cold radiator after ten minutes..DONE!

[N1446]

I am having a problem and more cowbell just isn t the right prescription today

i have an issue where there is boilng hot coolant in the resivoir after the car idles for ten minutes or more after the car is at operating temp.

the coolant piping/lines are boiling hot, however the radiator itself is cold to the touch < no coolant flow

if i take the car out and go a mile , it is already near maximum temp until i shut it down and let the fans cool the engine, the fans still work as they 're supposed to when the temp is above normal

According to the FSM diagram the Radiator is not in use until the thermostat opens up

I have a radiator with no cap so i figure there is air trapped somewhere in the system , i ve tried burping it a few times , there is still no coolant flow through the rad even after ten minutes and near maximum temp

The engine just came out of a working car with no issues

[93forestpearl]

You didn't burp the cooling system properly.


You need to let the car run with the cap open until the thermostat opens and bubbles stop coming out of the neck.

[evolutionmovement]

If there's still air in there, you can get some loose by squeezing the hoses while it's running. But if it isn't circulating at all, did you try running without the thermostat? If that doesn't solve your problem, you might have a bad head gasket.

[Legacy777]

The small line in the top passenger side of the radiator, where is that going? Is it going to the coolant expansion tank? Is it in the stock location, or do you have an alternative location you've mounted it? That really needs to be the highest spot in your cooling system.

If you are sure you have all the air out, then you may have a stuck thermostat.

[N1446]

The small line is running to a different location, the coolant resivoir is on the side of the radiator

The line on the top right runs along the top of the radiator and then turns down into the overflow resivoir

I m using this radiator setup right now

As you can see, there is no cap to use for a visual bubble inspection, so it is difficult to be sure there is no air in the system

When this setup is working properly, the coolant is drawn from the overflow bottle as needed through the hose on top of the radiator

This time that overflow on the side of the rad is bubbling > air bubbles/ boiling

I will start by moving the resivoir up on top of the engine for now, and if still no luck I ll remove the thermostat

Thank o

[Legacy777]

Is this a non-turbo engine in a turbo legacy? How in the world do you fill the coolant?

To be honest, I don't think that setup is going to work properly. Your cooling system can not pressurize, and as such, you are going to push coolant into the tank, and when it cools, due to how it's setup, it will likely not pull all the coolant back in the radiator, and then you will have an air pocket. This cycle will repeat, and the air pocket will get bigger.

[N1446]

that really sounds like what is happening, and yes it is a 2.5 N/A

this is what i did today

i did the tshooting in the oppisite order and this happened

i removed the thrmostat from the car and replaced it with the previous engines thermostat

i poured coolant into the crossover until full and also into the rad until full

i then joined the crossover and the radiator together with the hose and sealed it tight

i poured the remainder of the coolant into the expansion tank and there was about just under full in the tank then

i ran the engine until operating temperature and it sounded good it was staying at operating temp

went for a longer drive today than yesterday and after 3 or 4 miles the temp guage was up at the top again

once again fans on, and the radiator cold

the expansion tank was near the cap with coolant

i have an extra radiator that is thinner and has a cap on it from the forester,

i will swap it in tomorrow and try again

i m going to glow in the dark i ve had so many green showers this week

[evolutionmovement]

Yeah, you definitely need to get a radiator with a pressurized cap in there. I hope you didn't damage anything with the hot running.

[vrg3]

Yikes. You can't fill the system from the crossover pipe -- it's below the top of the radiator!

For that reason and the other reasons offered by other board members here, you need a radiator cap. The turbo engine has it on the coolant filler tank. You could try rigging that tank back on with a mix of EJ25 and EJ22T stuff, but the Right Thing to Do is to put in a non-turbo radiator.

If you don't want to do that, get a coolant filler neck that you can splice into the upper radiator hose. It's not quite ideal because it's still not the highest point in the system, but it's close:

http://www.moroso.com/catalog/categoryd ... code=29014

[N1446]

i m glad you guys are here cause this setup is new for me

i m used to building on bikes and the radiators on those are at the highest point and they have a cap so its never been an issue

just fill and it does the rest

I remember i tossed the turbo coolant tank when i removed the 22T two years back cause it was sh!t

now i am kicking myself tho there should be no damage as i ve been watching the temp and shutting down and also not taking long drives, plus a fresh oil and filter change before all this testing

i think what i ll do is hit up the scrap yard tomorrow in search for a capped coolant tank from a turbo somthing

i d rather keep the turbo radiator as it s twice the size of the one from the forester and its also in better shape

[evolutionmovement]

The regular N/A radiator is all you need. Josh has one on his turbo and he lives in TX.

[N1446]

ok
upon closer inspection i noticed i had a coolant leak on top of the motor

I found this



This morning I went to the boneyard and pulled a clean one, I sanded it and gave it a good slacking of VHT



I also built and installed the new rad from the forester



I am now ready to fill the coolant with this new setup.. All I wanna Do is take it to the damn car wash !

[N1446]

I got it made..Thank you Josh, Vikash, Steve, Dan
I took the car out for a 30 minute drive this morning, i did how you said Dan and Steve I squeezed the upper hose to force the air through the system

eventually the rad was full and there was no steam and the fluid level started to rise up the radiator cap so I capped it !
the whole drive this morning the temp guage was well below half ! This is great ! Now i can work in the new clutch i just put in !

Thank you guys for your expertise, I have today off and I m going far far away . Like the beach . Yess I will go to the beach.

PEAcE

Mich.

[Legacy777]

Glad you got it taken care of