braeden

I recently swapped out my OEM radiator for a Koyorad 53mm with Mishimoto fans & radiator shroud. The radiator cap is a Spoon 1.35.

I was expecting the coolant level in the reservoir to drop a small amount over the week and it did. I topped it up the first time while it was hot to the MAX line on the bottle. There isn't any signs of leaking at the moment. There was a tiny amount of coolant escaping through a set screw near the radiator cap but I tightened that up and it is no longer leaking.

I drove it this week each day and I checked it last night and the reservoir bottle was nearly empty.

So, do I have a blown head gasket? I've checked my dipstick and there isn't any signs of coolant. I'm guessing the next step is to drain the oil but I wasn't planning on doing an oil change so soon.

Is this normal? Is air still working it's way out? I blew compressed air through the radiator hoses during the radiator swap to help get all the old coolant out but I can't imagine that would lead to such a heavy amount of coolant loss.

Thanks!

Slowcrash_101

Hot coolant expands a fair bit, you probably under filled, is your heater blowing out ultra hot?

braeden

That may be the case, I have been monitoring the ambiguous AP1 coolant gauge on the dash this week and also the heat coming from the fans.

When I bled it after the radiator change I made sure it was blowing extremely hot on 3 bars

Also, the car has never gone above 3 bars on WOT 1st gear/2nd gear pulls and subsequent highway driving. I just don't know whether it's going to bite me in the ass one day if it's a head gasket issue.

windhund116

Sounds like air still escaping the coolant system. No signs of water in the oil (check dipstick)?

braeden

I cracked the bleeder next to the head before and I heard the same hissing noise you hear when you're bleeding the system. I'm guessing there must still be air in the pipes.

There wasn't any water on the dipstick

Slowcrash_101

Yeah you probably still have air. Burping is a good way to speed up the process but by no means is it the final step.

braeden

I'll monitor it next week and I'll let you guys know the progress, just in case anyone else finds themselves in this situation

windhund116

FWIW... water/oil mix on dipstick will tend to look like mud or chocolate shake in appearance.