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Change thermostat now Coolant is boling & leaking


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Good Morning guys,

Well i have good and bad news...Yesturday morning i installed the new thermostat from AC delco and in the afternoon i use the tablets...My radiator is NOT leaking anymore...but last night when i got home from work. i herd water boling, but it wasnt as bad as last time when i had the thermostat from autozone.. even after i turned off my car i could hear water going down the hoses..... any ideas of what it might be now???? UGH if its not one thing is another lol....

Now that you have eliminated the stat, we can think of other problems

Boiling is caused by TEMP and Pressure

Check your cap to make sure it is holding the proper 16 PSI pressure

Pressure test your cooling system to make sure it holds pressure,

if you go back to basic science, water boils 212 degrees, but under pressure it boils at a higher temp, add a proper mix of coolant and it boils even highter

Check your coolant for AT LEAST a 50/50 mix of coolant to distilled (preferrably distilled) water

Make sure your fans are coming on and running strong

Check your water pump belt for cracks, looseness and missing sections, make sure the belt tensioner is not binding and applying good pressure

Check your purge line to be sure when you remove it from the tank, coolant flows (do this when the engine is cool so you dont get burned and pressure is not released)

If AFTER you do all of that, and it still overheats, check the coolant for combustion by products (Napa sells a test kit), if the head gaskets are bad, they can super heat the coolant

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

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could the overheating have messed up the pressure cap???

when i removed the thermostat the 1st time..i took every hose out to make sure it was not plugged and i even cleaned the resevour tank..

do i need to go to a mechanic to do the pressure test??

my car is not overheating the temperature needles just moves a lil more than half and then goes back to the half mark. its just the water that i can hear boiling.

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" i herd water boling"....could it be the AC "boiling" after shutdown...

Good question...I have had a couple of cars that did that.

It will worry you till you finally figure out what it is. :D

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could the overheating have messed up the pressure cap???

when i removed the thermostat the 1st time..i took every hose out to make sure it was not plugged and i even cleaned the resevour tank..

do i need to go to a mechanic to do the pressure test??

my car is not overheating the temperature needles just moves a lil more than half and then goes back to the half mark. its just the water that i can hear boiling.

I hope your statement, that you took EVERY HOSE out is NOT in response to my, CHECK THE PURGE LINE..... IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOSES, PLEASE CHECK YOUR PURGE LINE and respond as to whether or NOT coolant flows as I have requested throughout this thread, YOU CAN NOT easily get to a PURGE LINE clog, its a BOLT with a very SMALL hole in it, it is NOT a hose clog. IF that bolt is CLOGGED you WILL OVERHEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How can you be sure you are hearing water boiling?

You are not responding to my prior posts is the COOLANT 50/50?

The cap can be bad, if it is old just replace it with the CORRECT cap

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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I dont think it was the AC because i wasnt running the AC at night.

The pressure cap i have on the car right now it says 18 psi. i had bought one froma utozone and it said 15 PSI...which one would be the correct one??

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I dont think it was the AC because i wasnt running the AC at night.

The pressure cap i have on the car right now it says 18 psi. i had bought one froma utozone and it said 15 PSI...which one would be the correct one??

Autozone again, its 18 PSI, back to Autozone again

Autozone, Pepboys, Beenies with Propellers on them, Jiffy Lube, Mickey Mouse, etc

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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could the overheating have messed up the pressure cap???

when i removed the thermostat the 1st time..i took every hose out to make sure it was not plugged and i even cleaned the resevour tank..

do i need to go to a mechanic to do the pressure test??

my car is not overheating the temperature needles just moves a lil more than half and then goes back to the half mark. its just the water that i can hear boiling.

I hope your statement, that you took EVERY HOSE out is NOT in response to my, CHECK THE PURGE LINE..... IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOSES, PLEASE CHECK YOUR PURGE LINE and respond as to whether or NOT coolant flows as I have requested throughout this thread, YOU CAN NOT easily get to a PURGE LINE clog, its a BOLT with a very SMALL hole in it, it is NOT a hose clog. IF that bolt is CLOGGED you WILL OVERHEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How can you be sure you are hearing water boiling?

You are not responding to my prior posts is the COOLANT 50/50?

The cap can be bad, if it is old just replace it with the CORRECT cap

Well at this time i dont think i have 50/50 coolant. its more like 25% coolant and 75% water, since i change the thermostat i leaked coolant so i filled it with water it almost took a whole gallon of water to fill it back up. I didnt have coolant at 7 A.m.

And about the purge line..i was looking for it on the resevour tank but couldnt not find it. Where exactly is the purge line located.

I will go ahead and call ac delco to see if they have the cap.

Thanks so much for every ones time and effort on trying to help me resolve this problem.

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Well at this time i dont think i have 50/50 coolant. its more like 25% coolant and 75% water

Not a factor.

Where exactly is the purge line located.

It is a 3/8" line that runs from the water pump housing (crossover manifold) to the side of the surge tank near the top.

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Well at this time i dont think i have 50/50 coolant. its more like 25% coolant and 75% water, since i change the thermostat i leaked coolant so i filled it with water it almost took a whole gallon of water to fill it back up. I didnt have coolant at 7 A.m.

I suspect you have more water in your coolant than you think. Since prior to the thermostat replacement, you had no coolant issues, I believe it's best that you just complete this job by draining all the coolant out of the radiator, and adding 50/50 mix to the radiator. your coolant is probably boiling over out ot the overflow. it's good preventative maintenance to change the coolant every 4 years anyhow. the drain on the radiator is pretty hard to get at. DO NOT flush or have the system flushed. also be sure to use distilled water. & don't forget to add the tablets.

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In this photo, start at the transmission fluid CAP, and go directly UP, that is the 'bolt with a hole in it", you will see a hole connected to it, remove the hose, then remove the bolt, clear the center of the bolt with a pipe cleaner or drill bit

WaterPumpandRadiator022-1.jpg

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Well at this time i dont think i have 50/50 coolant. its more like 25% coolant and 75% water

25/75 mix will easily boil if one shuts down hot engine (no circulation, no fans). For reference 100% water at sea level boils at 212F. 50/50 mix at 223F. So 25/75water/antifreeze is somewhere in between.

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent

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Well at this time i dont think i have 50/50 coolant. its more like 25% coolant and 75% water

25/75 mix will easily boil if one shuts down hot engine (no circulation, no fans). For reference 100% water at sea level boils at 212F. 50/50 mix at 223F. So 25/75water/antifreeze is somewhere in between.

I woke up this morning thinking about this Adallak, you are correct. My cooling system will rise greatly when the engine is turned off, I have seen 240 on start up at times.

To add to what you said above, we do not know the health of this cooling system. It already leaks from the radiator, that was slowed but I am sure it leaks pressure. No pressure test was done, we dont know how the cap is or the remainder of the cooling system

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Well at this time i dont think i have 50/50 coolant. its more like 25% coolant and 75% water

25/75 mix will easily boil if one shuts down hot engine (no circulation, no fans). For reference 100% water at sea level boils at 212F. 50/50 mix at 223F. So 25/75water/antifreeze is somewhere in between.

I woke up this morning thinking about this Adallak, you are correct. My cooling system will rise greatly when the engine is turned off, I have seen 240 on start up at times.

To add to what you said above, we do not know the health of this cooling system. It already leaks from the radiator, that was slowed but I am sure it leaks pressure. No pressure test was done, we dont know how the cap is or the remainder of the cooling system

Yes, there are several unknowns, which should be eliminated one by one to see what 's going on.

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent

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You need to get the coolant concentration at 50/50. As long as you're replacing the radiator, measure the volume of coolant you drain out and compare that with the system capacity. Buy a tester and determine the concentration of the coolant. Then using the volume of the cooling system, determine how much pure coolant you need to add to get the concentration to 50/50. My bet is once that is done, and the radiator is replaced, the problem will be gone.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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Well at this time i dont think i have 50/50 coolant. its more like 25% coolant and 75% water

25/75 mix will easily boil if one shuts down hot engine (no circulation, no fans). For reference 100% water at sea level boils at 212F. 50/50 mix at 223F. So 25/75water/antifreeze is somewhere in between.

But we are talking about a system under 16 psi. I don't think the mix makes any difference. I remember the Guru saying that water is a better coolant than a mix. The only reason for using coolant is lubrication, anti corrosion and freeze prevention.

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But we are talking about a system under 16 psi. I don't think the mix makes any difference. I remember the Guru saying that water is a better coolant than a mix. The only reason for using coolant is lubrication, anti corrosion and freeze prevention.

He may have said that, but his statement is taken "out of context". Water is indeed a better coolant, since it has great heat transfer capabilities, as well as a high "latent heat" absorption capability. However, adding Ethylene Glycol to water increases its boiling point as well as lowering its freezing point. The part he "may" have left out in THAT statement is that both pressure and the addition of antifreeze increases the boiling point of water.

Drain the system one more time, add some pre-mixed 50/50 (two gallons will be enough) and END this little debate. Well at least address the mixture issue. Keep in mind that a LITTLE extra Dexcool won't hurt anything, so if you have about a quart of straight stuff laying around, throw that in first.

Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed.

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Good Morning guys,

o.k. i check the purge line and yes water is flowing through.

I Also replaced the pressure cap. and yesturday when i drove to work & back i checked to see if the water was boiling and it WASNT. =]

But my temp still goes just a little above the half way mark on the temp gaugue and than it goes back to normal. Do you guys think it might be because of the thermostat???

This weekend i will be draining the radiator and will be adding the 50/50 mix coolant.

and i hope the car doesnt give me any troubles any more.

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no its not the thermostat, your temps appear to be reasonably normal given that you need a radiator.

Dont drain the radiator and waste coolant, you are leaking from the radiator, losing pressure, REPLACE it, that is why your temps are higher that 'normal'

You are driving a mechanical device built in 2002, it will need maintenance, more and more as it get older, even your mountain bike needs annual maintenance, the space shuttle is currently GROUNDED due to problems, you will in fact have problems, dont get frustrated, keep in mind we are an enthusiasts board we will help as much as we can, but hoping it does not give you troubles wont help

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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I will definetly search for a new radiator..any ideas of where i can get a decent new one but cheap??

since i dont know when the water pump was replaced...so you guys think i should replace it too???

I can still drive my car right?? or should i try to get the new radiator 1st before i start driving it??

the car is not over heating and the water is not boiling any more..

thanks

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Only replace the water pump if its leaking

If the temps are normal and you are NOT leaking you can drive it, be careful in STOP & GO driving, id replace the radiator ASAP

You should spend about $200 for a radiator get the yellow pages and start making calls, install it yourself, its tricky but you'll avoid paying a mechanics time

Put in the cooling supplement tablets, 50/50 dexcool to distilled water and you should be fine

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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