So what did I tear up now?

[Cpt Marvel]

Installed new radiator today. Never could get the bleeder plug out. Didn't want to drill and easy out the thing for fear of f ing up the neck. So I filled the tank. Taking my time, letting it sit and then refilling until it was stable. Started it up and kept an eye on the level and temp gage. Heater on full. Kept checking the upper and lower hoses, waiting for the lower to get about the same temp as the upper. Temp gage got just a tad above half way and bottom hose still wasn't warm. Getting nervous and decided to shut it down for awhile. Gave it a quick goose on the pedal first and all this damn smoke or steam (I think smoke) came from the tail pipe. Cussing time. Shut it off. Lower hose now hot as top. Coolant in tank hasn't dropped yet. No sign of coolant on dip stick or in oil filler neck. Oh, and it hasn't been started in a week or so

 

[CzarKJ]

Installed new radiator today. Never could get the bleeder plug out. Didn't want to drill and easy out the thing for fear of f ing up the neck. So I filled the tank. Taking my time, letting it sit and then refilling until it was stable. Started it up and kept an eye on the level and temp gage. Heater on full. Kept checking the upper and lower hoses, waiting for the lower to get about the same temp as the upper. Temp gage got just a tad above half way and bottom hose still wasn't warm. Getting nervous and decided to shut it down for awhile. Gave it a quick goose on the pedal first and all this damn smoke or steam (I think smoke) came from the tail pipe. Cussing time. Shut it off. Lower hose now hot as top. Coolant in tank hasn't dropped yet. No sign of coolant on dip stick or in oil filler neck. Oh, and it hasn't been started in a week or so

Sounds like just condensation from sitting to me. Run it for a week with your eye on the coolant temp gauge.

Edit: I just read you had it running for a while. Did you drop any coolant on the cats? Is your oil the correct color?

 

[Cpt Marvel]

Sounds like just condensation from sitting to me. Run it for a week with your eye on the coolant temp gauge.

Edit: I just read you had it running for a while. Did you drop any coolant on the cats? Is your oil the correct color?

Gray cloud was defiantly from the tail pipe. As of now, while still hot, oil looks good. Just had it changed 2 weeks ago, just before parking it to wait on parts. All cooling system change out.

 

[vaksanov]

Make sure you get the strength of the water/hoat mixture right. When I changed my radiator I tried flushing the system by filling it up with water. With just the water in the system it wasn't getting to the operating temperature and would not blow hot air. Once I drained whatever water came out, I just put about a jug of full strtength zerex to the fill line as there was water left over in the system from the "flush". It took it a while but after couple days it was running fine.
Also check your thermostat and make sure it sits with the hole on top, if I am not mistaken, or just get a new one.

 

[uss2defiant]

'about' isn't a good unit of volume.
Total required coolant volume is 14 quarts including the overflow reservoir.
This means 7 quarts of full strength HOAT coolant needs to be added to achieve a 50/50 mix if you DIY your flush with distilled water.
Do run the engine with the heat on such that the water in the heater core is flushed out and mixed with the rest of the coolant.

 

[Cpt Marvel]

Sudden thought: when I initially drained the radiator, saw what looked to a good deal of shiny gold flakes in the bottom of the drain pan. Wrote it off as rust. So I flushed the system with a chemical flush. Suddenly occurred to me that rust isn't shiny. Bet there was some of that copper leak stop crap in there, and it's got a bad head gasket. Thoughts?

 

[ltd02]

Sudden thought: when I initially drained the radiator, saw what looked to a good deal of shiny gold flakes in the bottom of the drain pan. Wrote it off as rust. So I flushed the system with a chemical flush. Suddenly occurred to me that rust isn't shiny. Bet there was some of that copper leak stop crap in there, and it's got a bad head gasket. Thoughts?

That's pretty likely. Nothing else in the coolant would be shiny. I've used that stuff in an emergency and it did work temporarily. I did go and replace my HGs eventually (long story). Need to fix those things correctly. Band-aids aren't permanent.

 

[Cpt Marvel]

That's pretty likely. Nothing else in the coolant would be shiny. I've used that stuff in an emergency and it did work temporarily. I did go and replace my HGs eventually (long story). Need to fix those things correctly. Band-aids aren't permanent.

How long that stuff last? Days? Weeks? Months? Does it stand up to long trips?

 

[ltd02]

How long that stuff last? Days? Weeks? Months? Does it stand up to long trips?

When my HGs went (overheated when fan relay failed in traffic) I had the coolant dump into my oil. This is a bit different than your situation of coolant getting into combustion chamber. That's such a violent environment that I'm not sure how well those stop leaks will work for a leak like yours. Surprised the coolant isn't "boiling" over from exhaust gases forced from the high pressure back into the coolant.

I'll probably catch hell on here for this but I was desperate at the time and used this:

Bar's Leaks US site Head Gasket Fix - Bar's Leaks US site

Alot of people swear the stuff will cause all sorts of problems and you may as well just piss in there, but not sure they've ever done the experiment and gathered real data. If you follow the direction carefully you are unlikely to plug things up like the heater core and such. Of course avoid any repetitive use of the Bar's that's for sure. It did work for me immediately, lasted for a couple years and about 20k. I began accumulating parts immediately though, and when I noticed a slight but consistent loss of coolant I tore it apart and fixed it right. Really didn't look so bad in there when I tore it apart.

BTW, some Subarus have defective HGs from the factory (I have an 01 Outback). Instead of a recall they have a TSB which says to include a small bottle (5.5oz) of sealer with every coolant service interval. It's just Holt's Rad Weld repackaged but it actually does work. This defect causes coolant to leak out so again different from your situation.

Bottom line is, if you are really desperate like I was, give it a try. If you aren't that desperate I'd get it fixed right. Eventually you will have to fix it right or get rid of it. arty52:

 

[Cpt Marvel]

Yeah. Cool. It must've held up ok until I drained and flushed it. Engine has 205k on it so an engine replacement would make more sense than head gaskets I think. Issue is I've got a camping trip planned week after next and don't think that I can get it done by then.

 

[ltd02]

Yeah. Cool. It must've held up ok until I drained and flushed it. Engine has 205k on it so an engine replacement would make more sense than head gaskets I think. Issue is I've got a camping trip planned week after next and don't think that I can get it done by then.

205k, Oh heck if I were going to swap the engine anyway I'd definitely throw a can in there. :gr_grin:

 

[Cpt Marvel]

I've got a bottle of Blue Devil in the garage. Guess I'll dump that in tomorrow. Instructions make no sense. "Remove thermostat, flush with chemical flushing agent through lower hose. Then fill with recommended antifreeze mixture. Top off with blue devil when cold. Idle 50 minutes. Test drive. THEN INSTALL THERMOSTAT. " WTF? That means draining the system. I've already flushed it. Just dump the shit in and do the rest, hope for the best.

 

[ltd02]

I've got a bottle of Blue Devil in the garage. Guess I'll dump that in tomorrow. Instructions make no sense. "Remove thermostat, flush with chemical flushing agent through lower hose. Then fill with recommended antifreeze mixture. Top off with blue devil when cold. Idle 50 minutes. Test drive. THEN INSTALL THERMOSTAT. " WTF? That means draining the system. I've already flushed it. Just dump the shit in and do the rest, hope for the best.

They want no restriction from the get go. If you dump it in without circulation it'll just sink and stay there. When the tstat does finally open it won't be as effective at dispersing and getting where it needs to be. You could just pull the hose and tstat, collect and reuse the recently changed coolant.

 

[uss2defiant]

you can run the jeep with out the t-stat. your mpg will take a hit.
you'll need to install the housing w/ the gasket to prevent it from leaking.
As ltd02 said, reuse the new coolant.