am i in trouble, or did i get lucky?

[2mAn]

History:
I bought my car in September and not knowing when the timing belt was last done, I put that at the top of the list of repair items. I also ordered a new water pump, along with some other stuff. Changed the timing belt and tensioner but forgot to get new coolant hoses. I figured I would get around to those eventually. I also wanted to get an M42 radiator to clean up the engine bay so I figured I would get the proper hoses when I did that.

Event in question:
Last week I was on my way home and had a scare. Long story short, the upper radiator hose tore and leaked out most of the coolant. Temp gauge never got into the red, but it was much higher than usual. Changed the hose, added water to get it back up to a proper level and also bled the system that night. Everything seemed to be fine, except the urgency behind changing the other hoses skyrocketed.

Current Issue:
The coolant light has come on 3, maybe 4 times since and the resevoir has been nearly empty. Ive topped it off only to have the light turn on within a few days.

Question:
Is this an early sign of the headgasket getting ready to let go, or is it simply because the other hoses are getting ready to go?

[ttrousdell]

Unless it got to the red i'm sure there is little chance of head worpage. Ive seen m20s heat up to red and coolant overflows then immediately shut off and they have been fine. Did you seem to loose coolant before the incident? Pressurize the system and see if its any of the hoses.

[2mAn]

Im going to change the other two hoses before I really freak out. This car leaves its mark everywhere it goes, so im not exactly sure what ISNT leaking

[custom e30]

check ur oil, if it looks like a milk shake then ur head gasket is bad, but i doubt that is the case, u prolly still have alot more air in the system, it takes alot more then people think to get all the air out..good luck

[2mAn]

oil looks fine, i check it every time i fill up the fuel tank. air in the system, thats very possible.

ill be in the situation where i will need to bleed the system of air again shortly. any tips i may not be aware of? ive just cracked the bleeder on the thermostat housing until i saw coolant coming out

[dnguyen1963]

Jlevie has posted procedure for bleeding the coolant many times here...look it up. The other thing you can do is to drill a bleed hole in your tstat to help getting trapped air out of your system.

[2mAn]

care to share it? i just spent the last 10 minutes searching for it. nothing in the m20 forum, nothing in the DIY/ FAQ forum either

[dnguyen1963]

care to share it? i just spent the last 10 minutes searching for it. nothing in the m20 forum, nothing in the DIY/ FAQ forum either

Here it is...took me less than one minute to find one of the post.

1) Get the front of the car 1-2' in the air on jack-stands.

2) Drain the coolant, remove the thermostat, and set the heater controls for
full hot. O-ring sealed thermostats require you to make up a temporary
gasket, which can be made out of pasteboard.

3) Add flush compound and fill with plain water. Then run the engine at normal
temperature as specified by the flush manufacturer (usually about 15
minutes at operating temperature). In cooler weather it may be necessary to
block off some of the air into the radiator to decrease the warmup time.

4) Allow the engine to cool until you can place your hand on the cylinder head
w/o discomfort. Drain the system and refill with plain water.

5) Run the engine for 10-15 minutes or until temp is close to normal.

6) Repeat (4) and (5) until the water drained from the system is clear and
free of debris.

7) Fill with coolant. It is best to dilute anitfreeze with distilled water.
Tap water contains disolved oxygen and may contain minerals. Either of
which will reduce the lifetime of the coolant.

Notes:

You don't absolutely need to remove the thermostat, but doing so will allow
continuous flow through the radiator and will also make draining & filling
faster and easier.

Always allow the engine to cool to the point that you can hold your hand on
the cylinder head without discomfort. That will prevent scalds from hot
coolant and prevent thermally shocking the head when you dump the coolant.

Filling the system with hot water makes the process go faster and keeps from
having to run the engine a lot in a cold condition (rich mixture).

And this is to bleed....

1) Using ramps or a jack get the front of the car 1' or more higher than
the rear. That will make the radiator and bleed screw the highest point
on the engine and facilitate removal of air.

2) With the bleed screw open, add coolant until no more air comes out of
the bleed.

3) Leave the filler cap off, or at least loose, and set the heat for max
temp and fan speed. Leaving the cap loose will prevent air that's still
in the system from causing a "coolant fountain" once the engine heats
up. Start the engine and allow it to warm up to operating temp. As it
warms up occasionally crack the bleed screw to release any air and top
up the coolant as necessary.

4) Once the engine is at temp bring it up to 2000-2500rpm for a few seconds
several times. Then crack the bleed until no more air is released. At
this point the heater should be throwing lots of hot air, which
indicates that the heater core is filled with coolant. You may have to
repeat this a few times to get all the air out.

5) Drive the car a bit, allow it to cool back down, and recheck the
bleed for air. Over the next few days you may get very small amounts (a
few bubbles) of air out of the bleed screw.
__________________

[BergerNJ]

Im going to change the other two hoses before I really freak out. This car leaves its mark everywhere it goes, so im not exactly sure what ISNT leaking

not to be mean or anything but this made me laugh


my vert is the same...oil pan slowly drips.

sounds like a bleeding issue, dont get so nervous....the love you have for your car is awesome...just bleed that shit

[2mAn]

thanks, but i find it hard to believe you found it in less than 1 minute. anyways, thanks. thats pretty much the procedure ive done with a little more detail. ill just do it again

[stamar]

5) Drive the car a bit, allow it to cool back down, and recheck the
bleed for air. Over the next few days you may get very small amounts (a
few bubbles) of air out of the bleed screw.


I have found out by bleeding my car 4 times now
That it takes a few cold hot cycles and then refilling the tank to get the last 3/4 gallon of air out.

This is because the bleeder screw is below the top radiator hose. so after you are done with step2 and theres no more air, the upper hose is still filled with air. Theres nothing wrong with your car the air is above the screw.

to get that air, youre going to have to bleed it out of the overflow hose either right then ( try using the pressure sensor thing you unscrew a little bit.) or letting it happen naturally with light overheating ( watch the temp gage very closely)


Someone said to actually pull the overflow hose off the radiator and it bleeds out there perfect but ive never done that and it risks burning yourself, and you need the right kind of hose clamp there which i am not sure you have. So I just recomend looking into that.

[MR 325]

You say you're losing coolant, you say the car leaks everywhere you go, yet you don't know why you're losing coolant? I am confused. Replace all of your hoses and do a correct bleed. You'll be fine.

[dnguyen1963]

thanks, but i find it hard to believe you found it in less than 1 minute. anyways, thanks. thats pretty much the procedure ive done with a little more detail. ill just do it again

It is very easy...search Jlevie then click find all his posts...it is in there. Less than 1 minute. Bleeding E30 takes time and be very patient.