cap.

 

[jdxnc]

Change the cap before you do anything else, stop overthinking it.

 

[danl]

I would bet money on the rad cap and not the head gasket. From seeing the stock UICP, I doubt its making enough steam to push the gasket in my experience.

First step to boiling over is changing the rad cap, if the spring gets weak or the seal deteriorates the coolant system will not be able to pressurize and have this exact problem. I've fixed a handfull of these cars with a simple $12 Stant rad cap.

I agree to check the radiator cap first as it is cheap and easily accessible, good call. What worried me was how he said the overflow was boiling which tells me that something is causing it to bubble. A leaky rad cap would just slowly push coolant out the overflow tube. The "boiling" is my concern. I hope you are right though, because a radiator cap is MUCH easier than doing a HG correctly.

 

[pauleyman]

I agree to check the radiator cap first as it is cheap and easily accessible, good call. What worried me was how he said the overflow was boiling which tells me that something is causing it to bubble. A leaky rad cap would just slowly push coolant out the overflow tube. The "boiling" is my concern. I hope you are right though, because a radiator cap is MUCH easier than doing a HG correctly.

The boiling will depend on the concentration. I've had one boil because at atmospheric pressure I was above boiling temp. New cap and a little more antifreeze took care if the problem.

 

[jdxnc]

I agree to check the radiator cap first as it is cheap and easily accessible, good call. What worried me was how he said the overflow was boiling which tells me that something is causing it to bubble. A leaky rad cap would just slowly push coolant out the overflow tube. The "boiling" is my concern. I hope you are right though, because a radiator cap is MUCH easier than doing a HG correctly.

Nope, I've seen boiling as well, all fixed by a new cap.

 

[ryancampbell98]

The boiling will depend on the concentration. I've had one boil because at atmospheric pressure I was above boiling temp. New cap and a little more antifreeze took care if the problem.

I’m sure you’re right on this one, I was already above boiling temp on the car and it looked like more coolant needed to be put in. I was just noting what I saw. My new Greddy high pressure cap is coming in the mail soon. Could’ve just went to autozone but I’m tired of buying small stuff like rad and oils caps from them cause they are usually universal, poorly made, and don’t tend to last. I have a new thermostat coming too just in case. I’m sure the cap will do it. I’ll report back once I put the new cap on.

Nope, I've seen boiling as well, all fixed by a new cap.

i bought a 1.3 rated cap instead of the 0.9 cap. My car is mostly stock. Did I make a mistake? I honestly just thought the cap was better cause it was rated higher and Greddy branded.

 

[chrisman287]

i bought a 1.3 rated cap instead of the 0.9 cap. My car is mostly stock. Did I make a mistake? I honestly just thought the cap was better cause it was rated higher and Greddy branded.

I’ve seen people run 1.3 and 1.1 caps without issue.

I just put a 1.1 cap on my car recently that I had laying around. It seemed much better quality than the aftermarket 0.9 cap that was brand new. I didn’t have any issues tho I just found the cap in a drawer and put it on.

 

[danl]

Nope, I've seen boiling as well, all fixed by a new cap.

I love learning new things, thanks! Admittedly I change out the radiator cap often because I remove them every quarter mile pass looking for air or every hard street pull. Yes, I’m OCD. Likely this is why I’ve never seen a bad one or the symptoms you described.

OP, it’s good to check the condition of the rad cap sealing surfaces. I’ve seen them quite pitted up. If they are pitted, it will be difficult to make a good seal from the pressurized cooling system to the overflow tank.

 

[DSMPT]

This is a reasonable analysis. I do have to add if you didn’t see already that I did add a coolant cleaner that I don’t think flushed out completely. That it the reason for the soapy foam coming up. Because when I tested it before i added the cleaner the coolant didn’t foam up like that out of the radiator cap opening. I’ll report back though after flushing all the cleaner out futhermore with water and I replace that thermostat and radiator cap.

I read that. I meant if you would keep seeing the foam coming up endlessly after flushing enough, then that's a typical sign of blown head gasket.

i bought a 1.3 rated cap instead of the 0.9 cap. My car is mostly stock. Did I make a mistake?

You can use it, but just you need to be careful that a higher pressure cap may cause leak from the radiator tank seal, hose joint etc (from weaker/older sealing location). So in case if the higher pressure cap causes that, you need to reinforce the sealing. Or going back to 0.9 cap.

 

[ryancampbell98]

The new thermostat and radiator cap solved my issue. Thank you guys. Thermostat seemed to play a big role. Car definitely didn’t get as hot as quick as it did before with a new thermostat. No more boiling coolant in more overflow!

 

[ryancampbell98]

spoke too soon . Overflow full again. Wow. Head gasket then probably

 

[danl]

Does it overflow during normal driving or specifically after you do a hard pull in the car? Does it do it when cold as well at warmed up or always warm?

 

[ryancampbell98]

Does it overflow during normal driving or specifically after you do a hard pull in the car? Does it do it when cold as well at warmed up or always warm?

Update again, I took that bs Greddy 1.3bar cap off. Didn’t really fit well. I knew something was up. It was like pulling teeth trying to get that thing on somewhat right. Got an 0.9 oem style from autozone, fits perfectly and now the car is acting as it should. Overflow isn’t filling up and boiling and when it fills up a little over full, the coolant flows back into the engine as the engine cools down like it should. Like most here say, oem is the best. It’s always the smallest aftermarket stuff that claims to fit most that wants to screw me over thank y’all again.