Coolant reservoir bubbling over when A/C is on

Tiny
GWVANALLEN
  • MEMBER
  • 2007 PONTIAC G6
  • 3.5L
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 151,000 MILES
Hello, I've changed the water pump, thermostat, and refilled it with Dex coolant. I have hot air coming out of the heater. I have A/C that works. Problem is that when I'm driving the car and I have the A/C on for a little bit the coolant reservoir begins to bubble over. And by that I mean it looks like it's in a rapid boil. However it is not boiling or overheating just bubbling over rapidly. And the coolant is coming from the drain hole on the bottom of the reservoir. I did several heat and cool down cycles to try to get the air bubbles out. I burped the hoses several times. I thought I had all the bubbles out, air pockets, air out of the system. So three times now that I did this and several bottles of coolant later I'm still having this problem. Also I should note that the car usually runs on the first increment under 225 which I'm guessing is approximately 200°, just fine and so far it only does this when the A/C is on. It will run at this temperature with the A/C off and there's no problem, turn the A/C on and at the same temperature didn't because the bubble over but according to the gauge it's not overheated. Any help or advice you have will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Thursday, October 15th, 2020 AT 5:49 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Just to be clear, this is bubbling over when you have the A/C on only?

If this is the case, I suspect we have a restriction in the cooling system. More then likely it is in one of the coolant lines that is restricted but we need to check around the engine with a laser temperature gauge for hot spots.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-an-infrared-temperature-meter

Then we need to find out if you have a head gasket issue. Here is a guide that will help with that:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

Once we find out this information we will have a better idea as to what could be happening.
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Thursday, October 15th, 2020 AT 6:07 PM
Tiny
GWVANALLEN
  • MEMBER
  • 37 POSTS
Thanks for the quick response. I do have an infrared temperature tool.
What parts of the engine should I check and what temperatures am I looking for. Because I have checked but they vary quite a bit depending on where I'm pointing the the tool. I have done a pressure test and it held it 15 psi. No milkiness in the engine oil or under the oil cap. And yes, so far it only seems to do it with the A/C on. Thanks again for your help and I wait your response.
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Thursday, October 15th, 2020 AT 9:45 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Okay. That is great info. You want to check around the engine block and heads. Then the cooling system lines. Basically you want to follow the coolant through the system to see if there is a large drop off. So when there is a restriction, the temperature will change pretty drastically.

The fact that there is no milky oil and it holds the PSI shows there are no leaks so that is good. However, a restriction will do this as well. Let me know what you find with this and we can start taking the system apart to look for the leak.
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Friday, October 16th, 2020 AT 5:22 PM

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