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Love The Sound Of Boiling Coolant...

big col

By big col,
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big col Collaborator

big col

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My r33 overheated yesterday. The temp gauge didn't indicate it was overheating (usually sits halfway and it had moved just a fraction above halfway). Only knew because I parked my car and heard the freaking coolant boiling from the overflow bottle. It was so hot there was smoke from the plastic! Checked the radiator and it was bone dry... got it serviced about 700km's ago and they said my coolant doesn't need replacing... so as far as I am aware it was full not too long ago. I haven't noticed any leaks, no stains on the floor where I normally park it at home and work. Going to take it to a radiator place next week, just poured in 4L of coolant as I'm gonna limp it there. Didn't see it leaking out anywhere when pouring it in/running the engine. Going to check tomorrow if the coolant level has dropped.

I did notice though the small black fan infront of the radiator wasn't spinning... this should be spinning shouldn't it? The huge white fan behind the radiator is spinning around like a champ, just the small black one that isn't turning.

The coolant is a nice rusty brown colour btw... was like that the last time i got the coolant flushed and the radiator place said "there doesn't seem to be any rust,.the old coolant was just dirty"... safe to say I'm not taking it back there again! I seem to have a knack for owning cars that need to have something fixed every other month :D

Edited by big col
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philta Community Regular

philta

Posted
Posted

this happen to my mates car, check for a small hairline leak in the pipes, it only leak under pressure hence it was hard to find what the prob was.

fill it up, run it warm and listen to where its coming out of, should be a heater or radiator pipe near the clamps.

some_cs_student Veteran

some_cs_student

Posted
Posted
Could be it... high boost has been real shit for the past month (think the ecu is cutting it out). runs normal on low boost.

But yeah, that black fan should be spinning right?

Black fan?

Do you mean the one at the front of the car just in front of the grill? It turns on at 60 degrees (I think), if your car set it wasn't hot and the coolant boiled, maybe the thermostat should be checked.

Very easy if you have an aftermarket ECU :)

Common causes are also, radiator slightly blocked, water pump dying/corroded, clutch fan not working correctly (small difference apparently).

And does your radiator have the stock shroud?

mid life crisis Veteran

mid life crisis

Posted
Posted

i thought the black electric fan come on with the air con . i had exactly the same prob last summer turns out the raditior was 70% blocked had it cleaned out and been great since

cuppas Community Regular

cuppas

Posted
Posted

what sort of head gasket have you got in?

if none of these others are correct, the head gasket could be letting coolant bleed into the cylinders, with the engine then tries to combust... badly. this might also account for the level dropping without any leaks on the outside.

big col Collaborator

big col

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Thanks for the replies. The coolant level had gone down again this morning and there was a little puddle of fresh coolant under the car this morning so hopefully it isn't something as serious as the head gasket. I'll post the outcome after getting it checked out this week.

gotRICE? Veteran

gotRICE?

Posted
Posted

Easiest way to find a hairline leak is to take the car to a mechanic and get them to put there pressure tester on there.

I did it on my van when it was randomly over heating. I think they pumped about 14psi into it, soon see where the leak is.

some_cs_student Veteran

some_cs_student

Posted
Posted
i thought the black electric fan come on with the air con .

I can't remember if it comes on with the air con, but it does come on above 60 degrees without air con, at least on the R33's, I'm sure its very similar on other models.

big col Collaborator

big col

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Posted (edited)

Got it pressure tested today and they couldn't find any leaks. The thermostat was stuffed though (wasn't opening) so got that replaced as well as new coolant as the old stuff was shit. The car has been running 'lumpy' for quite a while now (guessing this is it trying to combust coolant) so everything is pointing to the head gasket :) Yeah i did get steam coming out of the overflow bottle. Time to dig into the lackluster cash cow! Tried checking the oil for any white stuff (water) but couldn't find any, haven't noticed any smoke coming out the exhaust either.

Whats the ballpark figure these days for a new head gasket + labour? And is there anything else I should get checked in the engine at the same time for all the labour i'll be paying?

Edited by big col
RB30-POWER Mentor

RB30-POWER

Posted
Posted

maybe a cylinder leak down test would be a better start, before you go wasting money on head gaskets and stuff, just to confirm the fault.

is the radiator cap ok? if it's not holding pressure, the coolant will pump into the expansion resevoir and boil away.

headgasket job would be close to 1k with all genuine gaskets, maching, labour etc.

big col Collaborator

big col

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Yeah naturally I'd intend to get some more tests done first to confirm it's the head gasket before diving straight in to get it replaced. The radiator cap is holding pressure, I got them to check that as the last place I went to before put a new cap on. I was expecting to hear around 2k-2.5k for a head gasket job so it will be good if it is less than that!

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