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Boiling coolant?

Luke52

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Went down to the bike shop today to get a few bits and pieces, and upon returning to the car, I noticed a strange burbling noise when I got inside. Thinking something had broken and I was dumping all my oil, I popped the hood and jumped out to see what was going on.

No oil catastrophe, however the burbling sound was definitely coming from the cooling system, and seemed more audible on the passenger side of the engine bay, near the overflow bottle. I double, triple, and quadruple checked that I wasn't parked over a drain or something.

Got back in the car, temp guage was normal, just about 1/3 of the way up. Went through the menu on the dash, coolant temp was at 101 degrees.

Eventually after about 10 minutes of looking around, checking radiator hoses and coolant levels and all that, the burbling noise quietened down. I drove back to the shops near home, keeping an eye on the temp guage, which remained normal. When I pulled up at the shops, the burbling noise had returned again. Drove home with the coolant temp on the display, and it varied between 100-110 degrees.

I can't say I've noticed this noise before today, either.

Any ideas? Should I get the cooling system checked out, or could this just be a case of the last person not getting the coolant concentration right, leaving too much water?

Thanks in advance.
 

Luke52

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Alright, something f**king weird is going on here.

Firstly, I opened the coolant cap. It's fine, however the coolant should be a red colour, am I right? It looks as though there is only water in it, no coolant at all, which would explain the boiling yesterday...I only bought the car a few months back, so it came like this.

Secondly, I checked the coolant level in the overflow bottle again. When I pulled out the yellow dipstick, it was showing as empty.

Thirdly, I let the engine idle for a while. After half an hour of idling, the thermo fans still hadn't switched on, and the level in the overflow was still showing as nil.

Oh, not to mention the fact that my heater doesn't work either. Just blows out cold air, even if the temp knob on the dash is turned all the way to hot.
 

Benboy

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If the coolant is low the temperature gauage probably won't give you an accurate and timely warning. Pays to do an inspection of your car at least once a week. Check oil level, water, brake fluid, auto trans (if fitted), front and rear head an tail lights, stop and turning indicators, warning device (horn), wipers, wheels, tyre pressures etc. Such checks don't take long but in doing them you will have some peacce of mind in the knowledge that your car is not only roadworthy but also unlikely to suffer failure due to a lack of general maintenance and care. If you coolant level was low and what reained was boiling you can expect to have caused some damage, possibly to the head gasket.
 

Luke52

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Coolant level was fine when I checked yesterday, and was normal last week. Checked it when I changed my oil.

Just this morning I opened the coolant cap, then checked the overflow, and it was showing nothing.
 

Luke52

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Yeah, I'm thinking I'll get the coolant replaced, and the whole cooling system pressure-tested after the holidays. Just for peace of mind.
 

Luke52

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Topped it up with some water and drove it today, keeping an eye on the coolant temp.

Wandered anywhere betwwen 85-95 degrees, and I didn't hear the boiling/burbling sound at all. Interesting indeed.

I'm still gonna get the coolant flushed and the system tested, though.
 

dirtslinger

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did your heaters work again after you topped up the levels ?
 
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