E Swift

I just got my car back today from the shop after installing my turbo, and when I got home, the container that holds the engine coolant was bubbling and pouring out steam. The steam stopped, and eventually the bubbling died down, but, I'm concerned about this. Was it because I was driving my car on the freeway at like 80mph for over an hour? I haven't done a flush and fill in a long time either. I have the stock radiator too. Anyone have any idea as to why this is happening????


Thanks in advance

shadowdawn

Dunno but it happens to me too from time to time, my compression numbers are good so it cancels out headgasket failure, also no oil or anything in my coolant. Might just be one of my lines (coolant) to the turbo occasionally sucks up air... but like I said it happens rarely to me, I'm way overdue for coolant flush though, right now my mixture is like 70-80% water and the rest antifreeze

E Swift

Well, I filled up the reserve tank up with some water and coolant, and drove it around, and no problems anymore.

But I'm curious as to why that happened earlier to me.

E Swift

Damn! Its overheating again with the water temp. But only on freeway runs. I'm getting a flush and fill on wednesday, along with the thermostat changed. Does anyone know what could be possibly wrong with it????

sutrusu

blown headgasket

BoostedH23a1

dude the exact same thing happend to my friend. blown head gasket. still got good compression no oil in the coolent but sure enough we put on a new head gasket and tha tsolved it. we tried thermostat first just for ***** and giggles taht worked for about a day. some time is bubbles and sometimes it doesnt. sorry man just its headgasket time...

DC2R714

This happened to me also. People said it was the headgasket and it wasn't. I had driven for an hour going 80+ then started doing hard pulls when I got home (it was my first turbo day). Same thing was happening, like boiling coolant, let it go for a day and haven't had a problem since. If it occurs all the time it might be the headgasket but if it only occurs when you have been running hard and your compression numbers and leakdown tests are good then you should be ok.

inspyral

My compression numbers were still 200+ across the board when my headgasket was blown...

Tofurky

hmm.m.. i have a problem like that... it's a gsr engine in a 92 cx... the ONLY time it overheats is going uphill on the freeway. i have the stock cx radiator, so i'm thinking that's the reason... but i can run way hard on the street and have no problems at all.

could it be my headgasket?
that would be strange considering i just purchased the motor, but nyeh...

my comp.# are fine, flushed coolant, was clean.... thermostat works fine. no coolant leaks...

E Swift

Well just drove it again, and the water temperature was going up to 205 degrees F, but would come back down to 180 again. I got home, checked the coolant reserve when the gauge said about 205, and it was fine. Maybe it will go away, but, I'm getting the fluid flushed on Wednesday and the Thermostat changed, so I'll go from there after that's done. The shop suggested that maybe one of the fans aren't running, but, I haven't checked it yet. Its hard to tell if it's turning on when you have 3" exhaust piping.

E Swift

Damn! I'm going to classes tonight, and get there, and the reserve tank is bubbling and spewing the coolant out in the parking lot. I checked my fans, and I noticed that only the right side fan is running. The other one is not. Can that possibly be the problem? Because when i'm on the freeway at higher speeds, it doesn't get that hot, but, once I get onto the regular roads, it heats up.

I know it can't be the headgasket because it runs fine. It would run shittier. Its either the thermostat is stuck closed, or the fan is the real problem.

echo999

sounds like your radiator fan isn't working..

Check that.. and if that runs, short out your auxiliary fan switch (temp switch)
by the thermostat.. if it runs when you short it out, then probably the switch is
bad. if it doesn't.. probably the relay is bad.

boostaholic

Sounds like a leak in your headgasket and it's allowing pressure to seep into your cooling system. That's why your radiator is boiling over.

Slain

damn that chits still giving you problems.... hmm we should try to get that fan working with the relay test if you havent done it tomorrow..... give me a ring when your out of work so you can fill me in on whats up..

Ri5e

Your head probably lifted up a little while boosting. So the exhaust gets into the coolant, makes it over flow, bubble, etc. Try ARP Head studs.

dbman96

Warped head or blown HG. I've been driving my car like this for like 6 weeks, 50 miles a day. Runs just fine, compression is fine, but when it heats up it allows exhaust into the coolant. I know it's not the gasket in my case, the head is definitely warped; I have ARP studs and retorqued them to 85 lbs which relieved most of my problems; it no longer overheats, but after I get to work if I let the car sit about an hour and look in the #2 cylinder I can see water in there so I know it's still leaking a little. Trying to talk the machinists at work into resurfacing my cyl. head for me

PrecisionH23a

Yes you are correct. This same **** happened to me back in february, and it was my headgasket along with a SLIGHTLY warped deck on my block due to constant overheating. I recommend stop boosting, the more you do the more it will overheat. I would have the head and block checked for warpage. Compression tests wont necessarily tell you if its the headgasket, trust me. Invest in some ARP head studs as well.

E Swift

I just had the fluid changed today, which was in need of it, according to the tech. They checked my fuse that leads to the compressor fan, and it was blown. Its reading 11.3 amps, and I had a 10 amp fuse in there. They replaced it with a 20 amp fuse, let it run, and they said that it didn't exceed 205 degrees when they were working on it. I drove it home, beat on it a little to test it out, and the temp went up to 210 at most, but, would always come down a little, which is good so far. And when I got home, it wasn't boiling or steaming.

Oh yeah, and they said that my headgasket wasn't blown either. They originally thought that right away when I told them the problem, but, I guess its okay.


[Modified by E Swift, 6:20 PM 10/9/2002]

PrecisionH23a

thats good to hear

shadowdawn

Now my problem, drove home from the dentist today boosting a little bit, mabye hit full boost like twice for SHORT sprits...

Come home to fix a fuse problem I was having and long behold my coolant is bubbling again, well I go ahead and fix the fuse problem first before I take the rad cap off. Take the rad cap off let it go up and down spill a little, then go back in etc....

Then I start the car, and let it idle till the fan came on (3 times) needless to say a crapload of bubbles would rush out all at once, about 3 times it happened before it simmered down to just about no bubbles at all. I did notice however that it would make little microscopic bubbles continuously like real fine soap suds sorta.... could this be a sign of dirty coolant? or too much water mixture?

History of my coolant was I drained mabye half of it when I replaced a turbo water line, and replaced it all simply with water.... so my mixture is WAY off. So until I can find someone around here in northern jersey with a leakdown tester I won't really know for sure.... When I rip the turbo off this weekend to send out and get rebuilt I'm gonna flush the system of all fluids and replace with all genuine honda-fluid.

Is it safe to have the car sitting for a week with no oil/coolant at all?

1.8T_EG

... i think i might be having the same problem... looks like i will be doing a head gasket and head studs upgrade this winter... anyone have any other recommendations while i am at it?... ((wanna spend less than $1500))

E Swift

Well if the head is off, just drop the oil pan, and install some pistons and rods.

Hybrid

Yip head gasket wows suck boy's. This is my second now, and after a rebuild and what not to put it back together and have the same **** happen sucks! I should have checked the head for warpage while I had it off..............................could'a would'a should'a right.

So any way I have to haul it apart again and check the head and put on a new head gasket. This time though I'm putting in rods and block guard withe some ARP head studs.

Bubbles in the coolant while the cap off is a sign. Also moisture out of your exhaust is also a sign (put your hand over it and see).