Coolant Overflow Issues

Help...just bought a new to me 05 LGT Wagon.

Last owner states he did all the routine maintenance, T-Belt, Water Pump, etc.,

Also replaced the radiator, but none of the hoses (not sure why).

After driving and getting it up to temp (it does not overheat) everything is fine. When I stop and shut off the car it starts puking coolant out of the overflow bottle.

Could this just be an issue of air in the system? Or too much coolant maybe?

Thanks in advance for helping out the newbie.

John

Once it cools, see how much coolant is in the overflow tank ?

remove both radiator caps and check the seals, are they in good shape ?

How long was the engine running before you shut it off ?

How long is, "just bought it" ? take it back.

unfortunately, I bought from a private seller who does not have the same morals as others might. I asked him to give me my money back and he refused. I know I bought a used car...but this happened on the drive home after purchase.

Coolant seems to be right at the max level after cooling. I removed both caps, squeezed the hoses to try and get any air bubbles out...will see if it still pukes on the way home from work tonight.

Both caps are holding coolant, no issues there.

John

unfortunately, I bought from a private seller who does not have the same morals as others might. I asked him to give me my money back and he refused. I know I bought a used car...but this happened on the drive home after purchase.

 

Coolant seems to be right at the max level after cooling. I removed both caps, squeezed the hoses to try and get any air bubbles out...will see if it still pukes on the way home from work tonight.

 

Both caps are holding coolant, no issues there.

 

John

Go get a compression test done, since you probably hadn't had one pre-purchase.

The proper way to burp the system is, jack up the right front corner high as you can. Remove the cap from the turbo tank, start engine turn heater on high, watch for bubbles in the tank, top off as needed. You may squeeze the hoses too. Let the fans cycle once.

I use Peak Global and/or Prestone that I mix 50/50. My wagon has some of both in it.

Let us know how you make out...

Hopefully it's not a blown head gasket, but it's leaning toward that. In most cases, when the head gasket goes, it will blow exhaust into the cooling system creating more pressure and heat. Once you turn off the car, the cooling system will/may overflow due to the extra pressure in the system.

Turn the car on and let it idle to normal temps, open the overflow tank to see if you smell exhaust gases and bubbles coming from the return hose.

Thanks for all the input. I will jack up the right front and try that procedure when I get home tonight.

Wouldn't a blown head gasket cause some overheating if it was blowing hot exhaust back into the system? Sorry for the newbie questions...

Thanks All!

John

Wouldn't a blown head gasket cause some overheating if it was blowing hot exhaust back into the system? Sorry for the newbie questions...

 

 

Yes and no. If there is enough coolant in the system it will remain normal, sometimes you may notice a spike while sitting at a stoplight. You'll start noticing overheating when the overflow pukes enough coolant out. When my head gasket blew, I had to add coolant in every 2-3 days to keep it from overheating.

it is a blown head gasket. it wouldnt overheat till it looses enough coolant to reduce the cooling efficiency. i had this exact problem happen to me. was able tro drive on it for some time and as long as i kept moving, things would stay cool, but once enough coolant was lost the temp would start to come up till i refilled.

Sorry, but it is a blown head gasket

any idea how much it would cost me to have the head gasket replaced? I know the gasket is only about $100, but what is labor on these cars for that repair?

Thanks,

John

any idea how much it would cost me to have the head gasket replaced? I know the gasket is only about $100, but what is labor on these cars for that repair?

 

Thanks,

 

John

I didn't wanna be the bad guy and say you needed a new HG, but yeah, that's pretty much what it sounds like. Sorry to say, dude.

FWIW, I bought mine with a blown HG (for nearly 12k, too!) and the symptoms didn't fully make themselves known until about 6mos into ownership - After the death sentence, we drove around for over a year on a blown HG. No freeways, no boost -- anything that will increase cylinder pressure (and RPMs) will push the coolant out faster, thus, causing overheating faster. See my build thread for some pictures of what your pistons will look like soon.

So while it'll still run and drive, you won't be able to go very far, very fast, nor go anywhere without stopping to refill the coolant from the overflow tank.

If you're at all mechanically inclined, this is a good time to drop some money into the car and only have to pay for parts and the downtime.

Yes, the HGs are really only $100ish, but, while you're working on it, there's an opportunity to replace so many other things that will need replacing at that mileage anyway, including having the heads rebuilt and resurfaced. (A must when doing an HG job!)

Get the gasket kit for your year car. From Heuberger, it's about ~$250 shipped to your door. This has the HGs, plus anything else you'll want to replace, including crank and rear main seals, as well as valve stem seals (for when you send your heads out for service) and all new orange intake gaskets (crucial at this stage!) -

I know it sounds like a lot, but, if you're at all interested in keeping the car (You didn't just buy it because you needed a car, right? You bought it because you wanted it!) then you should seriously consider doing a major overhaul, which, if done properly, will give you many years of driving pleasure.

See my shopping list!

about $1500 at a dealer IIRC.

My last quote was $2400. It really depends on what they'll do.

Listen to the advice of others. As for the seller of the vehicle, if you did not do the proper prepurchase inspection and still willingly bought the car there is no recourse. The car was purchased as is he owes you nothing.

Sorry, hopefully the system was just bled improperly.

UPDATE: While at work today I tried to burp as much air out of the coolant system as I could. Combination of taking both caps off and squeezing the hoses to try and get as many bubbles out as possible.

My commute home is about an hour, and it was 100 degrees today in Texas. When I arrived home I left the engine running, popped the coolant overflow cap and there was no air bubbles in the coolant overflow reservoir. Shut the car off and waited...no coolant puking at all.

Waited for the car to cool completely and popped the radiator and intercooler caps again to verify coolant level. Both look perfect. Level in coolant reservoir is right at the full line as well.

With that in mind, do you think I may be out of the woods? ie; no HG failure?

Thanks,

John

Give it a thrash around. If the heads have any tendency to lift, boost will exacerbate it. Mine will behave fine if I stay out of boost and puke it's guts out if I push it any.

This. High RPMs and high boost (not too high, though!) should uncover any problems pretty quickly. If it still holds, then count yourself lucky.

Interesting little write up as i still have this bubbling issue from the first time i brought it up in my own post . Havent yet read up on jacking the car up in this manner. 05 lgt limited

T belt done at 106k radiator changed at about 110k

day by day still have bubbling. Inside of overflow is almost completely black (id imagine hydro carbons) pretty spirited driver here as im hitting 15psi (on a good day sometimes 16 with this etune im ******* with sonce i threw a turboback on) daily. Im not naive though, i dont piss rev it but i do like to hit my boost .. never see my temp gage move EVER after op temp.. (accessport v3 installed) my coolant will read between 185-205 on average and rarely do i see it hit 208. Had an overheat issue a few months back but it was a turbo coolant hose leaking.. got it fixed havent seen a problem since.. no drips between head/block. ALSO this issue has been consistant since i changed the radiator top hose has only ever been replaced. Any feedback from you guys? Im gonna do that method of jacking the car up here tonight or this weekend and we’ll see what comes about