naviathan Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Ok, I've been over this in my head I don't know how many times. For the last couple months I've been refilling my coolant reservoir at least once a week. There's no coolant in the oil and no oil in the coolant. The car will overheat at a stop, with or without the AC running. As long as I'm moving the temp stays right at or just below the halfway mark of the gauge. If I'm stuck in traffic for more than 5 minutes the gauge steadily climbs. I've replaced the water pump and the thermostat with a new one and clutch fan with a working one off my parts car. I've flushed the coolant system and everything is clean and green. I'm utterly stumped. I'm still loosing coolant and it's still overheating. The last thing I can come up with is pulling the head, having it checked and throwing a new head gasket on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rags Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Have you check the plugs for signs of coolant getting into the combustion chamber? Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 Yep, no deposits from coolant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Do you have an overflow container? It may not be overheating, but just the fluid expanding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO-Z Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 It's going some where so here is a shade tree check. Go to get a test gauge for testing gas piping, and some 1/2 copper fittings to tie into your heater hose, they sell them at Lowes or Home Depot. Install it and fill the cooling system to the top and then pump in air. This way you can check it with the engine cold. I was a pipefitter for years so all of this stuff is still hanging around garage. Another place to look for a coolant leak is the heater valve. Check the passenger inside firewall. The O-ring on the valve breaks down over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 I have a coolant overflow, that's how I know I'm loosing coolant somewhere. The check light shows water and I have to go fill the overflow so it doesn't go completely empty. I'll have to try that pressure test. I know it has to be going somewhere, but I can't find it to save my life. Still the car shouldn't be over heating as easily as it does. It's not like I'm a newb, I know what I'm looking at, it's just completely eluded me somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 You can also buy radiator caps with pressure fittings on them. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the cap anyway. Z cars do have issues with weepy head gaskets. I found my head gasket leak by dumping a couple of tubes of green food coloring in the radiator, wrapping clean paper towels around the head then running with cardboard in front of the radiator to get it to heat up and pressurize. When the paper towels turned green I knew the steam leak was. Only did it when hot and under pressure. How old is your radiator? If it is more than a few years old I would bring it in and have it pressure checked in a radiator shop. And of course you have already replaced any old or bulging hoses. If I were you just dump a tube of aluminum stop leak in and see if the leak goes away. Tha is what fixed my head leak some 15 years ago now. A little bit of stop leak is not a bad thing, especially with aluminum components. GM ships their brand new crate motors with a pill of stop leak in one of the coolant passages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 Maybe I'll just go the stop leak route tonight. I'm tired of chasing this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kastmaster Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Hi there, I had the same, exact (word for word!) problem not even a few months ago! My problem all started (unfortunately) with a hairline crack on one of the coolant hoses. I'm no mechanic, but since we're in the same boat, have you run your fingers across ALL of the coolant hoses when cold? That's how I found out which hose was slowly dribbling out coolant little by little. I also had to do the usualy coolant fillup every week, so i feel your pain. I've had to replace all the coolant hoses all around, just to make sure. They didn't LOOK old, but the crack on mine was on the underbelly (out of view) side of the hose. Hope this helps. Keep us updated, I'm in the same situation so maybe we can help eachother out Now, my car overheats only with AC on when at stops for more than a few minutes. Time to replace the fan clutch. It's just one problem after another... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 2, 2007 Author Share Posted July 2, 2007 I ran the Aluma-Seal stop leak through it and low and behold my hot restart problem went away. I was sure this was a timing issue, but it seems that my head gasket was leaking into the cylinders. Odd that nothing in the engine was showing it. I've been monitoring the temps and they seem to have stabilized. What I think was happening is that the pistons were pushing air into the system when it was running creating steam pockets that would make it overheat and when it was shut down hot the pressurized coolant would push into the cylinders wetting down the plugs just enough to cause some issues, but not show in the oil. I don't know why there weren't any deposits on the plugs, maybe it was just steaming them so they were clean, it's the only guess I have. I'm still watching it to see if it is still loosing coolant. Too early to tell I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Reminder: there was a time when every Ford and Volvo that went off the production line got 1/2 a tube of AlumaSeal placed in the radiator... The ammount of reduction innuisance warranty calls was the justification for it. Sometimes it really doesn't take the 'hard way' to fix something that is borderline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFancypants Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Definitely check all your hoses and hose connections. What doesnt leak when cold can leak when hot! Look for white deposits around the hoses and hose connections -- surefire sign of a leak. - Greg - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kastmaster Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 I ran the Aluma-Seal stop leak through it and low and behold my hot restart problem went away. I was sure this was a timing issue, but it seems that my head gasket was leaking into the cylinders. Odd that nothing in the engine was showing it. I've been monitoring the temps and they seem to have stabilized. What I think was happening is that the pistons were pushing air into the system when it was running creating steam pockets that would make it overheat and when it was shut down hot the pressurized coolant would push into the cylinders wetting down the plugs just enough to cause some issues, but not show in the oil. I don't know why there weren't any deposits on the plugs, maybe it was just steaming them so they were clean, it's the only guess I have. I'm still watching it to see if it is still loosing coolant. Too early to tell I think. Ahhh, i never thought of that! I will definitely keep that in mind if I still have temp rising issues and/or coolant leaks again. For awhile I thought I had the same problem as you, regarding the bad head gasket. I did not know of that "quick fix" for running it through your system. Looks like I have a little reading up to do. I'm interedted to know if your quick fix really did help, so when time tells, keep us updated. Glad it seems to have stabilized. I've been chasing my annoying overheating problem since February Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 4, 2007 Author Share Posted July 4, 2007 Definitely check all your hoses and hose connections. What doesnt leak when cold can leak when hot! Look for white deposits around the hoses and hose connections -- surefire sign of a leak. - Greg - Oh, I've checked all my hoses, cold and hot. All of my lines were replaced in the last year, even the PITA heater core lines going through the wall. So far so good, the radiator is staying full and I haven't had to add coolant yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kastmaster Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 naviathan, I did a little research, and found that they offer Aluma Seal that you were mentioning, in both powder and liquid form. Which did you go with? I may have to use it soon. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 I used the powder tube, but alas it only lasted 2 weeks. I'm going to have to pull my head now. I have another thread titled "Head Gasket..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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