Hi guys,

Here's the problem:
No matter how many times I let the engine cycle I am still getting bubbles out of the system. Burping the hoses over the course of 5 fan cycles and still... air in the system

Here's a history of the problem:
2010 December engine was rebuilt (B18C in a 99 Civic)
2011 January car was running hot, the water pump was leaking - I replaced it. The threads came out of one of the bolt holes so I had to re-tap it to a larger diameter. Everything is back together now and looks good, no leaks.

Troubling behavior:
Despite the bubbles the car is not over heating, the oil temp on a 100+ degree day is sitting around 215 degrees, water temp is normal, but it's acting like the system is on the verge of over heating

Oil temp in traffic on any day is high ~210 degrees. If I get stuck in traffic on a hot day I'm screwed. Freeway cruising temp is ~195

More info:
- I don't see any leaks that could account for the amount of bubbles in the coolant.
- Distilled water was used + concentrated coolant
- There is no loss of coolant. Coolant levels have remained topped off for 3 months of driving
- There is no steam in exhaust, or loss of power, or oil + coolant mixing
- I see little black flakes in the coolant, my guess is it's from the head gasket

Setup:
- Built B18C with PR3 .50 over pistons, the rest of the bottom end is stock ITR
- Slim radiator fan (yes it's working and moving a lot of air)
- Dual core aluminum radiator
- gates racing hoses


I'm stumped. I'm going to go out and buy a leak down tester and see if that will reveal anything.

Any other thoughts?

 

After that much bleeding you should have no air.

Have you pressure tested the cooling system?

Also, replace the cap if it is old say a few years.

 

Sounds like a blown head gasket. You can buy a test kit that will tell you whether there are exhaust gases in the cooling system.

 

What is troubling is that he said it was rebuilt 12/2010. So you would assume new head gasket.

 

New head gaskets can go bad, especially if the installation was less than perfect. Testing for exhaust gases together with cylinder compression and leak down tests should answer the question.

 

topssssssssssss

 

Yeah I'm thinking head gasket as well. I made very sure the mating surfaces were clean during installation - wiped clean with lacquer thinner and compressed air. The head was freshly resurfaced. ARP head studs torqued with a freshly calibrated torque wrench. If it didn't seal I'm officially labeling this a cursed motor.

 

Are the mating surfaces true?

 

They should be. The motor has never over heated. The machine shop resurfaced and head, and gave an OK on the block surface

 

He did say resurfaced, I would assume they are true if a machine shop did it.

 

Don't know how I missed that. Sucks.

 

I did however re-use my ARP head studs. I was apprehensive about doing it, but the consensus was it should be okay

 

I "heard" that when you do that you might need to give them a little extra torque.