Car is purging coolant out of expansion tank,
03-11-2009, 02:27 PM
#11
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Agree
On a cold engine, install a pressure tester. It has a guage on it. Fire the car up without pressurizing the system, it it moves up quickly ( say within a minute ) suspect head gaskets. One of the things I always check on overheating cars is radiati temp top and bottom. Did you ever check on your car? You can check by hand as it warms up.
03-11-2009, 02:37 PM
#12
I like the pressure test trick! Love this forum...always something new to learn.
I do have a nice Stant coolant system pressure test kit, so I'll make that trick part of my future diagnostics. Thanks!
On my car I couldn't really get to the radiator good enough, even with an infrared temp gun, to get good readings. These are cross flow radiators, so they get hot from one side and move toward the other, and it's hard to get a good read on them anyway. Plus, mine was flowing fine up top, and along the whole top half, so that's why I think my readings weren't showing much. Also, with the a/c condensor covering the entire front, you can't get to the radiator from out there either.
Sadly, mine was just a process of elimination....and as Daveinsaltlake has said, I'm the only guy he knows who would do headgaskets on a car before replacing the radiator.
The problem with my situation was that I wasn't seeing "overheating" type problems via the coolant temp gauge. The car would simply blow off coolant over a period of an hour or 2 on the road, until the low coolant warning light would come on.
On my car I couldn't really get to the radiator good enough, even with an infrared temp gun, to get good readings. These are cross flow radiators, so they get hot from one side and move toward the other, and it's hard to get a good read on them anyway. Plus, mine was flowing fine up top, and along the whole top half, so that's why I think my readings weren't showing much. Also, with the a/c condensor covering the entire front, you can't get to the radiator from out there either.
Sadly, mine was just a process of elimination....and as Daveinsaltlake has said, I'm the only guy he knows who would do headgaskets on a car before replacing the radiator.
The problem with my situation was that I wasn't seeing "overheating" type problems via the coolant temp gauge. The car would simply blow off coolant over a period of an hour or 2 on the road, until the low coolant warning light would come on.
03-11-2009, 04:51 PM
#14
It was a tough diagnosis, especially with the temp gauge always staying rock solid on "normal"
That, and around our local area, even on the 35mi drive to and from my inlaws, the car would be fine, year round.
I chocked up the blown "new" heater core to having bought aftermarket parts, instead of OEM. So even that didn't really set off a warning in my head.
It wasn't until my wife took the car to the bay area one weekend and it was nearly 100 once she got out of our coastal area. About an hour into the drive, she got the low coolant light and then battled with the car 200mi away, for the next 2 days.
It seemed better after that new coolant cap and t-stat, so I thought I'd nailed it. But then we had a trip east 150mi in 90*F weather. On the way back from that weekend, I was flogging it up a decent little grade and the low coolant light came on. First time it had happened with me in the car.
I looked at the temp gauge, still reading normal. Looked at the oil temp gauge.......140*C or more!! It was then I knew something more serious was going on, and that prompted the head gaskets.
But after they were done, it went right back to the pattern of making a lot of cooling system pressure and venting from the cap. I finally decided that the only thing it could be was what I hadn't really been able to test/check...flow through the radiator.
When I took the radiator to a local reputable shop, I'd intended to have it flow check, rodded out, and put back together. When the guy called and said these can't be rebuilt, I asked him to just take the tank off and flow test. Bingo....no flow.
Crappy way to learn a lesson, but....it's a lesson learned none the less.
I chocked up the blown "new" heater core to having bought aftermarket parts, instead of OEM. So even that didn't really set off a warning in my head.
It wasn't until my wife took the car to the bay area one weekend and it was nearly 100 once she got out of our coastal area. About an hour into the drive, she got the low coolant light and then battled with the car 200mi away, for the next 2 days.
It seemed better after that new coolant cap and t-stat, so I thought I'd nailed it. But then we had a trip east 150mi in 90*F weather. On the way back from that weekend, I was flogging it up a decent little grade and the low coolant light came on. First time it had happened with me in the car.
I looked at the temp gauge, still reading normal. Looked at the oil temp gauge.......140*C or more!! It was then I knew something more serious was going on, and that prompted the head gaskets.
But after they were done, it went right back to the pattern of making a lot of cooling system pressure and venting from the cap. I finally decided that the only thing it could be was what I hadn't really been able to test/check...flow through the radiator.
When I took the radiator to a local reputable shop, I'd intended to have it flow check, rodded out, and put back together. When the guy called and said these can't be rebuilt, I asked him to just take the tank off and flow test. Bingo....no flow.
Crappy way to learn a lesson, but....it's a lesson learned none the less.
03-11-2009, 05:13 PM
#16
Something to consider about these turbulator style radiators
The tubes aren't just hollow tubes. They have fins inside that are designed to slow down the flow of coolant, so it stays in the radiator longer, for better heat transfer.
The problem is, is that clogging becomes a HUGE issue. Any little particle is going to get trapped and it probably only takes a couple chunks of crud, or a small amount of rusty sludge to block and entire tube off.
Therefore.......the radiator is very easily clogged.
For the $150 that drivewire.com was selling these for (I paid $249 just a few months ago) I'd say just buy the radiator and throw it in.
Run over to a local shop and give 'em 10-20 bucks to sniff your coolant steam with their exhaust gas analyzer. If it show's no HC's, or CO's, you know your head gaskets are fine, and it's a radiator.
The problem is, is that clogging becomes a HUGE issue. Any little particle is going to get trapped and it probably only takes a couple chunks of crud, or a small amount of rusty sludge to block and entire tube off.
Therefore.......the radiator is very easily clogged.
For the $150 that drivewire.com was selling these for (I paid $249 just a few months ago) I'd say just buy the radiator and throw it in.
Run over to a local shop and give 'em 10-20 bucks to sniff your coolant steam with their exhaust gas analyzer. If it show's no HC's, or CO's, you know your head gaskets are fine, and it's a radiator.
03-11-2009, 11:11 PM
#18
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^^ Mercedes anti-freeze ??? ^^
One of my best friends, Jimmy Dee whom was a Mercedes dealer mechanic for 15 years swears up & down that Mercedes has the absolute best anti-freeze. He says it's nearly clear and stays that way because it has the best anti-corrosive additives especially for aluminum or partially aluminum engines. He claims that scum doesn't even build up on the inside of the radiator hoses of cars that use it exclusively. It was expensive at $43 for 3 gallons even with a mechanic's discount but may be worth it with these newer type radiators. Thoughts anyone, maybe he's on to something ??? ~ John Buchtenkirch
03-11-2009, 11:55 PM
#19
The problem though is that we are all buying cars with 100k+ on them. The damage is done.
There's already 10 years worth of potential "damage" been done to the radiators. Generally, coolant is recommended to be replaced every 2 years and the system completely flushed. Who ever does that? So all the sediment is already packed into the turbulators and I'm guessing many of our cars have moderate amounts of blockage.
The best bet is probably to flush out the radiators backwards using a garden hose on full blast, and even then, that may no dislodge stuck particles or solidified crud.
The best bet is probably to flush out the radiators backwards using a garden hose on full blast, and even then, that may no dislodge stuck particles or solidified crud.
