Bubbles in Radiator - Head Gaskets ???

dkmccarty5

Registered User
My previous post was "Temperature Sensor Location" - and I've been on the hunt for nearly a week now for the cause of an overheat condition. (1992 SC, 5 speed). The car doesn't boil over - it just runs extremely warm (205-207 degrees). Looking down in the radiator, it appears that there are air bubbles at idle. Is it possible that the head gaskets are allowing exhaust gases to pass into the coolant passages ?
 
Tomato - Tomahta

dkmccarty5 said:
Looking down in the radiator, it appears that there are air bubbles at idle. Is it possible that the head gaskets are allowing exhaust gases to pass into the coolant passages ?
No matter what you call it, that's still a blown HG. Are you getting any water vapor in the exhaust gases?

68COUGAR
 
No water vapor - the exhaust/tailpipe runs clean. The car runs great - no other known issues. No water in the oil. Now I'm being told that perhaps the radiator cap is bad ? (Supposedly) 1 psi pressure drop equates to a 7-10 degree coolant temp increase. Sound reasonable ???
 
Below is what I posted in another thread. The sniff test is the way to go.


I just went though the same thing, Car ran Great, no smoke or smell, engine redone 9k ago. Constant bubbles in the overflow tank after I cranked up the boost. Ended up with two super small hairline cracks in the heads , going only one way into coolant. Found the cracks after doing two pressure checks, passed the first one and they did another one at a higher pressure which caused them to leak. I did a very time consuming job on cleaning the block surface and removing all grease and oil before the heads were installed. I think when mine was done by the past owner the heads looked go good they just lapped them and reinstalled. They looked brand new when I took them off. I would do another sniff test in the coolant; I bought mine own kit from NAPA and see if you have combustion gas in there. If so, I would think you have to go back in and check gaskets and heads again. Sorry……

I also did about 20 pressure tests on the cooling system, last one was 25Lbs and let it sit for 30min and never lost any pressure. Would only leak under boost.
 
Thanks for the great info. It's starting to sound an awful lot like head gasket time. So - what am I in for ? How much $ ? Is this a job for a "Ford dealer" only - or can I let my local guy have a crack at it ? Do I dare even attempt it myself ?
 
"NO FORD DEALER"

If you have some tools and about 3-4 days it’s not that bad. There a couple post that I responded to about his, you could do a search under my name and see what comes up. Also some good guidelines within SCCOA on how to do it.

If your sure that you have not mixed coolant with your oil it’s not a bad job. If your oil is a creamy color, hopefully you have not run it long like that. At least it needs a good flushing, at worst new bearings and that’s’ different ball game. The lower end of an SC is very tough and if taken care of will last for hundreds of thousands of miles.

If your SC has never had the Head Gaskets done.
HG you will need:
Fel-pro upper end gasket kit. About $160
ARP head studs with their grease. (do not reuse your head bolts/ studs they are one time use only) About $100
Good time to change over to solid motor mounts ($60) also, save you allot of time with the front of the motor off. Can do them while your heads are being reworked.
Have your heads Pressure Checked! Surfaced and a valve job done. Should take about 2 days if you line it up before hand. About $250
IC seal kit $20
New plugs $38
New thermostat $10
Label your vac. hoses and connectors.
Specialty tools can be rented for free at Pep Boys or Autozone. Will need it for removing power steering pump.

So for around $700 (These prices are off the top of my head) you can have the whole top end done and last for a good long time and know what you have. You can do it cheaper by just replacing the gaskets and doing the head work. But the other stuff is so easy when you have it tore down.

So a search and you will up with alot of tips and short cuts. You can get some good pricing at Spinning Wheels SC and other dealers on SCCOA.

Take you time, you cannot get into a hurry with these cars.

Just my two cents worth.
Flip :D
 
Hey Flip - Thanks Much ! Sounds like great advice. I'm gonna try one more thing: I just went to the dealer and purchased a new "oem" radiator cap - just on the outside chance that it's the culprit. I know it wont' be - I'm Irish and have more (bad) luck than any one man should have. So - after I put the new $14.00 radiator cap on, and the car still overheats, whaddya say I buy you an "all expenses paid" trip to beautiful Cleveland Ohio ?
 
Make sure that you have all the air out of your cooling system, you have to burp the system. You can find how to do by doing a search on SCCOA. Do the sniff test at a shop or with the kit to make sure before you tear it down.
Good Luck. Cleveland?? Always wanted to see the Rock & Roll hall of fame.... :D
 
Re: Head Studs

Flip said:
(do not reuse your head bolts/ studs they are one time use only)
Since when are head studs one time use only? I think that ARP would disagree with you on this!

68COUGAR
 
68COUGAR said:
Since when are head studs one time use only? I think that ARP would disagree with you on this!

68COUGAR

I ment the stock bolts not the ARP. That's it starts with
"If your SC has never had the Head Gaskets done."
Flip
 
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