Swirl pot / breather tank woes

[kruked]

Anyone familiar w/ the setup and knowledgeable about it? My setup is in/on an
S13 de and my problem lies w/ the suction from the over-flow tank. I'm spitting out more fluid than what I'm sucking back in. I have to top the system off at least once a week w/ about a quarter gallon of fluid.
The swirl pot, (Greddy), the upper nipple that runs to the over-flow reservoir is about a 1/4 inch above the over-flow, (stock jug in stock location) filler. The nipple is about 1 and a half inches above the bleeder. From lowest to highest, radiator neck, over-flow, bleeder and then swirl pot.
My return(?) is about 4" from the thermostat housing w/ the nipple pointing almost vertical, upwards. I've also had it pointing almost down w/ no positive effect as well.

If any pictures are needed, I'll provide some later today.


Edit: everything was perfectly fine before the swirl pot install. My reason for the swirl pot is that I live in an apartment complex and I can't exactly jack the car up on shitty asphalt. My lower hose had to be replaced because there was a nick in it from the alternator pulley and I needed an easy method of bleeding the cooling system.

[KAT-PWR]

Do you have a radiator pressure cap on the swirl pot and a dummy cap on the radiator?

[kruked]

No sir, radiator cap is on swirl pot. I believe it to be a 1.3 bar. Possibly a 1.6 but pretty sure it's a 1.3.
Yep, dummy cap on radiator.

[KAT-PWR]

Sounds like maybe a faulty cap, try another one.

[jedi03]

blown headgasket can have similar result too

[kruked]

blown headgasket can have similar result too

I do appreciate the feed back, but why does some one also ways have to mention something about a head gasket? Should I check my timing chain too?

[slider2828]

Is your switch pot high enough? Depends where its mounted?

[kruked]

Is your switch pot high enough? Depends where its mounted?

It's the highest thing in the system. Just barely higher than the bleeder.

[slider2828]

That makes no sense that it is blowing out.... At this point I would do a leak down test to see why there is positive pressure in the water system....

[kruked]

That makes no sense that it is blowing out.... At this point I would do a leak down test to see why there is positive pressure in the water system....

Please tell me that you read this part...


Edit: everything was perfectly fine before the swirl pot install. My reason for the swirl pot is that I live in an apartment complex and I can't exactly jack the car up on shitty asphalt. My lower hose had to be replaced because there was a nick in it from the alternator pulley and I needed an easy method of bleeding the cooling system.

[slider2828]

Please tell me that you read this part...

I mean that is really weird its blowing OUT water... That doesn't make sense even if you had air in the system....

If you can't jack it up, can you borrow a rhino ramp or some sort of ramp to get it up in the air and bleed it? or a bleeder funnel?

I have the PBM swirl pot installed and never did this happen to me... I mean just to cover bases you didn't reverse any of the piping to the swirl pot right? (Truthfully not that it would really matter)

http://www.autozone.com/shop-and-garage-tools/funnel/lisle-spill-free-funnel-with-45-degree-elbow-5-in-extension-and-e-adapter-for-ford/255743_0_0

[kruked]

It's not so much blowing coolant out, it's just not sucking it back in at the proper pace. The over-flow reservoir accumulates coolant like it should. Hardly any of it gets sucked back in during the cool down cycle. Shit warms up again, reservoir accumulates more coolant. This cycle happens X amount of times and eventually the reservoir can't hold anymore coolant. Thus resulting in me having to add coolant once a week.
This is all a continuous cycle, has been since the swirl pot install. I'll take a couple of pictures tomorrow and post them up after work.

Ramps won't fit under my front bumper.
I haven't tried a bleeder funnel. Didn't think that it was worth the try being that that's what the swirl pot is for. Perhaps it is one of those things that needs to be done that is never mentioned?
Far as I know of, everything is plumbed correctly.

If it makes a difference, the coolant in the swirl pot does not swirl like it's supposed to.

[racepar1]

So, this started AFTER you replaced a hose huh? Sounds like you might have an air bubble around the thermostat. Have you checked to see if it's opening?

Your logic as to why you went with the swirl pot is flawed though. It's not going to alleviate bleeding issues, you still need to bleed the system essentially the same...

[kruked]

Yep, it started afterwards.

I'm using the same thermostat as before. The only thing different about it is that I removed the jiggly thing.
All of the information that I came across, no one mentions that one still had to properly bleed the cooling system. I'll give it a try this weekend and see how it goes.

[racepar1]

Yep, it started afterwards.

I'm using the same thermostat as before. The only thing different about it is that I removed the jiggly thing.
All of the information that I came across, no one mentions that one still had to properly bleed the cooling system. I'll give it a try this weekend and see how it goes.

Make sure the lower and upper hoses are both getting hot. If one is significantly colder than the other you've got a flow issue IE thermostat not opening.