Zelephant

Is it possible for the engine to boil over when parked warm without overheating, because mines been doing that recently. I replaced the rad cap without a change. The temp gauge never even passes half-way while driving, but when I park it the steam starts. I topped off the coolant in radiator the when I replaced the cap, so it shouldn't be low. I'm kinda confused.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Have you parked it on a steep incline and let it idle for awhile with the cap off. Burping the system. I am thinking you may have a little air in the system. Just to be on the safe side I would go ahead and change the thermostat.

lobukbuild

do you actually see steam when you stop or do you just here it boiling? in my opinion if you see steam then you probally have a leak. if you here it boiling then you are very low on fluid. the next thing you gotto figure out is why you are low, as a leak ,or its boiled over too many times, or a bad head gasket, etc. filling and burping out the air from the system can be a chore. every one has theyre procedure that they prefer.which ever procedure you decide on will be fine as long as you get the air out of the system so that the coolant can flo evenly and consistently. i have found that filling it cold , put cap back on ,run to tempeture with the heater control on hot, shut down and allow to cool, repeat 3 - 4 times or until you cannot add any more fluid and you should be good. i always check it a few times over the next couple of days, as you drive on different bumps and such some times youll get a little more air to come out. look for milky brown foam or film under the oil fill cap and on your dip stick , as well as looking for oily film or small pecks of oil in the radiator fluid either in the radiator or the over flo. these are signs of a head gasket fail.if the fluid in the radiator doesnt flo when the motor is cold and then does flo at operating temp then your thermo is more than likely fine. one more thing to look at is the fins on the radiator itself. they must be there nice n straight and not bent or plugged up with mud, bugs, leaves or what ever. you should be able to look right thru it. none of my advise will be found in books or even supported by alot others but it has worked for me over the years.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

lobukbuild has some great advise. He did bring up a point I didnt want to mention at this time,not wanting to get you nervous, but if you are losing fluid, check your tailpipe and see if it steams or blows water out. Other signs of head gasket.

He also mentioned the radiator, the handy dandy Prestone kit wont get the build up out of the radiator. Pull it out and take it to a radiator shop and have it cleaned with high pressure. It cost $25 for me to have mine done here locally. You will be surprised at the gunk that comes out. Looks like mud. Just wanted to mention this as it is good preventive maintainace on the radiator as well.

lobukbuild

ps i forgot to mention the clutch fan and shroud. a fan cannot pull air thru a radiator unless it is shrouded, period! the clutch part is difficult to really know if its good or not.the way i tell if its working is to listen to it "blow air" when started cold and as the motor warms up at idle listen for a noticable change in the sound of the fan. i know alot of people that just dont have a garage full of exspensive specialty tools and some times are just looking for an answer that they can try on their own to get them going in the right direction on their problem. some times the problem is right in front of you and your so agrivated that you cant see it! ask me how i know ! hope some of this helps

Zelephant

Thanks for the replies, guys!

Will try burping it. That's always been a dark art to me and something I've avoided.

Oil is clear; no milkshake. Coolant that I can see is clean. No visible smoke at startup or any other time. Just replaced the fan clutch last year with an Aisin. Replaced the radiator 3 years ago, but it was a cheap-o with the plastic tanks. I've been thinking for a while about upgrading it, I'm sure not gonna throw money at getting it cleaned.

I've always lost a bit of coolant from the pipe on the back of the block (common problem). But I've always known I wasn't keeping the 22RE. I plan to have something better in the truck in 8-9 months, so I didn't feel like messing with it. It doesn't leak much at all, I'm usually good about keeping the system topped off. The few times I've let it slide it started to run hot and give me warning; it never hit the red and never boiled over. This time, it boiled over and DIDN'T run hot. That's why I'm so confused.

I did find the overflow tank was well beyond the "full" mark, even after the steam. Could that have caused the problem?

lobukbuild

the temp gauge can read normal and still be over hot if you are low on fluid.you can hear the boiling in the hoses. at overly hot temps the pressure can push the fluid into the over flow tank and then be low.but the question of whats causing it to begin with.start from scratch with full radiator and go from there keeping a close eye on everything. do not try to burp it with the cap off.this can cause it to spill and waste fluid.coolant flows better under the proper amount of pressure to begin with and keeps the water pump from cavatating. good luck

Zelephant

I started with a full rad last night and I was steaming when I got back from work today, and it's a short commute.

:sigh:

Gonna start with an all aluminum radiator to replace the junky one that's in there. Then try a new t-stat. After that, I'm out of ideas.

lobukbuild

where was the steam coming from? if your dropping the coin for a new rad then id go for an up grade and get one for a v6. (3 core vs. 2 core) the plastic tanks on an aluminum rad is fine as far as im concerned thats what i run in 3 out of five of our trks

Zelephant

Done. Went and ordered a three-row, all-aluminum V6 rad from GenesisAutoParts.com

I've always heard that the plastic-tanked rads are basically throw-aways. They leak around the seals between the tanks and the core as the epoxy sealant breaks down over time. It would not surprise me at all if my current rad was leaking, and I don't want that wildcard there when I troubleshoot the system.

The steam seems to come from around the radiator cap, but I suppose it could be steaming up from the rad itself and collecting there.

lobukbuild

look 4 a crack on the fill neck under the cap.? youll be pleased with the v6 rad, i can idle all day thru the trails and never even come close to running hot. needle stays just below the half mark!!