zeppelindrummer Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 (edited) WHen the pathy runs for a bit, it seems to lose its coolant, either by it magically disappearing, or by filling up the overflow reservoir. The Reservoir continually fills up but never empties on its own, back into the radiator, so i'm not sure if one of those tubes are clogged, or if something is wrong with the pressure somewhere? I read some other threads, and nothing seemed to be the same problem that i was looking at... I was getting sick of this, and finally had some time to tend to the pathy, so i bought a new thermostat, and rad cap. Replaced both, as well as flushing the radiator, the thing still does the same thing.... While flushing, i checked the flow of the water i put in the radiator, and it seemed to hardly be moving anywhere at all... should it be moving more? Since the thermostat and cap didn't help anything, should i assume its the water pump? or just the radiator itself? Is there another possible problem? What do you think i should troubleshoot next? When i flushed and emptied the radiator, the coolant didn't seem to be too dirty, although in the bottom of the overflow reservoir it was filled with nasty black/brown goo, that i cleaned out, and that didn't used to be there at all... Also, my engine temp. gauge doesn't work, so i'm not sure how much, the engine is overheating, i'm just going based off of what the radiator/coolant is doing... Any help will... well... help! Thanks everybody! Edited March 25, 2008 by zeppelindrummer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 the water won't be moving much untill the coolant get's hotter then the t-stat's temp. you coul dhave air in the system, blockage or the pump isn't working. you could also have a leak from the bypass hose or even the pump itself. my pump was leaking for a loing time before i finally was able to find the spot where it was coming from. look very, very closely. i had no wetness under the truck at all until maybe 6mo after the thing started acting up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasbudman Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 by it magically disappearing I had a magically disappearing coolant issue with a Chevy truck, before I left the States... I ck'ed... a couple of my buddies ck'ed and nothing... then the magical teleprotation of coolant increased... and finally there was a small puddle of coolant in a dimple of the engine, in odd location at that... re-ck'ed... nothing... the dimple started overflowing and dripping... re-ck'ed... nothing... I finally ditched work a few min's early one day and I showed my mechanic and he glanced in and ck'ed (quickly)... nothing... my mechanic mentioned it might be arcing from anywhere and told me to bring it back the next day for a real inspection... I decided to change the hose... problem solved... turns out there was an invisable pin hole that lost its magical abilitiy once disconnected... Either learn how to dispel magic or do a really really really close inspection... Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostPath Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I had a magically disappearing coolant issue with a Chevy truck, before I left the States... I ck'ed... a couple of my buddies ck'ed and nothing... then the magical teleprotation of coolant increased... and finally there was a small puddle of coolant in a dimple of the engine, in odd location at that... re-ck'ed... nothing... the dimple started overflowing and dripping... re-ck'ed... nothing... I finally ditched work a few min's early one day and I showed my mechanic and he glanced in and ck'ed (quickly)... nothing... my mechanic mentioned it might be arcing from anywhere and told me to bring it back the next day for a real inspection... I decided to change the hose... problem solved... turns out there was an invisable pin hole that lost its magical abilitiy once disconnected... Either learn how to dispel magic or do a really really really close inspection... Good Luck Yes, but this person is reporting that it's magically getting MORE coolant. My guess is a cracked head or head gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeppelindrummer Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 Cool! thanks for the input guys.... today, and yesterday, its just been disappearing since the thermostat replacement... luckily work is less than a mile away, and school is just a bit further, so overheating isn't too much of an issue, and i have time before i really really have to take the pathy to the mountains (I WANT TO GO NOW!) to get it finally fixed! I'll check the head gasket, and the hoses... see if i can see any leaks anywhere... I'll report back if i find anything else! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 yeah. check the oil and the coolant.. these fluids should be together in either location. if they are mixing then yes, head related issue is most likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeppelindrummer Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 I cant really tell any mixing, i had the pathy parked most of the weekend... i've driven it twice since, and everything goes straight into the overflow reservoir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 check compression of each cylinder, you will know for sure wather it's a head gasket issue. you may also want to pressurize the cooling system and see what gives, if anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey.T Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Slick needs to ask him if the t-stat was installed with the bubbler in the 12:00 o'clock position... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeppelindrummer Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Slick needs to ask him if the t-stat was installed with the bubbler in the 12:00 o'clock position... i'm assuming the bubbler is the little metal piece that dangles inside a hole? on only one side of the t-stat? check compression of each cylinder, you will know for sure wather it's a head gasket issue. you may also want to pressurize the cooling system and see what gives, if anything. how would i check the compression of the cylinders? Pressurizing the cooling system? is there a special tool for this? Thanks! -Zepp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 YES, SPECIAL TOOLS FOR BOTH JOBS. COMPRESSION: AND Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeppelindrummer Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 Did some investigating on the problem today, got to checking around the radiator, and found that it is leaking out of the cap. I bought a new one when i replaced the thermostat, but the top of the radiator is corroding so it definitely doesn't have a good seal. Theres a possibility of me putting in the thermostat wrong too. I have the radiator out, and its going to be rebuilt or if its not rebuildable, i'm getting a new one on tuesday. I'll be taking the thermostat out to make sure its in correctly, its not too hard with the radiator out of the way, and with a new or rebuilt radiator the problem should be resolved. The disappearing coolant seemed to only last for a little bit, the overflow reservoir has just been filling up, so hopefully this will be the fix. Theres no mixing in my oil, changed that today... so thats a good sign its most likely not the head gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeppelindrummer Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 Yup. i should have looked closer to begin with, i kinda noticed something was wrong and was afraid for the worst... luckily, it was just the radiator, i put the new one in today, was reassured that the thermostat was in correctly, when talking to my dad about how they are supposed to go in (I had it correct all along!) And the new radiator is working great! no overheating, nothing leaking anywhere, and all for wayyyy less than a head gasket problem (total bill with thermostat, radiator, new coolant.... 175.00. And only a couple hours spent taking out and replacing the t-stat, and radiator. Fwewwww!! i'm glad to have the pathy back! i've missed 'er! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandShark Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Excellent to hear ya got her figured out man, and for a lot less than it could have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasbudman Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 (edited) Yeah, sometimes you gotta look really really close... it happens... but I still like the magically disapearing coolant theory... eventhough the theory was rejected... and the head job would have sucked pretty bad!!! Edited April 9, 2008 by texasbudman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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