Coolant Issue
Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 62
Likes: 1
i did the head gaskets and all is well now for the past 18 months
Ok, still having issues.
I missed the note about the pressure testing. I may have to check that one out.
On to my update. I have added replacing the water pump and serpentine belt to my list of things I have replaced.
So when I first start the car after it completely cools for several hours (morning or after 8 hour work day), the temperature creeps up to about 1/3 then drops to all the way cold. It then starts creeping back up to almost 1/2 way on the temp gauge. Then suddenly it shoots full hot and the warning light comes on. If I miss the warning light and keep driving it goes into "limp" mode and coolant starts forcing its way out of the coolant bottle. If I pull over immediately and shut the engine off I don't get the puking coolant.
What I have noticed is that all it takes is a second for the temp gauge to recover. Sometimes it does it on its own after I come to a stop. Sometimes, as in the video below, I just turn off the engine, and immediately key on(not start) and the temp is normal. The instant recovery would lead to think it was the Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor(ECT). But that doesn't explain why it would puke out coolant if I ignore it.
Also, once it goes through this cycle of jumping hot and going back normal I can drive it for hundreds of miles without having this problem again until the system cools down. Would a head gasket be a one time per start thing?
I have a video showing what happens. There are several minutes of nothing much so you can fast forward to around 4:50. In the case of this video, I was on the highway when it happened. That doesn't matter though since it happens at any speed under any level of acceleration, except complete idle. It can run forever at idle in the morning without an issue.
Help!
I missed the note about the pressure testing. I may have to check that one out.
On to my update. I have added replacing the water pump and serpentine belt to my list of things I have replaced.
So when I first start the car after it completely cools for several hours (morning or after 8 hour work day), the temperature creeps up to about 1/3 then drops to all the way cold. It then starts creeping back up to almost 1/2 way on the temp gauge. Then suddenly it shoots full hot and the warning light comes on. If I miss the warning light and keep driving it goes into "limp" mode and coolant starts forcing its way out of the coolant bottle. If I pull over immediately and shut the engine off I don't get the puking coolant.
What I have noticed is that all it takes is a second for the temp gauge to recover. Sometimes it does it on its own after I come to a stop. Sometimes, as in the video below, I just turn off the engine, and immediately key on(not start) and the temp is normal. The instant recovery would lead to think it was the Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor(ECT). But that doesn't explain why it would puke out coolant if I ignore it.
Also, once it goes through this cycle of jumping hot and going back normal I can drive it for hundreds of miles without having this problem again until the system cools down. Would a head gasket be a one time per start thing?
I have a video showing what happens. There are several minutes of nothing much so you can fast forward to around 4:50. In the case of this video, I was on the highway when it happened. That doesn't matter though since it happens at any speed under any level of acceleration, except complete idle. It can run forever at idle in the morning without an issue.
Help!