bubbles in radiator

[Jesse1987]

Hey guys I know commonly this means head gasket but at the moment cant get it tested at a work shop ... My 89 gq patrol never over heats blows no smoke on gas or petrol but am finding bubbles in radiator and coolant in the over flow bottle ..is there anything else that could be causing.this ..I'm really hoping there is as I really can't afford to fix it and I have only just got my truck and I love it lol
Cheers guys

[MudRunnerTD]

Buy a funnel, wrap some tap around the nozzle until it is a nice tight fit into the radiator cap opening. Fill it to the top. Start the car, turn the heater on and go and watch TV for an hour. That will confirm a good bleed of your system. Top up the Funnel if you need to.

If the thermostat has opened a couple of times and your heater is bled then you have the best bet to see if there is anything else wrong. If it still bubbles your cooked bud, sorry

[happygu]

Don't panic yet...is it loosing water?....do you need to continually top it up?

If so, then that could indicate a problem in the cooling system, but if you are only seeing bubbles, it might be just the water swirling around in the top of the radiator.

Mic

[threedogs]

x2 with above it may be cavitating causing to bubbles. always do l thing at a time as well not two at thebsame time.

[Bloodyaussie]

Forever chasing bubbles....

[happygu]

Forever chasing bubbles....

Someone take the Bubble Wand off him.... :)

[Jesse1987]

Yea have to keep topping it up :( il give the funnel thing ago on the weekend
Cheers guys

[Cuppa]

Does the excess coolant in the overflow bottle return to the radiator when the motor cools down?

[Jesse1987]

Na tHe over flow bottle is full up to where there is a hole in it

[Cuppa]

Na tHe over flow bottle is full up to where there is a hole in it

Bubbles in radiator, overflow bottle filling & not returning coolant to radiator doesn't sound good to me I'm afraid. Hopefully it is just the head gasket that's blown & not a cracked cylinder head or barrel liner. (If they have a liner?). I reckon the head's gonna have to come off. Don't keep topping up & driving for too long or you may do irreparable damage.

Cuppa

[BillsGU]

As a temporary measure try a container of Silver Seal from your automotive shop. I cracked a radiator just out of Birdsville and this stuff worked wonders. You will have at least some time to save up for the head removal.

[Jesse1987]

Cheers guys ... Just read a guy had his coolant going into over flow and his fix was "a little piece in top of over flow was back to front so water couldn't return even if it wanted to " could any one expand on this ..my over flow bottle seems dodgey just dunno what it's ment to be like ..how much roughly would I be looking at for getting head gasket done ??

[happygu]

I would say somewhere between $1000 - $2600, depending on what needs doing.

New Gaskets will be around $200, to get your head machined flat $100, new head bolts $60 - $80 and then labour to install..........this would probably be a minimum.

Then again, you could be up for a valve grind, valve stem seals, replacement head, and as you have Gas fitted, you would want to replace it with the valves designed for Gas....

[Jesse1987]

Cheers guys looks like my pride and joy will be up for sale real soon :(

[happygu]

Don't get too despondent about it....it may turn out to be something more minor, and also remember that there are no vehicles out there that won't need money spent on them....every car will have something go wrong eventually - you could sell yours and buy something else and within three months have to spend the same amount. Mechanical things will always break down.

If you are handy or have a couple of mates that are, you may be able to get away with a lot less.

First things first, would be to take it to a mechanic or radiator place that can stick their test gear on the cooling system to see if there are any conbustion gases leaking into the system. That will give you the big picture, and quickly let you know the costs

[Agronaught]

Check where the water has been redirected through the lpg converter, one area i had leaks.

The lpg converter is another candidate as they do wear out and can cause overheating issues etc.

Definitely replace the thermostat with an original, same with the radiator cap.

[Aben Dean]

i have the same issue on my GU Patrol.....going to test everything step by step. i have already twice cleaned the radiator, changed new radiator cap from Nissan. still same issue....radiator level drops by abt 1L - 1.5L. when Aircon is on on long runs / hot days. temp reaches 100-110degrees. Will check water pump next and theres a shop here who does testing for head gasket..... can water pump cause this issue too?

[ssoac]

I have a Patrol GRX 2005, 175K KM thus far, I purchase it from NISSAN USED Cars last year with 150K KM they gave me a 60 Day guaranty, which I used it for servicing the TURBO (which thanks to this forum I found it was liking oil) and it that case they return the car to me with a new Radiator, they mention to me that is has a lick problem.
So after a year of driving the car, which I can say it has been solid as an oak tree, but lately I noticed what you people have been reporting Bubbles on the Cooling system Reservoir Tank, and it has spoiled it to the bottom of the Bonnet and sometimes you can see it coming out from the from left side. I check 1st on the forum and I had a list of possible things that could have been the caused of the issue, then I took it for service at the Nissan Service Center, they ignore all the items I mention to them and they said it was a little crack on the reservoir Tank. Well I take it home and that did not fix the problem. So I took it again now under guarantee as the previous service did not fixed the problem. So now they follow my recommendations
which they are:
1- do a pressure test on the cooling system
2- do a pressure test to the Engine (high and Low)
3- check if thermostat was not stuck
4- check the water pump
5- check if Hoses were fine.

Well from the test above 1 -2 and 3 reported to be ok, but test #1 had the same problem of bubbles on the reservoir Cooling Tank, the water pump has some sign of ware (some rust was seeing) but it was working. What actually gave the light to them was that after the pressure tests were completed they remove the spark plugs and found 1 and 2 (from cylinder #s) with some coolant on them, so this came to the conclusion something was wrong with the Head Gasket, and indeed it was, but not also the Head had a crack.
So the recommendation from the Forum is not to service the head but put a new one, so I did, and also ask to replace the water pump and the thermostat to have them all in good conditions.
Luckly none of the cylinders or the rings have issues, chain is ok, tensor is ok, valves and the exhaust manifold have been cleaned.
My Patrol is still on the shop hope Nissan can return it to me by Wednesday.
I am not a Diesel expert nor a mechanic but I had to learn about it.
My recommendation is ask the forum or search for a problem you will find the solution here.

Also another recommendation, if you are going to buy an used car, have your mechanic to check the Cooling system (coolant color, hoses) this could have safe me some money if I would have inspected that since day 1st. (looks like previous owner used water instead of coolant, due to the color and residues on the cooling system)

bye Oscar