radiator cap REPLACED..still leaking

[talondsmawd]

now i usually don't buy already modified cars but this dsm was a steal.. i just bought it a couple days ago and i noticed the radiator cap was leaking..so i went and bout a oem one..and it is still leaking. It isn't very bad it smokes and drips which angers me because the engine bay is very very clean. so the question im asking is.... Is it possible the the housing to become "egg shaped"? the temp gauge is reading normal. would a stuck thermostat make the cap leak? im lost?!?!?!?!??? and my heat isn't very hot so thats why im thinking the thermostat is stuck.. any help will be greatly appreciated

 

[The Chazz]

Engine heat not "Hot"........where does the needle sit?

If so, yea, you could have a stuck thermostat.

Where exactly is it leaking from? Anywhere near the timing belt?

If so, you could have a leaking waterpump .

 

[black_gst]

a good start would be to replace the thermostat i doubt the cap area could be egg shaped thermostats are cheap just get one. and im sure you know to stick with OEM

 

[talondsmawd]

the cap is what is leaking not by the timing belt...it had an oem one on it and it was leaking so i replaced it with another oem... and still leaking..
i didnt think the housing would become egg shaped but i figured it wouldnt hurt to ask.. but yeah about my head

when i bought the car the guy didn't have the heater core hooked up ( idk why you wouldnt) but i hooked it up and its warm but not very hot. i know it should be more..i have to have the heat full blast to keep you warm.. and the needle sits right before the symbol.. the car does heat up very fast less than a block to its at opperating temp

 

[frankenstein406]

done a rad flush lately? maybe clogged heater core

 

[IEdroStarI]

do you know if the car has over heated before? do your hoses look like theyre stretched?? i doubt its oval shaped but i wouldnt want to rule it out. have you checked to see if theres any cracks on the water neck assembly??

i'd check these things out and maybe look into trying to find a new water neck assembly at a local junkyard

 

[talondsmawd]

the hoses seem fine...and there aren't any cracks in the water neck. but would a clogged heater core make the cap leak? this weekend ill flush it and see if that makes any difference.. im stumped at what could make the cap continue to leak!

 

[phill]

bypass the heater core and run it for a little. see if it still leaks, if it doesn't then you know there is something up with the heater core. just something easy to try.

 

[snakeyes711]

When I bought mine. I had the same thing. New therm., gasket, and cap. Then I had to replace all the little rubber lines running off it. Also are you sure its the cap? it could be the temp sensor or the gasket that connects the neck to the head. G/L

 

[TheBlizz]

Check if the lip in the upper thermostat housing, where the gasket of the cap seals, is clean and level. I had a similar problem and there was gunk and oxidation all along the lip and not causing it to seal correctly.

 

[RayBan GST]

it happened to me before , i changed the radiator cap 4 times and its still leaking ( i used original mitsubishi cap )

so i did the following:

removed the black rubber from the old radiator cap and add it to the new radiator cap
( now the new radiator cap has double rubber inside) it was hard to seal it in but with some force you will be able to. after that i never had any problems ( no leaks at all)


just add one more rubber to your radiator cap and you will be good to go

good luck

 

[snakeyes711]

just add one more rubber to your radiator cap and you will be good to go

good luck

Always make sure you got good rubbers!

 

[black_gst]

yeah doubling up on your rubber couldent hurt

 

[bslavsGSX]

Haha yeah or if aren't sure just double bag it.. I hyad a darn hairline crack in the water neck it took a lot of bypassing and alot of caps off the jusnkyard and new. But if the guy who sold the car to you had it bypassed there was probably a reason.

 

[snakeyes711]

haha the worst thingyou could do, is have your rubber bust!

 

[95GreenGSX]

Why don't you just pressure test it?

 

[talondsmawd]

i think im gonna try and clean that lip on the housing and try the double rubber..that sounds like a good plan..when i bought the car the heater core wasn't hooked up and it would leak so it's nothing ive done since i bought it..it doesn't leak bad..just smokes a drips but this engine bay is sooo clean its annoying...and i should pressure test it. i haven't had a chance ive been out of town for the last week. what do you think the best engine cleaner would be the best to get all that coolant off the engine?

 

[MichaelSuch]

Any degreaser + pressure wash should be fine. Any pictures of said DSM?

 

[talondsmawd]

i finally got it, i doubled the rubber and changed the thermostat and now its fine. i just need to work on this heater core problem. if i were needing to replace it how do i go upon that?

 

[talondsmawd]

well i flushed my radiator today and it didn't seem to make a difference... what else could it be? i already changed my thermostat.

 

[Dsmj89]

Have you changed your coolant temp. sensor ?

 

[MichaelSuch]

Heater core is behind the dash, you can see the 2 larger black hoses leading from the bottom of the t-stat housing into the firewall, that is your heater core. I'm not sure on how to do this, check your manual, but I'm fairly certain like most of vehicles the dash will have to come out, or most of it anyways.

 

[talondsmawd]

well i wouldn't think the temp sensor would make a difference on the actual temp...so it has to be some of the lines in the heater core being clogged. does anyone know of a step by step process to remove the heater core? i searched this site but i couldn't find anything.

any help would be greatly appreciated