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  #31  
Old 10-20-2007, 10:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SVXdc View Post
Nomake Wan- Have you ever replaced the water pump?

Either way, crawl under the car and look for any signs of coolant/rust residue that's been dripping out of the weep holes (you won't be able to see the latter, but the trail will fall down to the bottom of the pump).

See pictures of mine in this thread: Water pump leaking? The residue also collected on the side of the oil pan and bottom of the dipstick tube.

I probably could have saved my radiator if I had noticed sooner.
Thanks for the tip... I believe the water pump was replaced with the radiator but I'm not positive on that. I'll have to confirm it.

And everyone else, thanks for the info as well. I'll go through all I can on Monday and get back to you.
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  #32  
Old 10-24-2007, 03:49 PM
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I just thought you guys should know... the problem has been identified after I removed all the covers and took the car on a simple highway drive. Never went over 4k RPMs, but pushed the gas enough to make it strain a little. Doing so made the temp gauge go up a bit, so I pulled off and immediately checked for leaks and steam.

Only found one. The reservoir hose. So yeah, I'll be putting a clamp on that hose, flushing the system and replacing the cap.

Why does the hose come without a clamp and face downwards?
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  #33  
Old 10-24-2007, 03:58 PM
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That hose leaking will only cause overheating if the system is low on coolant. It could be the radiator cap releasing below 13psi.

I hate to bring it up again, but my hose leaked at the same spot because of the head gasket...
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  #34  
Old 10-24-2007, 08:55 PM
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I will be replacing the radiator cap as well since I don't trust it. It has a "0.9" printed on it. I really don't trust it. So I got a new one from the dealer that'll be going on when the system's flushed.

How can the hose decide to leak there because of a head gasket?
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  #35  
Old 10-24-2007, 09:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nomake Wan View Post
How can the hose decide to leak there because of a head gasket?
The normal purpose of that hose is gentle flow as the fluid expands and contracts. During this flow, everything is fine.

When there is overheating due to gases in the coolant, air in the coolant, or other reasons the fluid is pushed through that tube at a higher flow rate and pressure, this causes the joint to leak.

A few members have noticed leaking there after hard runs on a racetracks and autocross courses.
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  #36  
Old 10-24-2007, 09:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nomake Wan View Post
It has a "0.9" printed on it.

0.9 bar = 13 psi
Spec for SVX is between 12 and 14 psi.
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  #37  
Old 10-25-2007, 05:22 AM
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Nomake Wan: Total non-expert here, but I also figure your car is losing coolant because it's overheating, NOT the other way around, and I am speaking from (pre-SVX) experience. Forgive me for not re-reading this entire thread, but have you replaced the thermostat? That's #1 on the list, in my book. Cheap and easy. If that's not the problem, unfortunately, things could get ugly. You aren't going to solve this problem replacing the overflow hose and radiator cap. Good luck.

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  #38  
Old 10-25-2007, 06:53 AM
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Fffff.

I have another thermostat so I'll throw that in there while I'm at it, along with the gasket.
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  #39  
Old 10-27-2007, 02:32 PM
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Bought a block tester and did two tests with it. No color change. To make sure the fluid worked I put the tester near the exhaust pipes and after a single pump the color of the fluid changed... so yeah...

I'm still looking around. Things that come to mind are a clogged radiator or the thermostat... I flushed the radiator yesterday but I still haven't gotten off my butt to do the thermostat...
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  #40  
Old 10-29-2007, 10:49 AM
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Lightbulb remember to check...

...the two hoses going to the heater core at the back of the engine on the passenger side. These can leak a bit & the coolant can drip on the exhaust and evaporate while you are driving, not leaving a puddle underneath when you are parked...

Good luck!
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  #41  
Old 10-29-2007, 10:52 AM
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I don't guess my advice of putting the front on jack stands and running it to find any leaks was ever tried?
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  #42  
Old 10-29-2007, 11:13 AM
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I still say thermostat. They get sticky.

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  #43  
Old 10-29-2007, 11:59 AM
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my guess is installer error on the thermostat but the point of the methodology I outlined was to take the guesswork out of it. He's wasted a lot of time guessing.
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  #44  
Old 10-29-2007, 12:29 PM
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Quote:
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my guess is installer error on the thermostat but the point of the methodology I outlined was to take the guesswork out of it. He's wasted a lot of time guessing.
Agreed...
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  #45  
Old 11-08-2007, 09:43 PM
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PROBLEM SOLVED!! we think

Well, I finally found the time today to finish the thermostat replacement job. I undid the bolts on the housing, pulled it away, and then pulled the old thermostat out with a pair of pliers. At first glance it looked a bit dirty but not bad, so I left it aside and got the new one out. Put the new gasket on it, then tried to put it in the same way the old one was. It wouldn't seat. I tried again and again (with my fingers and not much pressure) to get it to seat and it just wouldn't. So I turned it around a bit and sure enough, at one angle it slipped right in without a fight. I bolted the housing back up, then took a closer look at the old thermostat.



"If it won't go in, I'll just force it in!" must've been the motto of whoever put it in before. On the left, the metal is bent down, and that thing sticking up isn't a part of the gasket--it's part of the metal. Yikes. Someone banged on that thing until it wouldn't get in the way.

After I put it back together I filled the radiator, left the cap off and ran the car with the heater on max. I couldn't get any flow, the heater wasn't coming on, and steam was coming out of the radiator. So I turned it off and asked TomsSVX and Hocrest... they both gave great things to check, but in the end Hocrest suggested that I take off the top radiator hose and fill the system from there instead of the radiator. Did that, put the hose back, and did what I did before. This time I got really clear, obvious flow, so I put the cap on, filled the reservoir and went for a test drive.

Halfway around the block the heater kicked in like it should, so I took the car out for a more extensive test through a hilly road nearby. No matter how much throttle I gave it or how much load it was under, the temp gauge didn't budge a bit. I then drove to get food, which meant lots of stop lights and traffic. Still wouldn't budge.

Tomorrow I'm driving up to LA to meet some friends, so a long spurt of highway driving followed by a spirited run up a canyon should give me enough proof that the problem is solved.

For now, I'm just relieved. Thank you tremendously to everyone who has posted in this thread, as well as Hocrest for the coolant flush procedure. Couldn't do it without you all!
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