"False" Overheats in an '07 Eddie Bauer?

[Mbrooks420]

A small leak can be burned off on the heads or exhaust manifolds. A cap mounted pressure tester is typically used.

 

[Trainmaster]

Hmmm, this is very interesting. The only problem is I'm not leaking coolant. Level is solid, though down perhaps slightly(i think from sloshing around) but no coolant on ground. How did you find your leak?

I bought a small pump to pressurize the system. Pumped it up and it wouldn't hold pressure for a minute. I found that rear hose pissing water under 15 lbs pressure. No leak unless under pressure. Losing maybe a pint every two months. Eventually it would be go low.

 

[mcgee1895]

So an update! I took the Car to Valvoline to get coolant flushed- mechanic said my heat hoses were rock solid with air. He said my thermostat likely busted- So we replaced. Good news: car ran for 5 minutes and temp gag was LOCKED at normal which was great to see. Bad news: The guy couldn't get the pin on this thermostat hole. Does anybody know what this is? On my old thermo it was a hole that led no where- this hole has coolant coming out lol. Heat worked for a second or two but then it started shooting antifreeze out and guy said we'll just leave truck at shop til morning. But how does this work? Does that pin close the hole up? What goes in there lol?

 

[Lee's Automotive]

View attachment 437587

So an update! I took the Car to Valvoline to get coolant flushed- mechanic said my heat hoses were rock solid with air. He said my thermostat likely busted- So we replaced. Good news: car ran for 5 minutes and temp gag was LOCKED at normal which was great to see. Bad news: The guy couldn't get the pin on this thermostat hole. Does anybody know what this is? On my old thermo it was a hole that led no where- this hole has coolant coming out lol. Heat worked for a second or two but then it started shooting antifreeze out and guy said we'll just leave truck at shop til morning. But how does this work? Does that pin close the hole up? What goes in there lol?

Ok there is a plastic plug that goes there and that clip holds it in some models are just molded shut but in your case you could either get the plastic cap that goes in there or buy a sensor and shove it in there and slide the clip in to stop the leak

 

[mcgee1895]

Ok there is a plastic plug that goes there and that clip holds it in some models are just molded shut but in your case you could either get the plastic cap that goes in there or buy a sensor and shove it in there and slide the clip in to stop the leak

thanks! do you know name of piece?

 

[Lee's Automotive]

thanks! do you know name of piece?

No but i'm not sure why the shop removed it in the first place

 

[mcgee1895]

No but i'm not sure why the shop removed it in the first place

They didn't- In old thermostat that hole didn't do anything/there was no plug. So wehn he put new one on there was nothing to fill what now had a hole lol

Will putting the clip in solve this?

 

[Lee's Automotive]

They didn't- In old thermostat that hole didn't do anything/there was no plug. So wehn he put new one on there was nothing to fill what now had a hole lol

Will putting the clip in solve this?

The clip alone will not stop the leak also on the newer SOHC engines there is 1 sensor instead of 2 so they put in those plastic plugs to cover up the unused hole you will need to find that plug or replace the housing unless you shove a sensor in there also the thermostat is located under the piece where the upper radiator hose connects not the hole with the clip

 

[mcgee1895]

The clip alone will not stop the leak also on the newer SOHC engines there is 1 sensor instead of 2 so they put in those plastic plugs to cover up the unused hole you will need to find that plug or replace the housing unless you shove a sensor in there also the thermostat is located under the piece where the upper radiator hose connects not the hole with the clip

can I buy another sensor like the one I bought already(i.e the one thats plugged in to the left of the hole) and stick it in there? I think I actually have the old sensor

 

[Lee's Automotive]

can I buy another sensor like the one I bought already(i.e the one thats plugged in to the left of the hole) and stick it in there? I think I actually have the old sensor

yep, that'll work just make sure the o ring is on the sensor and in good shape

 

[mcgee1895]

yep, that'll work just make sure the o ring is on the sensor and in good shape

awesome man thanks a ton

Do u think heating problem is related to this? I'm no mechanic by any stretch but it seems to me impossible to tell if heating is fixed if coolant is literally flying out haha

 

[Lee's Automotive]

awesome man thanks a ton

Do u think heating problem is related to this? I'm no mechanic by any stretch but it seems to me impossible to tell if heating is fixed if coolant is literally flying out haha

lol once the sensor is in place and you have the system refilled with coolant and burped of air your heat should be hot

 

[mcgee1895]

lol once the sensor is in place and you have the system refilled with coolant and burped of air your heat should be hot

OK So I got sensor in place- did not fix heat and overheat issues still present. Now it started to ACTUALLY overheat(maybe it was whole time and I wasn't noticing?) consistently, had an insane amount of pressure in the radiator and cooling system. They hooked me to the compression tester and my lower hose was getting NOTHING. They said they couldn't do anymore at that shop, so I went to a Kost.

Took it to Kost and they diagnosed a bad head gasket- however here is where it gets very weird.

We did the exhaust in coolant test- and it passed- at idle. We hooked it up and for 3 or so minutes at idle/first few revs it survived. So we kept it on until it didn't- at higher RPMs(say 2K) after running for about 3 minutes it failed it. So what's weird is that it passed test as tech said- the test requirement is car be at idle, for 2 minutes and test fluid stays blue, which mine did. Tech is going to check tomorrow if running a car at high RPMs causes a false positive but didn't have time tonight.

I suppose it's possibly a head gasket but the lower hose not working and the rest of stuff I listed makes me think it's not. Unsure what to do next- mechanic is going to hook it to the scanner tomorrow.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Sounds like a head gasket to me, possibly with other issues. Was most likely overheating and low on coolant this whole time.

 

[mcgee1895]

Sounds like a head gasket to me, possibly with other issues. Was most likely overheating and low on coolant this whole time.

Could be. Tho IDK if it was low- level stayed consistent at full.

 

[07EddyB]

This is pretty much all over the place so I'll just throw this out - have you considered the water pump? I've seen the impeller rot out to the point where it wasn't moving much water and that's usually when the coolant was never changed. Before I changed head gaskets I would at least pull the pump and see what it looks like.

consistently, had an insane amount of pressure in the radiator and cooling system

I don't really understand this - any 'insane' amount of pressure in the cooling system should be relieved by the radiator cap - unless it's truly insane

 

[Lee's Automotive]

Pull the cap let it run if you see bubbles after the system is bled you have a blown headgasket also check tail pipe and oil look for white smoke and milky oil

 

[mcgee1895]

Pull the cap let it run if you see bubbles after the system is bled you have a blown headgasket also check tail pipe and oil look for white smoke and milky oil

I have bubbles-, oil is super clean(heard that straight from the mechanics mouth) and some white smoke.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

I have bubbles-, oil is super clean(heard that straight from the mechanics mouth) and some white smoke.

You've answered your own question you need a head gasket