coolant bubbling like witches brew

[OMNI]

hey guys. I have a 93 v6xle with 90k on the odo, when driving on long trips I can hear the coolant bubbling in the resevoir. it is air coming out of the tube that comes from the radiator. any ideas on what this could mean? I also have an issue with the power steering fluid, its doo doo brown and the steering sometimes locks up during turns. how do I drain and replace this fluid? my haynes manual says nothing on this topic. thanks.

[Luckynumber5]

Have both your cooling system caps pressure tested, if one goes bad it will gradually loose coolant until it begins overheating and then it will boil the remaining coolant into the res. As for the power steering if the fluid is that nasty you may have trashed your entire system, take it to a shop and have them flush it.

[OMNI]

good tip on the system caps, I shoulda checked that. its not losing coolant or overheating but I will check it out. I would rather try and change the steering fluid first before making any drastic decisions. how do I do this?

[Leinad]

I sure hope it's your radiator cap.
The other reason being a leaking head gasket.

Good luck.

[amerikim]

I have a 93 V6 and I used to have that problem with coolant bubbling. It was air still trapped in the system. Purge. Getting all the air out is a sob.

If you coolant has oil in it or your engine oil looks milky, then I will agree to blown head gasket.

[OMNI]

I have already done the head gaskets and the compression looks even across the charts. I should invest in a cyl leakdown tester or make one, that would be a better indicator of a head problem. the coolant and oil look good though. I learned the hard way to not take your heads to a machine shop where only one person speaks english, all they did was mixup my valve shims and spray paint everything silver. now I have pretty decent valvetrain noise and slight vibration. I have to also do a valve adjustment. I wish this was as easy as a honda. I will pressure test the cap and hope its bad. nobody has any tips on changing the steering fluid eh? thanks for the ideas. my father keeps insisting that its a thermostat causing the bubbling, i dont see how this is relevant. I will keep you guys informed on progress.

[nodrogkam]

just curious....is ur coolant still coolant and not mostly water?

[OMNI]

yup, I always use toyota stuff down to the filter. coolant is toyota red and was completely drained and flushed while putting in the new water pump. I bought a hydrometer from pep boys for around a buck 25. i will put that to good use.

[88 LE]

Originally Posted by OMNI

nobody has any tips on changing the steering fluid eh?

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t19334.html

[5spd V6 ClrTail]

My Green fluid always ends up turning Rusty color, does anyone know what the problem might be? Also, the fluid always becomes low in the plastic reservoir. This is a 92 V6SE.

[88 LE]

Originally Posted by 5spd V6 ClrTail

My Green fluid always ends up turning Rusty color, does anyone know what the problem might be?

Check the radiator. If the inside of it is rusted, theres your problem.

Also, the fluid always becomes low in the plastic reservoir. This is a 92 V6SE.

You either have a leak, burning coolant, cooling system not topped up properly, or a hole in the overflow reservoir.

[OMNI]

Originally Posted by 88 LE

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t19334.html

thanks for the link. much appreciated. I decided to do a partial teardown to find most of the valves clearances are out of spec and the cam bearing oil clearance is out of spec also. I'm going to adjust this using plastigauge and see if the valves still need adjusting. I hope not.

[Eye8Pussies]

Well, that wouldn't be the problem anyway

water has a lowe boiling point than the coolant
more water is actually better than more coolant when it comes to absorbing heat


and if it isn't the rad cap, then I'm saying a loeak in the rad- if not noticeable, then probalby in hte fins

[OMNI]

Originally Posted by Eye8Pussies

Well, that wouldn't be the problem anyway

water has a lowe boiling point than the coolant
more water is actually better than more coolant when it comes to absorbing heat


and if it isn't the rad cap, then I'm saying a loeak in the rad- if not noticeable, then probalby in hte fins

I know the cams have nothing to do with the coolant problem, its just another thing I'm working on at the same time. I have to get this thing road ready and quiet as toyota did back in the day.

[Slow-yota]

i would get a new radiator cap anyways (its only like 5 bucks)... if its boiling over its the cap... and their would be a pudle under the car if there was a leak