Aliahmedsh (ve commodore ss v8 6.0 2009)

[aliahmedsh]

My car temperature is showing normal but after long drive like 20 - 30 km when i stop and turn off the engine, the water inside the radiator is boiling and i can hear it even if i remove the cap of reservoir bottle i can see steam coming out from it...what wrong with it ?

[HUX 90]

I'm not realy sure, mabey you need a new radiator?

[Reaper]

Is the coolant at the correct level? I'd probably get a mechanic to check that one quickly

Reaper

[pjdm1980]

Could be a number of issues but I'd start with the coolant level and make sure it's still good.
- thermostat
- radiator blocked or cracked
- thermo fans not kicking in
- water pump

[aliahmedsh]

well. i got it checked once and they said it was water pump and they say that they replaced it..fans r working just fine...radiator seems ok cuz there is no leakage or so..coolant level also ok, gonna get it checked again today...willkeep u posted. thanx

[VE6.0L]

Check under your oil cap, look out for a milky white paste or color. Steam and water boiling (gurgling sounds) from the radiator after engine shut off can also possibly indicate a cracked head or warped head from excessive heat resulting in a 'blown head gasket'.

[aliahmedsh]

Today morning i checked the radiator and coolant level was low, i had to pour around 1and a half litre in it to fill it up, now i will notice if its leaking, will also check what you suggested. Thanks.

[RiCeY]

Coolant will boil when you take the cap off a hot cooling system. When the cooling system is pressurised the boiling point rises so it can operate at high temps without boiling. When you remove the cap and the pressure the boiling point instantly drops and the coolant instantly boils.

[footy]

im still trying to figure out how the subject relates to the post

[aliahmedsh]

@ ricey...let me brief you the problem again.......if i take a 5 min drive there is no problem, when i drive more than 10 minutes or at high rpm, the temp needle is normal but when i stop and turn off the engine i can literally hear the water boiling sound coming from under the hood if i stand in front of the car and without taking off the cap i can see the radiator top and reservoir bottle shaking cuz of water boiling pressure inside...if i take of the reservoir lid i can see steam coming out and im not gonna make a mistake to take off the radiator cap at that time even if they engine is running.....

[RiCeY]

OK it could be that the rad cap isnt holding pressure allowing the coolant to boil.

I would replace the cap and see how it goes.

[aliahmedsh]

are you serious @ ricey...cuz the cap was really tight when i took it off and filled up the coolant level....FYI water pump has already been replaced last week when this problem started...

[aliahmedsh]

@footy...dont pull my leg now, im new to this forum , although i think one can post any thing under the post of " ve holden commodore (2006 - ?) "...dont u

[RiCeY]

Doesnt matter how tight the cap is, its the valve inside the cap that fails. The cap is designed to open at a certain pressure and vent coolant into the overflow. When the caps fail they vent at too low a pressure.

[sv6 power]

It might be cause you tried to race that 5.7ltr guy by putting your foot down hoping you would pass the rev limit. (Sorry i had to say it )
Imagine if you unlocked your rpm what more problems will rise... and you don't have a cheap car.

Anyways, back to the topic.
Usually when the coolant boils, it means that the coolant temperature got too hot because the cooling system was not pressurized. Liquids boil at lower temperatures when they are not pressurized.
The first and easiest thing to check is the radiator cap or the pressurized overflow container, depending on the type of car you have.
These caps need to be able to hold pressure to prevent boiling. I would also suggest changing the coolant if it is old. If both of these fail to solve the problem, you probably have a pressure leak somewhere else in the coolant system
or a major head gasket leak...
But the thing is, coolant should never "boil"...

[aliahmedsh]

well, i found the coolant was low again so i took the car to dealer and they filled it with coolant (around 1 litre short in 2 days) it backfired in few seconds...i mean it started coming out with pressure and steam..so they entered the car for checkup the 3rd time now, lets what they say this time....

and i checked the oil cap like i was advised earlier but there is no white paste or color whatsoever...

thanx for the tips though...

[aliahmedsh]

Guys...strange thing the dealer here says i shall not install xenon in headlights as it takes up more power from battery and internal wiring in commodores is not good enough to handle the wattage and will get burnt.....is it true ? how many of you are using xenon in your headlights and what you have to say....thanx in advance

[Luke V8]

Guys...strange thing the dealer here says i shall not install xenon in headlights... how many of you are using xenon in your headlights and what you have to say....

I say... run a search on the forum if you want to talk about HIDs etc... the subject has been done to death. Just do us a favour DO NOT post a new thread on HIDs.. i don't think anyone could handle it.

[jasonsv6]

back on your coolant boiling front.
from what you have described the coolant is boiling within the engine this would indicate that the flow is in sufficiant to keep the tempretures low.
the fact your temp gauge doesnt move is a worriy because if your coolant is in fact boiling to the extent your are describing the chance of engine damage having been done is very high.

if the coolant boils within the engine and becomes steam then there is quite littaraly no cooling to the combustion chamber and this spelles disaster.
if you do encounter the boiling as you describe you are best to have the car ideling and pour cool water over the radiator in order to lower the tempretures saftly

[jasonsv6]

i personaly would not concentrate on the cap pressure straight away your cooling system should be operating arout 90 degrese below the boiling point of the water anyway. the very first thing i would do is have the system flow tested to eusure the water pump is producing sufficant flow. have the thermostate replaced and test the old unit to see if this is opening at the prescribed tempreture.

have the system pressure tested to check for leaks and also have the radiator tested for exhaust gasses to indicate if a crack in the head may be pressent.

if all of these test are to the specifications i would then turn to the radiator to ensure that all the capillaries are open and flowing and that sufficiant airflow is allowed.

[jasonsv6]

Guys...strange thing the dealer here says i shall not install xenon in headlights as it takes up more power from battery and internal wiring in commodores is not good enough to handle the wattage and will get burnt.....is it true ? how many of you are using xenon in your headlights and what you have to say....thanx in advance

as this is a thread spacificly for you and your car i will answer your here.
the wirering on your car and all others for that matter is fuse protected this prevents any excess of amperage (not wattage) so that you cannot draw to much current through the wires to cause them to sustain damage from the heat generated.

as for the Xenons Or HID's they will not damage your the wires in your car but there are legal and considderation of other useres issues involved.
it is purely speclative but it is possible that a bad system or poor qualaty system could cause interferance or feed back in the electrical sytem causing damage to the computers (i dont see this as probable myself)

[aliahmedsh]

thanx a lot @ jasonsv6

as for the coolant boiling problem, i gave my car to the dealer on sunday and they are still running tests on it, will let u all know....thanks

[aliahmedsh]

my car is still with dealer, they say its under observation...

[aliahmedsh]

Well i got my car back on Wednesday and everything seems ok now, the dealer said they changed the radiator cap and reprogrammed the computer !!! I can believe the cap thing as the holden gut on this site advised it earlier but i dont know about the computer thing? Anyways thanks every1 for the advise...