twobirds Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 i drive an '89 rx with an ea82t powering it. the temp gauge in the dashboard sometimes goes up. ormally i could add some water and all was fine. now the temp gauge goes up really far but not past the red. some one told me to take the rad. cap off. it worked for a short trip home. i then put more water it her put the cap back on and went out on the highway. the temp gauge went way up. i pulled over and took the cap off and BOOSHHH, coolant everywhere, up from the filler tube. as i let it run and added more water it would go in and then boil over, again and again more than a gallon. the temp gauge went down some but not to normal settings. ANYONE HELP PLEASE. is this the thermostat? or is the radiator clogged? or could it be the head gasket? btw she uses oil also. no water in the oil though, but oil in the water??????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 In my experiences, you will need new headgaskets. Even if they aren't blown or leaking now, they will be. Obviously, check everything first, but in my 20+ years with subies, a dry overheat leads to headgaskets instantly or shortly later. Anything that interferes with the flow of coolant will cause the initial trouble. I automatically replace a thermostat that has been overheated dry. Probably a good idea to replace them every 10 years anyways. Hoses - all 6 - should be replaced every 5 or after a dry overheat also. Take a look at the radiator - are the fine little fins between the horizontal tubes attached to the tubes, or just sitting there? Are there areas where they are missing - check the corners of the electric fan shroud. If they are loose or missing, get a new rad. Stand the radiator on one end. block all of the ports (except the top most) and fill it full of water. pop the bottom main port - the water should gush out very fast. If you aren't sure about the flow, have the radiator checked at a radiator shop. I like to use turbo (2 row) radiators in all my EA82s - they have slightly higher cooling capacity. Never run without the pressure cap. The higher pressure keeps the water from boiling at the hot spots. When you release the pressure, the superheated water boils instantly, causeing the gusher. Adding cold water to the hot block won't work, it boils right out again. It needs to cool down below 212 degrees first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 You have a blown Headgasket. Stop driving the car. These engines do NOT like to be repeatedly overheated, as this can result in major irreparable engine damage. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rllywgn Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 You have a blown Headgasket. Stop driving the car. These engines do NOT like to be repeatedly overheated, as this can result in major irreparable engine damage. nipper +1 sorry my friend.. you most likely have a bhg.. do a compression test to verify, and avoid driving it until you have verified the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeshoup Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 Its not that you likely have a blown headgasket, its that you do. That's the only way you can mix oil into the coolant (apart from massive cracks in the head or something) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobirds Posted May 18, 2007 Author Share Posted May 18, 2007 do i need to replace the waterpump, thermostatand everything else when i do the gaskets? i don't yet have experience in this kind of repair... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 do i need to replace the waterpump, thermostatand everything else when i do the gaskets? . It wouldn't be a bad idea. The seals in the water pump were run without coolant at an elevated temperature. Same with the thermostat. If you are going to spend the time to fix it, why take a chance with a $50.00 possible cooked water pump? how many miles on the pump? When I replace head gaskets for this type of problem, I replace all rubber parts in the oil & coolant systems - oil pump, rear & front main, cam, cam orings, all coolant hoses, cam cover seals and valve seals. They have all been cooked at higher than normal temps., and you have to pull it all apart anyways. One engine I had this happen to runs great after the repair, but burns oil like crazy, so (I'm only guessing) I think the oil rings are toast. 2 or 3 others (over ~20 years, several cars) all good as before with less leaking. Main thing I learned - replace all coolant hoses BEFORE they fail. Check coolant level at least once per week. Check radiator fins periodically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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