air in coolant?

[hart.280]

I am reluctant to ask this, but I have been searching for answers and trying on my own for about 7 weeks....

PROBLEM: Left at idle the car overheats and flows coolant out the top of the reservoir.

Story: Stock ka24de. started off overheating due to a fan plug coming off which lead to a hole in the reservoir (boiled through).l Fixed both issues, bleed the system a few times (millions of times). Each time I think I have the problem solved (say I am issue free for 100 miles) it will get hot. When I shut the car off I can hear air bubbling through the rad. If I loosen the cap a bit air bubbles up through the reservoir.

I refill the rad and bleed the system while it is parked uphill, no air comes out, all seems well then bam, 200 miles later the problem is back, the coolant overflowed through the reservoir and the rad is way low.

I have no idea what to do. It does not heat up crazy fast so I do not think it is a blown gasket.

PLEASE HELP, I have driven an s14 since 2001 and thought I could work on the things, but this is driving me crazy.

PLEASE HELP

[hart.280]

I forgot to say, this issue normally shows up at extended idle. The fan is working all seems well and good.

[cotbu]

Originally Posted by hart.280

I have no idea what to do. It does not heat up crazy fast so I do not think it is a blown gasket.

Heating up fast is not a way to determine if the head gasket is blown.
You should test for a blown gasket.

Secondly you actually over heated the engine and you only hope it wasn't destroyed by fixing the visual problems.
Only makes sense to test and dig deeper based on the current issue.

I would at a minimum buy a stock head gasket, just because. Wouldn't install it until after my testing though.

You're probably gonna get noobs in here explaining how to properly bleed the air but your problem, from description is not trapped air or a bleeding problem.
You need more testing to find the root cause or just assume the worst, which is apparently the head gasket.

[jr_ss]

Agreed with dude ^^. You're pulling or forcing air into your coolant system. Remove the rad cap and let the engine idle with it off. If you have constant bubbles, you have issues and need to dig deeper. I suspect a blown HG. You don't have to mix coolant and oil for it to be bad. A hydrocarbon test(found at a local auto parts store(Napa)) will confirm a bad HG.

[that1guywithans13]

Take off the thermostat and replace it. Once your car over heats more than once the thermostat is toast. Get a new one and cut off the jiggle valve andmake the hole where the jiggle valve was as big as you can and drill a hole next to that one the same size. Then bleed the system. Trust me that works miracles, ka's are a pita to bleed, air gets trapped behind the tstat and singlehandedly burns it up.

[relaxamigo]

I'm having the same issue. I've been dealing with this bullshit for four consecutive drift events, tried everything. Today I pulled the thermostat and drove it without it, it didn't overheat. It also didn't reach operating temp, which could be equally as bad.

It was a new oem thermostat, I guess it got damaged when the engine got hot. I did a leakdown test which cancelled out the HG. I'd say try running no thermo and see what happens. If it doesn't overheat, you probably cooked the T-stat. Get a new one and try again! It's common to have failing new thermostats apparently, so hope for the best.

[hart.280]

I just drove it 160 miles.
It was a pain the whole way.

I will have to try out some of these ideas this week


Any all all other thoughts and experiences are more than welcome.

How long does a KA headgasket change normally take?

[that1guywithans13]

Dude before you go ripping it apart do exactly as I posted earlier and you will be green.

[Atill93]

definitely test it out and confirm its the headgasket before tearing into it. overheating 240's can be confusing as hell. i'd even replace the thermostat and rebleed and run it for a while before attempting a new headgasket

[grinevb]

I have the same problem as you @hart.280. And I have done everything except my car immediately overheats. I have tried bleeding and I beleive I have done it right because bubbles do not come out of it anymore. The only difference between my problem and yours is that you drive 200~ miles before overheating and mine does in about .5mi...I have not been able to enjoy this car ever since I bought it, really upseting.

[sincity_sil80]

Im dealing with this too, it was gine before but, when i went to teplace the thermostat i discovered it didnt have one, so naturally i put one in and its overheating within 10 minutes of driving. I will try some of these suggestions and report back, op lmk if any of them work for you

[omgosh]

Drill out the jiggle valve in the thermostat if you want, it will bleed faster.. Bleed with the front uphill. Make sure to open the 10mm bolt on the upper radiator hose to get the air out from the head. Fill till water comes out the hole....close bolt.

Easy way to find out if there is air in the system...take radiator cap off. Press your hand/palm down on the radiator neck to block the air. Make sure water is in the overflow. Then while holding your hand on the cap, reach down and squeeze the lower radiator hose. Air will be pushed out the top into the overflow tank. When you release the hose(keep hand firmly on radiator), it will draw in coolant from the tank instead of more air. With this method you can actually feel the air stuck in the system when you squeeze the lower hose.