Possible BHG!?!?

[NewGen]

The car is running perfectly fine aside from the idleing issue when its cold i've been having. But I think I have that fixed. My problem is ever since I put my turbo on a few weeks ago I cant get my presureized upper radiator hose to go away. Its not pushing any out the over flow. Theres no white smoke out the exaust. No coolant in the oil. I'm kinda baffled, I've tried burping it serval times and it still presurizes. I also have arp head studs and a metal head gasket. :3d_frown:

[IwantMKIII]

the coolant system is SUPPOSED to be pressurized. Its a by-product of heat.

[NewGen]

so the upper radiator hose is sapose to be rock hard?

[Whasian]

It is a pressureized system, it could be that you have a small leak somewhere. Or your heatercore isn't completely full (gurling system when your in the cab). Bring the coolant back down to just under the resivior and see what happens.

*Also just to be on the safe side, check all your hose connections really close. Pay close attention to the three hoses on the backside of the motor. They tend to get overlooked a lot.

Whasian

[NewGen]

I have noticed when the heat is clear up at 85 it will tend to go away and come back but when I turn it down to 80 it constantly stays warm

[WhtMa71]

How old is the Thermostat and whats it look like?

[NewGen]

I havnt taken a look at the thermostat yet

[WhtMa71]

Might be a good idea to flush the radiator as well if i hasnt been done recently, could be plugged somewhere.

[sogi99]

you should change your thermostat it doesn't cost that much. how old is your radiator? did you car had a bhg or overheating problem before you change to metal head gasket. I hope you had your block and head machined for the correct RA or smoothness otherwise you might have an air leak coming from the head gasket. just my 2 cents

[NewGen]

it hasnt always had this issue... It started when my turbo started going bad. I bought the car with the studs and head gasket already on it. I had to pull the motor a few months back and from what I could tell when I pulled the oil pan off was it looked like the crank had just been dressed and everything was spotless. The radiator is almost brand new its just a replacement metal koyo.

[sogi99]

maybe on a cold motor you can leave the cap off and watch till the thermostat opens make sure your heater on full blast so it actually circulate around the whole system hopefully that will burp out all the air in the system. That's what i did not sure if that's the right way to do it.

[NewGen]

I'm gona go give that a shot thanks for the advice. i'll keep you guys posted

[NewGen]

ya that didnt really help at all

[tlo86]

why not get a BHG tester from a parts store? they work you know...

[NewGen]

A tester to see if theres exaust gas in the coolant system?

[mazzer]

A tester to see if theres exaust gas in the coolant system?

yes. it's called a block-tester.

does the rad hose pressurize immediately after start up ? if so, that's def a bhg

[Whasian]

I havnt taken a look at the thermostat yet

It's not your theromstat. Check the clutch fan. Chances are it's not doing it's duty right.

Whasian

[jdub]

This is a classic example of playing the "20 question game" trying to get a picture of what the problem is from the OP. "Guessing" what the problem is does not help either. BTW - running the motor with the cap off will not do squat...this is a pressurized system as previously stated.

Dude:
- When the upper rad hose gets hard is important...is it hard right after a cold start?
- Is the rad hose old (and therefore hard)...i.e. is it hard with the motor cold and the cap off?
- After warm-up, does coolant flow into the bottle normally and then get sucked back into the rad after the motor cools down?
- Any abnormal indications on the gauge?

[NewGen]

rad hose is new, doesnt push any fluid out into resevor, temp guage stays fine

[jdub]

Try again...that's 2 out of 4 questions answered. If you want me to help you, stop making me pull teeth to get info out of you.

A normal system will push a small quantity of coolant out to the bottle, then suck it back in on cool down. This is what I'm asking...it has nothing to do with a BHG.

[mazzer]

pull teeth
.

lmao. this is exactly what i was thinking , when i read his last post


some people you just can't help..

[NewGen]

I see the levels fluctuate alittle in the resivor but not much I would of expected it to push more then it is out and it doesnt get presureized right away it presureizes after the thermostat opens or when the car is most of the way heated up.

thanks for the help jdub I hope i'm not to much of a pain in your ass X-(

[jdub]

Sounds like a normal system to me...the upper hose will get hard once the car warms up and the system pressurizes. Some coolant (~8-12 oz) will be pushed into the coolant bottle due to coolant expansion...when the car cools off, suction pulls the coolant back into the rad. If your coolant gauge is staying in the 4-5 'clock position and the above happens, that is a sign of a healthy coolant system.

I don't mind helping man, but you need to understand I'm (we) are trying to diagnose this without being there. You need to "paint a picture" in words as to what's happening. Otherwise you'll get all sort of side track answers...I'm trying to help you, help yourself here ;)

[NewGen]

k thanks again jdub I hope I can get some more advice in the future :)