GSRaCeRbOI

I'm asking this question for my friends 92 GS hatch... we were doing a major maintenance (like the 30K interval maintenance) on his car today and I noticed the coolant reservoir was dry... I was like don't bother adding coolant.. lets drain and flush out the whole system... he told me that when u add coolant to the MAX level.. first it overflows then after it overflows to whatever point where it doesn't anymore..

in about a week or 2 he said the coolant reservoir is dry again... since its not my car and I don't see/drive it regularly and I don't see him everyday I don't know if it all overflows out or is getting consumed.. I told him to check it everyday and jot down the coolant reservoir level before he leaves for work everyday.. but has anyone every encountered this? what could the problem be?

he said when he starts his car up each morning there is some white (not blue) smoke coming out of the exhaust.. but thats only if its been sitting overnite... I forget the colors for burning can sum1 please clarify? .. was it blue = coolant, white = oil, black = fuel? OR was it blue = burning oil, white = burning coolant.. I forget.. help me out...

anyway after doing the rest of the maintenances (oil, filter, fuel filter, manual tranny fluid, bled brakes, valve adjust, spark plugs, cap, rotor, clean his AEM filter, clean the throttle body, rotated the tires, checked his A/C, cv boots, power steering fluid, brake pads, fill battery w/ water, etc...) we start the car up and decide to take it for a spin and to go buy some fuel system cleaner...

when we get to the autopart store I notice dripping from his car.. I was like hmm what isn't tight.. upon closer look its coolant... so we pop the hood and see that its coolant overflowing from the overflow/reserve reservoir... when we filled it the level was at MAX.. and now it overflowed and is beyond max... he said it always does that and in about a week.. the coolant reserve tank will be bone dry.. what could be the problem?

I got him to buy a new radiator cap, and we bought more coolant and a can of fuel system cleaner.. but what else could it be?

also when waiting to check out/pay.. there was only ONE cashier working wtf? and in front of us is this riceboy arguing w/ them that his $20 or whatever for the pair APC headlights blew out and he wants his money back damn he was there for like 20 mins and we just wanted to get outta the store.. and his resolution after they told him like 30 times they don't warranty out of package/used/installed bulbs.. they only take back new/unopened/unused products.. he bought another pair of APC bulbs

anyway what could be wrong w/ my friends cooling system/overflow tank?

oh yeah when he's driving (even driving hard and redlining) the car doesn't heat up or go past normal temps (according to the temp guage).. and when I was draining the coolant into milk jugs for recycling.. I didn't notice any oil in the coolant... and when I drained the drain pans oil into other milk jugs for recycling I didn't notice any coolant in the oil.. so its not a blown head gasket right? what could it be? any help on this would be appreciated.. thanks in advance..


[Modified by GSRaCeRbOI, 5:39 PM 7/21/2002]

Chubz

Id do a compression and leakdown test just to make sure its not the headgasket, that will answer some of your worries. Id check all coolant hoses and contact areas for leaks.

Tweakmeister

Add some RedLine water wetter additive....

Do the flush....drain the radiator, and then drain from the block (the bolt + replace washer and seal).

Refill the radiator and resevoir, then wait till car heats up (bleed system), then refill again (into radiator).

Refill resevoir.

I'm willing to bet the top of the radiator cracked. Around 100k miles I've seen several that do, and the piece is just not well built.

edit\\\ the plastic capped ones


[Modified by Tweakmeister, 2:56 AM 7/22/2002]

GSRaCeRbOI

Supertech: thanks I'll tell him that

Tweakmeister: w/ the exception of the water wetter we already did all that today.. and yeah his car is definately over 100K..

Teken: right now there is a 50/50 coolant/water mixture in there and it does it.. I guess we'd have to drain it again sometime next weekend or whenever we're both free to test if it does that w/ straight water... so for right now I can't answer whether or not it does it w/ straight water...

how do you pressure test it? is it something you can buy a pressure test kit at the auto part store to pressure test it? or is it something you have to take to a shop.. I've never done it before so sorry if it sounds like a basic question/easy thing to do for you... if you could elaborate on the procedure/tell me how to do it that would be appreciated.. or if its something that has to be done at a shop w/ shop equip then let me know and I'll tell my friend that...

I also tested the coolant w/ my Prestone coolant tester Lolz.. it says boil over protection is at like 268 I think.. I didn't anticipate problems so I didn't memorize the reading.. but I think it was 268 degrees F..not sure how accurate that thing is considering it was pretty cheap..

whats wierd is the temp guage shows normal temp.. u guys think maybe his temp guage or temp sensor is bad and its actually boiling over/over heating?

anyway if you guys could detail how to check/test things out it would be greatly appreciated... and thank you for those who responded (and future replies)..

EDIT: BTW where do you guys buy redline water wetter? Is it something only speed/performance shops carry? I've looked in Kragen, Pep Boys, Autozone and the only products I see are products w/ variations of "Cool" aka TowCool, Engine Kool, etc... are any of those good? if not.. where do you guys buy water wetter in So Cali and how much is it?

also any1 know the burning smoke colors?
blue = burning _______
white = burning ______
is it blue = coolant, white = oil? or vice versa? I always get confused as whether one color is oil or coolant.. I need to write that down or something = (...


[Modified by GSRaCeRbOI, 7:21 PM 7/21/2002]

GSRaCeRbOI

alright thanks for explaining it Teken... I'll relay that info to him and see what he wants to do w/ the car.. maybe I'll buy the tester since it sounds useful for my cars/might use it in the future... and if we don't see any visible leaks then I'll tell him to take it to a shop and get a leak down test and have the shop check it out...

tonydatyga

Just a note, if you choose to perform the test by yourself. Give the pump a good amount of pumps. It takes a bit of volume to build up pressure in the system and very often people judge the system working when in fact there isn't enough pressure in the system to spot failures. I can't really explain why at the moment, but I would really suggest you see if you can inspect the thermostat. It's not a very common failure but it does happen enough, especially if its still the original piece on a 100k+ vehicle. Also, if everything checks out, its very possible you have a lot of buildup in your core. Especially true if your friend is running a street car w/o adequate corrosion inhibitors (antifreeze). This happens a lot to people who run "water wetter" and so on or plain water for extended periods on the street. Water pump also viable. God, your friends car would do well to have a thorough stripdown. Good luck

mickey513

Replace the radiator cap, that is more then likely the culprit.

GSRaCeRbOI

tonydatyga: alright thanks for the tip.. as for the cars history/maintenance history I really don't know... the car was originally his sisters, then it was given to him.. I'm not sure what she has done/had to repair on it before she gave it to him.. I'd have to ask him if she has any repair receipts or told him anything.. as far as I know he hasn't mentioned having to replace anything while he's had it..

Mickey513: we already replaced the radiator cap w/ a new one.. waited like 20-30 minutes to pay for it cuz this riceboy was arguiing w/ the cashier over wanting a warranty/replacement on his blown APC headlights and there was no other cashiers working ...

EDIT: oh yeah just wanted to add.. visual inspection and touch of the hoses today..they seemed OK... they did not look collapsed, cracked, frayed, or anything bad.. but yeah I know that wasn't very scientific and they weren't pressure tested or anything..but just wanted to add that I did look at the hoses..

cuz on another one of my friends car.. when the radiator cap was bad.. the top radiator hose was kinda collapsed.... we replaced the hose and the cap and everything was good...


[Modified by GSRaCeRbOI, 8:07 PM 7/21/2002]