s2kVTAK

no everything is operating fine after i bleed the air out of the system.

the problem is: i have air in the coolant system. i bleed it out and all is well again. 0 problems. in about 2-3 days it comes back and i bleed even more air out and again 0 problems all is well.... this just keeps going.

what i am asking and trying to find out is how the air is getting in.

AeroS2000

than that means air is getting into your system thru the radiator cap. or the other two bleeding spot

loftust

Is the new rad cap a Mishimoto one too? If not, get one that is.

Or, find another S and swap caps, this will rule out either way.

Another thing, check that the expansion vessel pipe is actually submersed in coolant, otherwise the rad will just suck air in instead of coolant.

snakeeater

It sure sounds like you have a leak somewhere. Sure you can't find any evidence of leaked coolant on the passenger floorboard or on the concrete under where the car sits? This might be one of those situations where it pays to bring it to the dealer. They have very fancy ultrasonic and chemical leak detectors.

Definitely get the cooling system pressure tested to check for leaks. You could do it yourself by buying the hand pump w/gauge, hose, and rad cap adapter. Or any good mechanic shop should have these tools and the know-how to use them.

The most likely place for a leak to allow air into the system would be the overflow system. That includes the overflow tank, its plastic cap, and the lines. Lines include one long hose from the radiator (just below rad cap) to the outside fitting on the cap of the overflow bottle, and a short hose from inside the overflow tank cap to the bottom of the overflow tank. Other possible leak points might be the drains, heater core and/or its hoses, throttle body warming lines, water pump, head gasket, etc.

However, you have changed a lot of parts already, and the new radiator, rad cap, or thermostat could be malfunctioning or installed incorrectly.

loftust

Placing paper around each coolant connection and letting her run for a while will indicate a leak.

Quick one...did you ensure the expansion vessel was above minimum whilst bleeding? Otherwise air will be drawn in, just like bleeding brakes.

A leaky waterpump will usually throw coolant out around the bottom of engine/sump.

I don't think it's the HG, but stranger things have happened.

Hope you managed to make progress today.

s2kVTAK

okay well took it to the shop today and we did a leak test. actually just got back...but anyways the results were 5% leak down in #1, 5% #2, 20% #3, and 7% #4. so that brings us to a hurt head gasket.

F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so now i get to spend tons of money!!!! YAY

anyone ever replaced a head gasket? how much did it cost?

Kirpich

Get a 2mm Cometic or InlinePro one and go turbo!

ChefJ

Do you have a hose pinched??? During my turbo install my heater core line was bent so that the coolant wasn't able to flow and it took me awhile to figure out the hose was pinched. Also check the control under the hood that allos the coolant to flow into the heater core.

crazyasnboy

Did your car overheat before you installed the new rad and thermostat? If not, then installation must have gone wrong. Most likely a bad thermostat as it's not uncommon which resulted in your car overheating enough to warp the head and blow the head gasket. That's what I think happened...

krnmike

not expensive at all.

but u might want to get the surface cleaned by a machine shop.
while you are at it, get new gaskets, have the cylinder walls cleaned,..