Steam and foam coming from radiator and overflow but not overheating Options

[mjzraz]

I can't figure out why I am still getting steam and foam out of the overflow but it's not overheating according to the gauge and a thermometer.
After working on this some more today, here is where I am. I flushed the cooling system with a coolant flush and drained and filled it twice with water to clear it out. I pushed water with the garden hose pressure through the top radiator hose and the heater core hoses with the thermostat removed until everything was clear. I reinstalled the thermostat and hoses and filled with antifreeze/water mix.

The book says 6 quarts total coolant. I was only able to get 3 quarts and it appeared full. I ran it to see if when the thermostat opened, the level would drop and I could add more. The problem is it really didn't let me put much more in and it keeps filling the overflow with bubbles and foam, then steam comes out of the overflow and it sounds like it is gurgling and boiling. If I run with the radiator cap off, it will spurt bubbles and coolant out the top of the radiator. Additionally the lower radiator hose that comes from the thermostat housing looks looks like it is vibrating as if the flow of water through it is not constant, but choppy. The thermostat is new and I tested it to make sure it opened fine in a pot of water on the stove.

Fearing the worst, that I somehow didn't fix the head gasket that was recently replaced, I bought a block combustion leak detector at Napa and tested the gasses at the radiator. It has a blue liquid that you draw up air through from the radiator and if there is combustion gas it will turn yellow. I tested and it did not turn yellow at all. I verified the test fluid was working, by inhaling some exhaust from the tailpipe and it turned yellow. So I believe I do not have a head gasket leak.

When I did the head gasket, the water pump showed no signs of leaking and I looked at the pump fins through the outlet pipe and also spun it and it felt fine. I always thought they should be replaced when they are noisy, leaky or had play in the shaft/pulley. Mine appeared fine based on that.

I have no idea what to try next. I feel like there might be a blockage or air in the system, but know of no way to clear or test for it.

[domyz]

Did you bleed it?

[cHinaman727]

a video would help cause then peple would be able to see exactly what is wrong

[mjzraz]

Did you bleed it?

I don't see any place to bleed it or how. I do feel like that might be the problem.

[mjzraz]

a video would help cause then peple would be able to see exactly what is wrong

Here's a video of the basic problem. I have more to upload, but it takes a little time to edit.

http://www.jumpcut.com/view?id=0D1C08125ED...B4F000423CF382E

[mjzraz]

I created 2 videos and uploaded them to hopefully describe my problem better.

This one is just the main symptoms (2 min long)
http://www.jumpcut.com/view/?id=0D1C08125E...B4F000423CF382E

This one is the longer video with more information: (7 Minutes long)
http://www.jumpcut.com/view?id=7B4BD1945EF...F1B000423CEF682

[vile_v]

Did you bleed it?

I don't see any place to bleed it or how. I do feel like that might be the problem.

My reservoir overflows too, still haven't found what happening... just like yours it doesn't show any sign of overheating UNTIL I put in 100% coolant

i'll figure it out sooner or later, not driving it so yeah... lol

Well this is how you bleed the coolant system. (anyone correct me if im wrong)
- drain coolant from drain cock, than screw it back in
- turn the heat control to hot, but dont turn on the heater just yet
- remove thermostat
- remove coolant cap, pour a mixure of coolant, water 50/50 until coolant spurtz out of the hole that the thermostat was in
- reinstall thermostart
- turn on engine
- let air escape fron the coolant top whole (bleeding part) let in run add coolant to top it off
* tip you can squeeze the upper and lower tubes to help let air out faster
- let it run til both tubes are hot (same temp)
- turn on heater to see if its hot if so thats good its working
- second make sure no more air bubbles are coming out of the coolant hole, than close cap tightly
- fill your reservior to the full line

thats about it, hope that helps

[xs94st]

i know u replaced the head gasket, but have u noticed any oil in that coolant? maybe a bad headgasket?

[mjzraz]

i know u replaced the head gasket, but have u noticed any oil in that coolant? maybe a bad headgasket?

No. No Oil.
I thought exactly the same thing and I was convinced of it myself so I
went to NAPA and bought a $55 test kit with the blue fluid and a clear
tube that goes into the radiator neck and you pump the bulb and it
draws air up while the car is running and it passes through the blue
fluid, turning it yellow if combustion byproducts are present. I
sniffed for 2 minutes on the radiator and tried the reservoir. Still
as blue as it started. Not convinced, I took it around to the exhaust
tailpipe and sniffed a few times and it turned yellow right away.

I am replacing the water pump next. It is leaking and some have suggested it could be drawing in air.

Should I go with Genuine toyota or aftermarket? It's confusing to shop
for since There are listings for the pump only or the pump and the
housing. I am leaning toward pump+housing.
rockauto has a AISIN Part # 1610019305 pump+housing for @ $64:
http://67.129.153.73/CGv2Production/Pictur...C1610019305.jpg

I tried partsbin.com and the descriptions are confusing making it hard
to be confident in what I am getting. I called a local parts store and
they said they didn't even sell the housing nor could they get it.

Mike

[mjzraz]

Following up here with the (hopefully permanent) solution to my issues from the past two months. If I had a dollar for every thread that was abandoned, I could retire, so I wanted to report back. When we left off, I had purchased a Celica at auction with unknown repair history. I had just finished a head gasket repair and was running the car for the first time and was getting foam and steam pouring out of the overflow and constant bubbles from the overflow with the cap on. (new cap I should add) It was not overheating per the gauge or an IR thermometer.

Turns out there were several things wrong that I overlooked. When I did the repairs, I was only replacing as few things as possible to keep costs down. Someone told me "I'm still going with leaking combustion into cooling systme based on your video, unless the radiator cap is shot and not holding any pressure." I had replaced the cap, so I thought this could not be the issue but it was..

Here's how it went down:
I ordered an Aisin complete water pump with housing, was shipped the wrong part, sent back, received correct one and installed on the car. I read up on my after market thermostat and discovered that there was a bleed "notch" that needed to be installed in the 12oclock position. This was in place of the OEM Thermostat bleeder jiggle valve. With the new pump, Immediately the system started acting close to normal. The air bled out in large bubbles and the interior was blowing warm air almost as soon as I opened the heater valve. (before when I was getting all the foam, it took a long time to get heat in the interior) Once the thermostat opened, the water began to circulate in the radiator and all appeared normal. I put on the cap and went for a test drive to my neighbor that is a mechanic. All appeared normal except when I revved up the engine, I could see the coolant rise in the overflow and spill out a little bit. What the heck? At the same time, the upper and lower hoses collapsed a little bit and my mechanic neighbor said "you need new hoses" So I went to Autozone and got some new hoses that the counter guy said were "already cut-to-fit your specific car" brought them home and they didn't fit at all and even with cutting would have been a horrible fit. Returned those and bought new from dealer, but...the hoses from the dealer new were just as soft as my old hoses. Going with the neighbor mechanic's theory that soft hoses were my problem, I was back to square one. So I started to look at things more carefully with the voice in the back of my head saying "check the cap..." Upon careful examination I noticed that the seating surface inside the neck of the radiator was worn and corroded and the cap's inner sealing plunger was not sealing. see picture here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mjzraz/Celica/...880560663752418

I ordered a new Koyo plastic/aluminum radiator and it came this week. I installed it, hooked up the new hoses, bled the air and took it for a test drive. All appeared well. My daughter has been driving it the past few days without a problem. I will probably drive it to work a longer distance a few times before I let her have it full time. I am wondering if I should get a Toyota cap to replace my aftermarket (gates or stant) one. When installing it, I barely had to compress the spring to lock it in place. It appears to hold pressure. She just stopped by and I checked the overflow level and the level was fine and the hoses were firm as if they were under slight pressure.
So far so good - Thanks for the advice!
Mike

[xs94st]

wow. new radiator n its all goods. lol. im glad it workd out man, i sorta forgot about this thread but it always made me wonder about foam in the overflow. nice job, im glad its turning around for ya!

[lagos]

hopefully thats all it was. but looking at the video, it looked like there is a problem with the head gasket.

as far as bleeding, all you do is run the car with the cap off and rev it up a little to see all the bubbles escape. other then that, these cars don't really need anything special to bleed the system.

stick with oem parts when possible. the parts stores might be a few bucks cheaper, but the quality is horrible.

[94CelicaDragon]

Thats awesome, good job on the repair! I had to replace the Radiator In my ST, It was easy, did my self In little over an hour, first time. One thing I was gonna say that you might already know, Since you used the garden hose to flush out the system, If your engine was hot, or had been driven and allowed to cool loon enough, the cold water couldve screwed up one of your gasket's. Thats what I almost did one time, when I flushed out my radiator.

[vile_v]

hey great job on your fix and the way your describe everything in your video, makes you sound like a real teacher, it would be very instructional for learners.

im gonna double check everything you mention before i go through the same steps as you, but im pretty sure my problem is the rad. Its rusted alot.......................... insde