coolant issue engine overheating

[DAT RICE]

there's a hole in my overflow tank, but i've never had issues with the coolant until the coolant itself was gone. my engine thus overheated, i added coolant and for a short while the coolant was working until it overheated. the coolant in the tank was boiling and evaporating out of the hole in the tank. Would a new tank solve the coolant flow? i don't think it's flowing into the radiator correctly.
PS. i had the brake leak fixed, a brake cable was replaced, now my brake fluid in the tank aint dropping anymore.

[davemac2]

Sounds like you need to get a block test and cooling system test done now. Your ongoing low coolant level may have damaged the head gasket and caused an over-pressurization and boilover due to leaking hot exhaust gases. It's never a good idea to let something like this (ie. coolant loss) go on. It could also be totally unrelated to your reservoir hole and just be another problem that has been developing. I assume this is a high mileage engine > 150K? If you can, replace the reservoir ASAP but I think your problem now is likely bigger.

dave mc

[JohnGD]

Yeah,it's never a good sign to see coolant loss and then boiling like that. When the system is filled back up and you see bubbles coming out of the reservoir (especially constantly upon cool starting), it may be exhaust gas coming through the head gasket instead of coolant boiling.

There are shops that can put a hydrocarbon sniffer in the radiator to check for exhaust gas. Or you may be able to find a test kit in local parts store to test for that.

Originally Posted by DAT RICE

there's a hole in my overflow tank, but i've never had issues with the coolant until the coolant itself was gone. my engine thus overheated, i added coolant and for a short while the coolant was working until it overheated. the coolant in the tank was boiling and evaporating out of the hole in the tank. Would a new tank solve the coolant flow? i don't think it's flowing into the radiator correctly.
PS. i had the brake leak fixed, a brake cable was replaced, now my brake fluid in the tank aint dropping anymore.

[DAT RICE]

oh dear i do think it is a severe problem now. anyhow i've ordered a new tank. Till then my car is grounded.

[DAT RICE]

i lied... i drove the car today to further investigate the problem. the coolant is working, the temp stays at regular temp when i drive at a steady pace, if i accelerate hard the temp goes up. If i brake hard or turn hard , the temp goes up. I've got up to 43mph with the temp at the reg level. i'm guessing the fluid is poorly flowing due to crap in the radiator, so I believe the radiator needs to be cleaned by power washer. What do you guys think?

EDIT: The fluid doesn't boil and explode anymore when its friken hot, the radiator just slightly hisses. the car has 153k.

[EA6BMECH]

I'm working on pulling the heads on my V6. You can see it bubble when I take off the radiator cap. Tiny bubbles. It over pressurizes and blows the coolant out the over flow, then gets hot when there isn't enough coolant. I suspect a gasket, and YOU KNOW!!!! it's gonna be the back head!! I'm looking for a post now to see if there is an easier way to yank the head off. The exhaust manifold is giving me a fit.

[JohnGD]

3VZ or 1MZ? The 1MZ have seepage problems and I would wonder about the integrity of the bolt threads after all that soaking. Kinda similar to the 2.4L thread disintegration problem but in different ways.

Keep us posted, pictures if possible. Thanks.

Originally Posted by EA6BMECH

I'm working on pulling the heads on my V6. You can see it bubble when I take off the radiator cap. Tiny bubbles. It over pressurizes and blows the coolant out the over flow, then gets hot when there isn't enough coolant. I suspect a gasket, and YOU KNOW!!!! it's gonna be the back head!! I'm looking for a post now to see if there is an easier way to yank the head off. The exhaust manifold is giving me a fit.

[EA6BMECH]

Originally Posted by JohnGD

3VZ or 1MZ? The 1MZ have seepage problems and I would wonder about the integrity of the bolt threads after all that soaking. Kinda similar to the 2.4L thread disintegration problem but in different ways.

Keep us posted, pictures if possible. Thanks.

1MZ. What do you mean by seepage and integrity threads after all that soaking?

[davemac2]

Originally Posted by EA6BMECH

1MZ. What do you mean by seepage and integrity threads after all that soaking?

I think he means corrosion of the bolts from the coolant seepage.

dave mc

[davemac2]

Originally Posted by DAT RICE

i lied... i drove the car today to further investigate the problem. the coolant is working, the temp stays at regular temp when i drive at a steady pace, if i accelerate hard the temp goes up. If i brake hard or turn hard , the temp goes up. I've got up to 43mph with the temp at the reg level. i'm guessing the fluid is poorly flowing due to crap in the radiator, so I believe the radiator needs to be cleaned by power washer. What do you guys think?

EDIT: The fluid doesn't boil and explode anymore when its friken hot, the radiator just slightly hisses. the car has 153k.

Has the water pump ever been replaced? Did the cooling system show a lot of corrosion at your last fluid change? Are you sure your serpentine belt is not slipping?

dave mc

[EA6BMECH]

In my situation, the car bubbles over even at normal temp, then turns to a boil over when the coolant starts to deplete ( head gasket). A clogged radiator will get hot even with the fans on. A weak radiator cap will leak under pressure. Mine, I could see the bubbles in coolant. Hit the gas and more would come up. In an emergency "I gotta make it a little farther", crank the heat to full bore!!! Hot as heck in the car, but the temp will drop like a rock for a few more miles.

I had a Mazda van that over heated. Coolant was always changed and a glance in the cap, the tubes looked clean, even ran a garden hose through it, just flowed like a dream. No Dice, the radiator was clogged pretty bad.

So, see if the car is bubbling/boiling over when it is at normal temp.....make the call....

[DAT RICE]

Originally Posted by davemac2

Has the water pump ever been replaced? Did the cooling system show a lot of corrosion at your last fluid change? Are you sure your serpentine belt is not slipping?

dave mc

Well, i opened the radiator and directly applied the coolant to it. Bubbles started coming up. After a while, the radiator was completely full of coolant. I drove the car to see if it were any different then. It wasn't overheating anymore. yay! when i got home i opened the radiator cap slowly, air came out. Once again I added more coolant to the radiator to make sure all the air was gone. You see, i drove the car one day with no coolant left in the overflow tank, that's when the car started burning. My guess is after i added new coolant there was a air in the engine and the radiator causing the engine to overheat. Since then I've had no problems. yay! plus i got a new overflow tank, my old one had a giant hole.

[davemac2]

Originally Posted by DAT RICE

Well, i opened the radiator and directly applied the coolant to it. Bubbles started coming up. After a while, the radiator was completely full of coolant. I drove the car to see if it were any different then. It wasn't overheating anymore. yay! when i got home i opened the radiator cap slowly, air came out. Once again I added more coolant to the radiator to make sure all the air was gone. You see, i drove the car one day with no coolant left in the overflow tank, that's when the car started burning. My guess is after i added new coolant there was a air in the engine and the radiator causing the engine to overheat. Since then I've had no problems. yay! plus i got a new overflow tank, my old one had a giant hole.

Now drive it on the highway for at least an hr and see what happens.

dave mc

[DAT RICE]

i have a two leaks in the engine block, i've noticed that my coolant in the overflow tank dwindles slowly, and your suggestion is good dave, but i won't try that until i get my leaks fixed.