bubbling radiator

[78Suburban]

I swear, if it ain't one thing, its another..
I installed my mechanical temperature gauge today.. I opened the radiator cap and decided I would fill it with some antifreeze and water as the engine ran (because it dumped a bunch when I removed the old side mounted sensor).

Now it was running and it was bubbling like a freakin bubble bath..

what caused this? a blown head gasket? or did it just get air in it when I removed the old temp sensor (which was mounted in the side of the head)\

yall are my heroes

 

[sled_dog]

could be either. Check it a few more times soon.

 

[78Suburban]

Wtf?

said what the heck, put the cap on and drove it around for 20 minutes... at first the temp gauge wasn't even reading.... then toward the end of riding around it was about 160*..... I know that truck was hotter than that from opening the hood...

Did I just get a bunch of air in there and thats why my temp gauge isn't working? or is something else wrong??


Ps: the truck also idles like crap, making me fear its the head gasket.

 

[thfonz98]

anything coming out the exhaust?

 

[k20]

Look and see if anything is coming out of the exhaust, also check to see if there is any water in the oil. The oil would have kind of a milkshake look to it. Could it also be that the t-stat is bad, and the truck isnt at operating temp, which is why it is running poorly?

 

[78Suburban]

never mind the crappy running part. it ran bad before.. but why ain't my gauges working? water is flowing through the radiator...? wtf

 

[k20]

well if the t-stat is hung open, it would take forever for the engine to warm up. Could be bad sending unit, bad gauge, bad wiring. I believe the test for the gauge is to ground out the wire on the head, and if the gauge goes to full the wiring and the gauge both work. I would go out and test my truck, butttttttt its been at paint for 6 weeks

 

[ryoken]

pretty sure he's running mechanical.. and yeah, grounding the sender wire pins an electric..

he said it did eventually come up to 160.. i'd bet he's got some sort of airation issue in the cooling with the blown head gasket/ cracked head, whatever...

78 burb, borrow a cooling system pressure tester.. or at least a compression tester or leakdown tester.. maybe autozone rents em or something...

 

[78Suburban]

its a mechanical gauge..... it did go up a little when I drove it 20 minutes.. but it shouldn't take that long for an engine to warm up should it???? I don't get why it isn't working right...

I let it idle a long time and it didn't even register on the gauge.. I hate my life

 

[k20]

sorry bud, missed the mechanical part, Ill go back to sleep now lol.

 

[78Suburban]

how do I use a cooling system pressure tester?

I thougth it might just be an air pocket trapped behind the tstat, but I see some water flowing when the rad cap is off...

the oil and exhaust doesn't indicate blown head gasket...

the violent bubbling has stopped, but the gauge isn't working.. Wonder if Wal mart gauges aren't really the best

 

[ryoken]

the tester is basically a radiator cap with a hose running to a small hand pump.. ya pump it up and see if it holds pressure.. good indicator for head gasket/crack, etc.. like this..

http://www.stant.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=578&location_id=183

if it stopped bubbling, your prolly ok.. thats why having the right tools is always nice.. pop it on and check.. keep in mind, it may be accurate and your not coming up to temp for some reason.. if waters flowing, at least your circ pump is working.. stuck or no t-stat will do that too...

got a link to these walmart gauges? in life ya tend to get what ya pay for.. i loved my Autometer mechanical, worked sweet.. but i've gone electric this time...

 

[78Suburban]

they are Equus gauges. water, oil and ammemter all for $20.... I think it might work because the temp did rise a little, maybe something is just making my truck not warm up correctly? I wish someone that knew what they were doing could look at my truck. cause I don't

 

[ryoken]

what temp stat ya have in it? might be stuck.. might wanna throw a fresh 180 in it and see how it acts..

 

[thfonz98]

when mine had a stuck open thermostat it would barely lift off the 160 at the warmest.

 

[78Suburban]

suppose its a possibliity... I'll try to pick one up soon.

 

[78Suburban]

All is Well

the old t-stat was jammed open. that's why the gauge wasn't warming up. replaced it with a 180* t-stat and now it runs right on 190 .... no more bubbling either, I think I got the air pockets worked out of the cooling system..

thanks you fellow CK5er's