Just installed the motor back into my 92 s2 cab and it is running well temp seems to be good except that it is spitting coolant out of the overflow when parked.

This morning cold the coolant was just above the min. Took a long drive and when I stopped hot the coolant was above max. Should the coolant level be set hot or cold?

Thanks
Mark

 

You need to make sure to bleed the system after filling.
Park with nose end slightly inclined
Run engine and turn heater to full
Let it warm up and then crack the bleeder bolt located by the end cap on the fuel rail. Your spark plug wires run right by it. Let all the air escape and then tighten once coolant begins to come out.

 

Sounds like you probably have a bad coolant reservoir cap that isn't able to hold the coolant system pressure, which allows coolant to flow out of the overflow tube. The coolant level shouldn't change if the system is properly bled.

 

Agreed - Either needs a bleeding or a new cap. Probably both if the cap is original.

When the motor came out did it get a new W/P? I have seen those take a dump and cause similar issues.

 

The water pump was not new since I had changed it 5k miles ago on the old motor so I transferred it.

I am leaning hoping toward the cap and will pick one up this week.

I think the system is blead today I had the front of the car up about 6 inches and had it running at operating temp with the heater on full. When I cracked open the bleed valve all that came out was hot coolant no air. Anything else I should be trying here?

this afternoon it dumped more coolant from the overflow.

Will order a cap tonight and hope that will solve it.

Thanks
Mark

 

I had the best luck driving it around the block to get it warm, then pulling into the garage, shutting it off, jacking up the front about a foot, and waiting about 10 minutes before cracking the bleed valve. (Obviously you want to have good gloves on, or you may get burned)

The coolant level will change as it heats up but not enough to spit water out the overflow.

 

Ok will try that method tomorrow. I was cracking the bleeder valve while it was running.

 

one dumb question. Where do you jack from to lift just the front. With the belly pan on I can't put the jack on the X-Member.

 

Mark, you're saying that operating temps are in line while driving, but upon parking your car after a drive, it has puked coolant by the time you return?

So, does one of your radiator fans [passenger side on my car] continue to run for several minutes [regulated by coolant temp sensor readings] after you shut the car off? If not, that could be your problem.

 

yes. When driving on highway temp will sit on the lower of the 2 middle marks. In city it will bounce from the lower mark to the upper mark. When it hits the upper mark the fan will kick in and push it down to the lower mark within about 1 minute max.

On the s2 both fans come on together. They will stay on after I stop the car sometimes. I think they come on or stay on if the temp is higher than a certain level.

 

On my car, only the passenger fan continues to run on after engine shut down. And you said your fan(s) continue to run on only sometimes? I suspect you may have a failing thermo switch or fan relay. I can drive my car for 5 minutes, or 5 hours, and the fan continues to run on...every time.

Other S2 owners will have to confirm a) whether or not both of your fans should always be on or off, and b) whether or not your fan(s) should continue to run on after every drive, not only on occasion.

 

On an S2, if any fan is running, both fans should be running. They will toggle between not running, both running at low speed (6ohm resistor in circuit) and both running at high speed (no resistor in circuit). Theoretically, the idea is if the coolant temp goes above the lower third line (which is supposed to indicate 80°C), they run in low speed, and if it nears or goes above the higher third line (100°C), they run in high speed...unless the A/C switch is turned on, then they run as long as that switch is on. In reality the thermo switches are rated at 92° & 102°C, so they should kick in a little bit above those gauge lines.

My S2 stays pretty much around the 80° line at all times, because even if it is a very hot day, I am running the A/C, which turns the fans on to high speed and pushes water temps down to just above that line. I did have a period of time where the temp would climb up to the 100° line, but I found out that was because one of my fan fuses had blown (which I realized was my fault, by doing a repair w/out disconnecting the battery lead) and only one fan was actually spinning. Also, my fans continue to run after shutdown only when coolant temp indicates they should...it is not every time for me...maybe 30% of the time.

 

BTW, Mark, O'Reilly has a really nice coolant pressure kit for loan. It fits perfectly on the overflow cap fitting, and has a nice accurate pressure gauge. On a cool engine, pressurize to 10lbs, then let it sit for 30 minutes, and see if you're losing pressure somewhere. Then, turn heater all the way up, and run engine until you have heat in cabin. Then jack up the front, pressurize the overflow tank, and bleed from there. If that doesn't work, then look at the overflow cap.

 

Thanks for the info. From that description my fans are not working correctly.

They only kick in when the temp hits the 100 mark and then they are in what I think is low. They do go on with the ac switch again I think they are in low and when I have the ac on the temp will never budge from the 80 mark.

Time to start Troubleshooting the fans.

 

are you using a 100kPa cap or a 150? check your part number for your VIN. in general, 944's use a 100kPa and the 968 uses a 150.