Steve314159

WooHoo I finally got to starting my 86 N/A today. Looking back I bought it in October, replaced several valves, head gasket, timing and balance shaft belts. Did not replace water pump or thermostat. Water pump seemed to spin ok and couldn't get the thermostat out figuring I could do that later if I had to.

So it just ran for about five minutes and was about up to temperature when I noticed coolant pouring out of the expansion tank. The reservoir cap was off which I didn't think would be a big deal to where coolant would gush out like that. I'm going to go try to fill and vent again and then run it with the cap on. Any other advice? I just started it again and put my hand over where the cap goes and definitely didn't feel any pressure. I was panicked for a minute thinking it was a head gasket but I'm pretty sure I got that on and torqued correctly - was very very careful and the head and block were flat.

Thanks

Van

Run it with the cap on and let us know. The system is designed to be pressurized.

william_b_noble

it probably shouldn't pour out the tank continually but if you filled to near max what you see is normal. as Van said, put the cap on and see what happens.

tempest411

Don't forget to refill to the right level and review the procedure for bleeding the cooling system.

Spidey944

+1 on bleeding

Bill Lynch

I recently bought an 87 NA and was in a similar boat - lots of things wrong and started my maintenance in October also. Long story short, get the car on an incline, borrow a coolant system pressure test kit (O'rielly's, Autozone) and bleed it a couple of times. Mine was still running hot (near red) after the first bleed, and my coolant was low - I suspected a head gasket. So I used the pressure test kit to run a decay test. I lost about 0.5 psi over a 20 minute span at 15 PSI, and I filled and pressure bleed again (still getting air bubbles). the decay test took care of my fear of a bad head gasket (but will run a compression test shortly). I then ran the car around town for 30 minutes or so and left it idling in the garage for 10 minutes, gauge never went over half way. I did one more pressure bleed (no air from the relief this time) just to make sure. So if you drained the fluid from the block, to bone dry, then there are lots of nooks and crannies where air pockets can hide. Just keep at it.

Bill

Steve314159

I ran it again this evening and thanks Bill for your advice. I was worried about the head gasket and the encouragement calmed me down a lot. I did the whole fill and vent procedure again and it seemed to overflow less coolant and the temperature stabilized at about half on the gage. I opened the vent screw now and then and sometimes got air but once it heated up it was all coolant. Never did get heat inside the car. I did shut it down while coolant was still coming out the vent tube because unfortunately I have a moderate leak that is clearly from the water pump bearing. I'll look again tomorrow but it looks like another hundred bucks and another few hours. Well live and learn eh? I'll get back to you all when that is replaced but it might be a few weeks. On a bright not the engine sounds fantastic -rattled and shook for a few minutes on startup but runs really smooth now. I may have to run it a while just for some minor satisfaction before getting back to work.

Steve314159

So any advice on water pumps? I see GMB, URO and Airtex online for $90-100 and others in the $200 and up range. Obviously I'm thinking cheap ...&%$#@!*

Will the cheap ones last 50k miles or not? That's all I'm looking for. Unless everything else is fine for 50k which don't hold your breath.

william_b_noble

steve - I changed the original water pump on my car at 90K, installing a "new style" pump from the dealer - I've now passed 250K with that pump. Draw your own conclusions.

Van

If the engine shakes on startup, you might need motor mounts, too.

Bill Lynch

Steve

regarding the loss of coolant from the overflow tube - Are you talking about the tube which connects just under the tank cap? If the cap is in and secured, I think this is only accessible if the cap is leaking or if the pressure is so high that the the spring compresses and allows water past the seat. As part of my issue resolution I replaced the cap with a new one as the seal had seen better days.

Also, sounds like our cars are twins - are you also failing to get heat out of the ventilation ducts and are in a constant cold air condition? A recent thread just addressed this pretty well. it turned out that the rod which controlls the mixing flapper was mis-adjusted. (excellent trouble shooting) I'm going to check mine once I figure out what covers to pull off (mine are hidden and not immediately obvious)

Bill

Van

Don't forget that the '85.5 cars have a vacuum controlled heater valve... and if you have a vacuum leak, it might not be able to open the valve, thus keeping the heater core shut off (which will also make it hard to bleed).

Spidey944

Yup, and I always ran the heat when bleeding the cooling system