Water boiling in the over flow tank need help please.

[S14_Kouki]

I Just got done swapping a s13 sr in my friends s14. We changed the coolant temp switch. The car runs fine. But that weird thing is after driving it the water in the over flow tank is boiling like u can hear it boiling or is it bubbling?? idk Im just wondering if there is still air in the system or is it cause the car is running to hot?? Because I know it should not be boiling/bubbling.


Side question, can u run a ABS drive shaft with a sr swap??

[91JayBlueSupra]

I Just got done swapping a s13 sr in my friends s14. We changed the coolant temp switch. The car runs fine. But that weird thing is after driving it the water in the over flow tank is boiling like u can hear it boiling or is it bubbling?? idk Im just wondering if there is still air in the system or is it cause the car is running to hot?? Because I know it should not be boiling/bubbling.


Side question, can u run a ABS drive shaft with a sr swap??

There could be air in there still. Have the temps of your gauge changed much? You think he HG could be blown is that new? Any loss of coolant?

[slider2828]

Compression or leak down test too!! in case small head gasket leak pressurizing the coolant system

[ManoNegra]

tired radiator cap not holding pressure thus allowing coolant to boil
happened to me once

[I LUV MY S13]

cooling system not properly bled, thermostat, rad cap..could be any of those

[jspaeth]

tired radiator cap not holding pressure thus allowing coolant to boil
happened to me once


I think this is what I have, because I lose maybe 1 or 2 cups of water every month or so, but my compression is great, no white smoke anywhere, no oil/coolant mixing.....


If I fill up the rad and fill up the overflow a bit, in a bout a month, the overflow is empty and there is a little bit of coolant missing from the radiator.....

I was thinking that it was because my 15-year old rad cap was allowing coolant into the overflow, and then it was evaporating from there somehow (crack?, not airtight?)

[S14_Kouki]

The guy we bought the engine from said he had a shop replace the bearings, rings, and headgasket before he sold it. The rad cap does look like its seen better days. all ill have to flush the system again. But it does not seem to be losing any coolant.

[slideways2004]

Bleed the entire system. Get a new a radiator cap. Sounds like an air bubble

[DALAZ_68]

tired radiator cap not holding pressure thus allowing coolant to boil
happened to me once

That^

The guy we bought the engine from said he had a shop replace the bearings, rings, and headgasket before he sold it. The rad cap does look like its seen better days. all ill have to flush the system again. But it does not seem to be losing any coolant.

I would suggest getting the rad cap that has the red handle...when u lift the handle (before opening the rap cap itself) it purges all the pressure to the reservoir, instead of you opening and having a fresh bath of heated cooling...its saved my ass quite a few times...

[S14_Kouki]

Thank you everyone for the help ill try the rad cap and see how that works.

[zylvia213]

I know you said you dont have a leak but by any chance do you smell coolant while your driving or stopped at a light? just curious

[s14unimog]

you can usually tell by feeling the coolant lines if a coolant passage in the head gasket was breached... I had that problem after my number 4 cylinder ate a throttle body screw and lifted the HG. The inlet/outlet coolant lines to the block were taught and it would drip at the connections. plus you could look for bubble with the cap off. I bet its what has been mentioned.

[S14_Kouki]

Well He just tryed driving it to work and it started over heating with the new nismo rad cap. It start bubbling out of the rad so we r thinking its a blowin headgasket.

[jspaeth]

Well He just tryed driving it to work and it started over heating with the new nismo rad cap. It start bubbling out of the rad so we r thinking its a blowin headgasket.


I don't understand what you wrote....why would it overheat with the nismo rad cap..?

[S14_Kouki]

He has a ka radiator in the car now and it was over heating with the stock cap. So we chanced the stock cap with the nismo rap cap and it still over heated so we are thinking it has a blowin head gasket.

[mattsil80wis]

are the fans coming on?

[I LUV MY S13]

if he has a blown head gasket you'd be able to tell by checking the oil and/or coolant, if its milky than the HG is done..another way you can tell is by the color of smoke coming out of the exhaust

[S14_Kouki]

if he has a blown head gasket you'd be able to tell by checking the oil and/or coolant, if its milky than the HG is done..another way you can tell is by the color of smoke coming out of the exhaust



Yes the fans are coming on.

Thats the funny thing I dont think its a blowin HG because there is NO smoke from the exhaust and the oil looks perfect NO milkyness to it.

[Shadowhunter]

This happened to me, properly bleeding the system did the trick.

[I LUV MY S13]

yeah then its something faulty in the cooling system...follow these steps:

1)take out the thermostat and put in water at 185 degrees (or whatever the temp is for it to open)..if it doesnt open then theres your problem, if it does then proceed

2) take off water pump, if its oxidated, rusty, corroded or any signs of shittyness then just replace it..thats a sign of mineral water being used in the in the cooling system..if it seems fine, then proceed

3) check the fans..wait are they electric or a clutch fan? if its a clutch fan then the silicone on it may be no good, which then results a lack in speed..also check the fins, they're designed specifically to create less air resistance one another..so if one is bent or chipped, then it wont function properly

now if its electric is it dual or single? if its single, replace or buy another..if its dual, well they suck and replace them..but regardless if your fans suck you still shouldnt be overheating while in motion

now when filling it up...grab a 2liter bottle of soda(empty) and fill it up with half coolant and half water, then pour all that into the radiator, proceed till full...to bleed, start your engine with the radiator cap off to avoid building up of pressure and let the engine run for approximately fifteen minutes. Then turn on your heater. This will help circulate the coolant and push out any trapped air. The space that is emptied by the air that has been flushed out could be now used to pour more coolant. Be careful as the air that has been released is quiet hot. Make sure you keep your hands miles away from it as you don't want any injuries. Then you just put the cap back on and wipe of the remaining fluid around it with a cloth or a rag..


now honestly if it were me, i would just buy a nismo themostat, nismo thermo stat, and silicone hoses..

[240sxChillen]

Its probably a bad water pump! My car would overheat after 2 minutes of driving.

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv312/240sxchillen/0608001840.jpg

[S14_Kouki]

The thermo stat does open and the water pump does work, beause we can see the water flowing thur the rad once it is up to operating temps. It has a E-fan (single) and it comes on and blows hard. Im going to pull off the water pump just to look at it. Then im going to properly bleed the system to make sure allllllll the air is out. Ill keep you all updated and THANK YOU for your time and help

[s14kdizz]

Would having an air bubble in the cooling system cause it to build pressure after 2 secs of runing? Cause if I start it up let it run for a sec then go to remove the rad cap when car is still cold it has enuff press to shoot cold water out of the rad. Headgasket????

Thanks for all the info owner on the car

[s14kdizz]

Would having an air bubble in the cooling system cause it to build pressure after 2 secs of runing? Cause if I start it up let it run for a sec then go to remove the rad cap when car is still cold it has enuff press to shoot cold water out of the rad. Headgasket????

Thanks for all the info owner on the car

[xdumbxguyx]

could be a cracked head or bad head gasket

[ddf2006]

this is going to sound like a dumb question but r u running coolent or straight up water????
i ran water in my s13 wen i first got it and my resevior (wrong spelling) and it boiled. once i switched to coolent, the boiling stopped.
just something to think about.
proobley wrong though... :/

[S14_Kouki]

Its all water. We r taking the head off so we will see if its a bad hg or cracked.

[Om1kron]

Its all water. We r taking the head off so we will see if its a bad hg or cracked.

Most likely, you cant run just water in it. it can cause shit to BREAK inside of the engine.

[S14_Kouki]

Most likely, you cant run just water in it. it can cause shit to BREAK inside of the engine.

What exactly can break?? From my understanding coolant is to prevent corrosion and prevent water from freezing in the engine.

[rdrckt]

change the thermostat,radiator cap and jack up the car on the left front with the car off,open the bleeder screw,wait till all the air bubbles come out while u pour in coolant,now start the car with the car still jacked up and wait till both hoses are the same temp.the thermostat has to cycle at least three times and then you're done.even if the headgasket is bad these things have to be replaced since they most likely are damaged from overheating.also these things are cheaper than replcing the headgasket and possibly the head for no reason.

[Triperformance]

Honestly just change your coolant mix to be more water based, coolant had a low freezing temp and a high boiling temp. For a daily driver you guys started off wrong. put actual coolant mix in it and let us know whats up.

[S14_Kouki]

Well it turned out to be a bad HG. thank u for the help everyone

[Triperformance]

Damn dude, sorry about your luck on that one. Hope all goes well.

[Om1kron]

What exactly can break?? From my understanding coolant is to prevent corrosion and prevent water from freezing in the engine.

You see that nasty water pump a few posts up missing it's fins, it could eventually cause it to seize and then the pump goes boom. I just recently fixed something like that one a toyota t100, it was so awesome. I really never thought something like that could happen in the cooling system. I guess it has to do with what anti freeze's purpose is..

I'm not a genius so scientifically I dunno what the fuck happened. All I know is I saw some shit explode and it was epic and there wasn't a piston or rod behind the part that blew up.

[Triperformance]

lol, T100 is pretty old dude. Toyota and water pumps is nothing new, consider every 60k miles to change one, which is why most people replace them during the swap cause the jdm engines can have up to that mileage.

[Slideways_Kiwi]

Corrosion and water pumps don't mix.

Use inhibitor/antifreeze

[S14_Kouki]

You see that nasty water pump a few posts up missing it's fins, it could eventually cause it to seize and then the pump goes boom. I just recently fixed something like that one a toyota t100, it was so awesome. I really never thought something like that could happen in the cooling system. I guess it has to do with what anti freeze's purpose is..

I'm not a genius so scientifically I dunno what the fuck happened. All I know is I saw some shit explode and it was epic and there wasn't a piston or rod behind the part that blew up.

Sounds fun lol. I guess antifreeze is a good thing. Lesson learned today....USE antifreeze.


Im not to worryed about the HG its not my car (cant see it from my house) lol. But on a real note. I have a extra HG sitting at my house im giving him and he's picking up some arp's also. It just sucks cause the guy that he bought the engine from said it has new rings and bearings. So that prob a lie. Atleast we found the prob.

[Om1kron]

Sounds like your typical rebuild (lets rebuilt the bottom end, not deck the head) and slap it together with a head gasket.

[s14kdizz]

the problem with it over flowing in the res would be air in the system but i found out by letting the car run longer that there was a little more then just air in the system http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/xxiiSUBLIMEiixx/2010-06-13192131.jpg

[BLKTOPSR20DET]

the coolant lubes the seals and shit like that in the cooling system and it boils up at higher temps but its always better to mix coolant with water 50/50 mix and if you have a blown HG sometimes the motor oil doesn't get milky and sometimes when you do a compression test it dont show low compression it might just be a small hairline crack in your HG a friend of mine had the same problem or you just might still have air in your cooling system

[DALAZ_68]

Its all water. We r taking the head off so we will see if its a bad hg or cracked.

What exactly can break?? From my understanding coolant is to prevent corrosion and prevent water from freezing in the engine.

Sounds fun lol. I guess antifreeze is a good thing. Lesson learned today....USE antifreeze.


Im not to worryed about the HG its not my car (cant see it from my house) lol. But on a real note. I have a extra HG sitting at my house im giving him and he's picking up some arp's also. It just sucks cause the guy that he bought the engine from said it has new rings and bearings. So that prob a lie. Atleast we found the prob.

the coolant lubes the seals and shit like that in the cooling system and it boils up at higher temps but its always better to mix coolant with water 50/50 mix and if you have a blown HG sometimes the motor oil doesn't get milky and sometimes when you do a compression test it dont show low compression it might just be a small hairline crack in your HG a friend of mine had the same problem or you just might still have air in your cooling system
Water wetter+Distilled Water > Antifreeze

^ SoCal weather ofcourse...lol