TURBOrunnerNM

Gentlemen and ladies of yotatech,

Here's the skinny: I found a coolant leak at my thermostat inlet about a week ago and replaced the thermostat with a 180 degree rating and installed a new gasket/o ring. I replaced the radiator cap with a 13 psi rating as well. This was all done yesterday. I refilled the system but, in hindsight, I didn't burp the air out. Anyway, I drove my truck yesterday and saw that the engine threatened to overheat a couple times but hasn't yet. I felt the upper rad hose and could tell that water was flowing. However, when I shut off the engine coolant starts spewing from the rad side of the upper hose. I'm wondering if air in the system could cause a leak?? The hoses are all new and the clamps are secure. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Gamefreakgc

Air would give it more room since air compresses better than water. Air in the system would give a false overheating gauge though.

Sounds like you have some sort of blockage. Are you sure the thermostat is the correct one and installed correctly? Did it happen to have a seep hole in the middle to allow coolant through when cold? I've heard that can help the issue some to prevent too much pressure building upstream.

Try putting the old rad cap on and see if it fixes it. The new one you bought may not be at the right pressure setting as the old (not sure if it's different on a 22RET).

Lastly... have you ever put any kind of additive or "sealant" in your coolant to fix a leak? If you have... well...

TURBOrunnerNM

Luckily I've never used any if those coolant treatment scams! Ha ha. I think you're right about the rad cap though...it says 13 psi which is within the factory spec of 12-16 psi. But, I think the spring stop goes too far into the rad neck and doesn't let coolant get into the overflow tank. While the engine was hot I unscrewed it about 1/3 of the way and I heard the coolant go into the overflow and there were no more leaks around the system. I'm going to give her a shot. Now if u can just find that old cap....