1986 Chevy Celebrity Coolant acts weird after turning off

Tiny
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  • 1986 CHEVROLET CELEBRITY
Engine Cooling problem
1986 Chevy Celebrity 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic

Hey there!
I bought a used 1986 chevrolet celebrity, 5 doors. It just got 60.000 miles - its been sitting most of his life in the garage. I already drove this nice vehicle about 400miles, but two times something strange occured:
the temperature showed 260F, and after I shut off the engine the coolant went back to the coolant container with a VERY loud noise, I think that air came out of the system as well. It rushed and nearly overfills the container. When I start the engine again it just sucks the coolant into the radiator and a normal level of coolant is present in the container. It happened a second time today when the machine idled for about 40 minutes (I refilled my AC cooling fluid). When I shut the machine off it made this extremely loud noise again. I noticed too that minimal amounts of coolant (engine) escaped out of the radiator cap - its not the original cap, but a fitting replacement from Stant (I will check the cap tomorrow again) Has anyone of you guys got an idea what could be wrong? I'm not sure, but I thought that it could just be because of the leaking radiator cap/fast dropping pressure level. I checked the cap when I bought the car and thats just 400 miles ago. So I hope I wont have to replace the whole radiator because the cap leaks.



Thanks for your time in advance!
Monday, March 23rd, 2009 AT 9:46 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
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Have a compression test performed to rule out a headgasket.

Then pressure test the cooling system, drain and refill, replace the radiator cap.
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Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 AT 6:46 AM
Tiny
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Thanks for the advice, I will go to a garage today and get the compression and cooling system pressure tested today.

When I squeeze one of the main hoses from the radiator to the engine, I can hear air escaping from the radiator cap. Is that normal?

I unscrewed the radiator cap and it looks like its in good shape, I will replace it anyway today.

Can I drain the cooling system good enough without any equipment or do I need a vacuum pump? I can drain the extension container for the fluid, but I never emptied the radiator up to now.

Thanks for the advice so far :)

i just did another test and figured out that the fan doesnt come on if the fluid gets over 226 degree. Could the whole problem "just" be overheating + too much pressure ---> causes the radiator cap to leak? (I would think that the radiator cap lets the fluid go if its overheated?)
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Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 AT 12:54 PM
Tiny
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Your problem could be as simple as a bad radiator cap, air should not escape when squeezing hose.

The fans should kick on at that temp. It may be the fans are the problem, if they do not work, they will cause the engine to overheat.
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Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 AT 6:25 AM
Tiny
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Welll

i went to a carshop yesterday and let them figure out what the cause for the overheating was.

A bad radiator motor. Price for repair 180. Lol. I went to checkers, got the motor and replaced it myself, 50 bucks.

The engine just overheated idling because of the fan. I do have to check if the radiator cap really lets the air escape, or just replace the cap. I hope that there wont be any further issues :D

well, it didnt help me too much, but take the donation for your time effort

have a good day, willi
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Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 AT 10:59 PM
Tiny
MMPRINCE4000
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Great news, thanks for using 2carpros.
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Friday, March 27th, 2009 AT 7:15 AM

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