El Andrew Gold Donating Members 2,032 Member For: 9y 5m 24d Gender: Male Location: Canberra ACT Posted 08/12/23 12:05 AM Share Posted 08/12/23 12:05 AM Got back from travel last night and new radiator cap had arrived so threw that on. What I have noticed is the coolant level surges after the car is turned off. So if I fill to the minimum cold level, the tank is completely full after I switch off. I was thinking maybe if the cap was leaking the boiling point of the coolant is not increased through pressure, so it was boiling and expanding when the car was off and coolant temp increasing. But still getting the level surges with the new cap.This is all since the new rad and hoses went in. So I might just drain everything and refill and see if that sorts out any trapped air pockets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k31th less WHY; more WOT Site Developer 28,863 Member For: 16y 6m 6d Gender: Male Location: Melbourne Posted 08/12/23 12:18 AM Share Posted 08/12/23 12:18 AM instead of draining and refilling, it just sounds like the coolant system needs a good bleed down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowxr6t Member 557 Member For: 5y 10m 12d Location: New zealand Posted 08/12/23 01:50 AM Share Posted 08/12/23 01:50 AM Hope its not a blown head gasket, my z32 300zx at one point when it was completely stuffed after I bought it filled the overflow bottle and chuffed coolant out onto ground after shutting engjne off, pressure in cylinders was leaking past gasket into water jacket. Dont drain it, start it from cold with cap off, squeeze rubber hoses to try get air out, let it get up to temp in your drive way get thermostat open give some revs squeeze pipes, should get it bled out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puffwagon Puff Gold Donating Members 15,740 Member For: 9y 8m 16d Gender: Male Location: South Australia Posted 08/12/23 02:24 AM Share Posted 08/12/23 02:24 AM Don't refill the whole lot, just undo the top hose from the radiator and fill the radiator through that. Then run it and chuck some more water though it, chuck the hose back on and let it get to temp. This should all be done before any driving, an air pocket can make the engine so hot it'll enter limp mode while idling, never mind driving it down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Andrew Gold Donating Members 2,032 Member For: 9y 5m 24d Gender: Male Location: Canberra ACT Posted 08/12/23 04:52 AM Share Posted 08/12/23 04:52 AM Thanks gents. I'll try that. I bit surprised that a week of driving wouldnt have ironed out any air pockets but I guess they can be stubborn. Hopefully I'm safe on the head gasket as the issue started with the new rad and hoses.CHT has been perfect throughout all this. Have been monitoring with an OBD2 gauge I have permanently installed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Andrew Gold Donating Members 2,032 Member For: 9y 5m 24d Gender: Male Location: Canberra ACT Posted 11/12/23 11:19 PM Share Posted 11/12/23 11:19 PM I think I spoke too soon in the above post. With the drive home on Friday and then over the weekend (in much hotter weather than it has been when I was having problems), the hot coolant level has been fine. Seems now that the cap is sorted any air pockets have resolved themselves and it is behaving nicely. I'll just keep the new bottle for when the current one inevitably turns yellow.I have a very slight coolant smell still but I need to go over it and check for any weeping connections. I remember when I replaced all the hoses in the BA it was a pain to eliminate all of the minor weeping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puffwagon Puff Gold Donating Members 15,740 Member For: 9y 8m 16d Gender: Male Location: South Australia Posted 13/12/23 09:07 AM Share Posted 13/12/23 09:07 AM Pulled out the finger and fixed the na territory today. Removed the stock engine oil cooler and trans lines and replaced it with a front mount oil cooler. Looped the broken water pipe as part of the process which was the reason for the work in the first place. One less thing to worry about without the stock cooler and it should help with temps as summer heats up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowxr6t Member 557 Member For: 5y 10m 12d Location: New zealand Posted 14/12/23 12:35 AM Share Posted 14/12/23 12:35 AM Good job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Andrew Gold Donating Members 2,032 Member For: 9y 5m 24d Gender: Male Location: Canberra ACT Posted 14/12/23 11:34 AM Share Posted 14/12/23 11:34 AM Serviced the Outback 3.6R. Weird unit but easy service. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puffwagon Puff Gold Donating Members 15,740 Member For: 9y 8m 16d Gender: Male Location: South Australia Posted 13/01/24 02:47 AM Share Posted 13/01/24 02:47 AM Replaced both front window regulators in the territory today. Now all the windows actually work! Haha pretty sure I could have done that 6 months ago but oh well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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