overheating... sort of, what is the problem?

[24j0hn]

i had a bad overheating problem, and the reason was i had a blown head gasket, so i put in a new one... along with a new radiator, fan clutch, nissan thermostat , coolant flush and watermump... for some reason when im driving it gets hot, so i stop the car and turn it off then turn it on in like two minutes and the temp is in the middle like normal... then it does this one more time usually... then the rest of the trip it runs perfectly in the middle on the third needle and never goes up or down...

one of the things is you could smell coolant when your next to the car, so its getting burned... when i stop the car the first time and shut it off, you could hear boiling or bubbling...

wat could it be? i tightened the head myself 40 then 60 ft/lbs and got the head machined so it has a tight fit and everything is brand new...

any solutions

[rico05]

Can you smell coolant from the exhaust? If not, then you have a leak somewhere underhood.

A pinhole leak can occur and you never be able to track it. With the engine under load and the waterpump at full pressure, the leak can manifest. Run the car to full hot and drive it around for a bit. Pop the hood and feel around for wet spots.

[tramp_drift240]

yes, poke your little paws around your blazin hot engine til you find some liquid that'll melt the skin off your fingers.

try to find that UV additive and put it into your radiator. let it run to hot and get a black light so you can see where the leaks coming from. though, i cant really be much help as to where you could find that kind of thing, but i do know that it exists.

[slyedog240sx]

Bleed the air pocket out.An air pocket still doesn't explain a leak though.Do you even see a leak or just smell coolant.The uv dye tramp talked about works very well too track a leak.

[S13xCrazy]

Did you check the block for straightness and/or cracks?

Just a thought...

Seems like more of an air pocket issue though.

[night240]

when I had this problem my fuel rail cracked and replaced it. it works again

[alms24sebring]

I would definantly say airpocket. You could just start it cold and open the rad cap. it would help to have a spill free funnel, just let it get hot and rev it, with the heat on, and watch the air escape.

The neck on my radiator broke when i rearended this lady and sprayed coolant everywhere!! After I replaced it, I could smell coolant for almost 2 weeks before it went away. The smell could just be leftover coolant espesially if you besically replaced the cooling system. Im sure it went everywhere as well... First thing you should look at is if your even getting low/losing coolant judging from the overflow resevior or an empty radiator.

[24j0hn]

Bleed the air pocket out.An air pocket still doesn't explain a leak though.Do you even see a leak or just smell coolant.The uv dye tramp talked about works very well too track a leak.

I dont see the leak but smell it, and i was just thinking that if there is a leak it must be around the exhaust cuz its not visible and seems to burn away quickly... but doesnt effect my coolant level

The leak isnt really the issue, its the over heating, i thought it was bled well...

I would definantly say airpocket. You could just start it cold and open the rad cap. it would help to have a spill free funnel, just let it get hot and rev it, with the heat on, and watch the air escape.

Will try and tell how it goes

[slyedog240sx]

I dont see the leak but smell it, and i was just thinking that if there is a leak it must be around the exhaust cuz its not visible and seems to burn away quickly... but doesnt effect my coolant level

The leak isnt really the issue, its the over heating, i thought it was bled well...

Will try and tell how it goes

As long as the coolant level in both the radiator and the reservior isn't dropping then i wouldn't worry about it.It takes a good 30 min or so to really get the pocket bled.Another thing i like is a pressure relief rad cap.Let it sit for a few min then flip the lever and it lets the pressure off and seems to help when initially bleeding the system.

[94_240sx]

Another thing i like is a pressure relief rad cap.

If rad cap is bad, overheating happens, so replace it just in case. It's cheap.

[frapjap]

Good advice here, especially with air pockets. That radiator cap is a very useful piece of equipment.

I also suggest checking your oil level. If you don't have enough oil, its going to act that way, too. You might be burning it or have a slow leak somewhere. Look into it. Also check your oil for coolant.

[OutToWinPAHC]

yeah sounds like a warped head.

[GTR PrYdE]

How long did you bleed your radiator?

I just did a timing chain/oil pump and i took me over an hour to get all the air out.

I thought I had the air out, drove it,

and it got hot,

so I let it cool down,

popped the rad cap,

used a funnel, let it idle some more, revved the engine,

squeezed the hoses and watched air bubbles either rise out or even blow out (like 3 big pockets blew water everywhere)

So it took about an hour..

And do you have your coolant reservoir hooked up, unbroken?

I just took mine out since it was dry rotten to hell, so I could smell the coolant either way, "vented" or thru the broken coolant res.

You probably just have air in the system, bad. Try what I mentioned first.

[Dattebayo]

When you bled the system, did you turn the heat on all the way and put the fan all the way on high for about 20 seconds then turn the car off while running??

You DO have to bleed out the heater core as well, you know. Everyone misses that step.

[24j0hn]

How long did you bleed your radiator?

I just did a timing chain/oil pump and i took me over an hour to get all the air out.

I thought I had the air out, drove it,

and it got hot,

so I let it cool down,

popped the rad cap,

used a funnel, let it idle some more, revved the engine,

squeezed the hoses and watched air bubbles either rise out or even blow out (like 3 big pockets blew water everywhere)

So it took about an hour..

And do you have your coolant reservoir hooked up, unbroken?

I just took mine out since it was dry rotten to hell, so I could smell the coolant either way, "vented" or thru the broken coolant res.

You probably just have air in the system, bad. Try what I mentioned first.

i used the bleeder bolt and the second i started my car coolant came out... the thing is tho my heater actually runs cool air, but i have had the heater on while running it... so ill check the rad for air now and so on...

[GTR PrYdE]

i used the bleeder bolt and the second i started my car coolant came out... the thing is tho my heater actually runs cool air, but i have had the heater on while running it... so ill check the rad for air now and so on...

Get a long funnel and use that in the rad neck, that's what I did, made getting the bubbles out alot easier