Bubbles In Coolant/Radiator

[dave0922]

Hi Guys,

I am fearing the worst here but think that my head gasket may be failing?

Noticed a small loss of performance, noisier engine and checked the coolant with the cap off from cold start.

The coolant slowly started to raise up and then small bubbles started to pop up to the surface.

I could not smell petrol/gases in the coolant. There is no sludge at all in the oil.

Any help would be much appreciated guys!

 

[Doc]

Get the cooling system combustion gas tested that will give you your answer.

 

[Attaboy]

I hope it's not that Dave and it's not something you really see with the 6th Gen but at the very worst there are plenty of second hand 6th Gen engines available nowadays for fairly small money.

 

[vile]

Hopefully Dave this is not your head gasket fingers crossed.Have you checked for leaks in the coolent system or is the car using water at all.

 

[dave0922]

There is no loss of water at all, the coolant is about a year old so is due for a flush. The coolant was pink when first put in but is now green if that is of any significance (unsure?).

Somebody I know suggested that it could be a sticking thermostat causing the bubbling but I cant see that being the case really, probably the cheapest place to start with anyway so wii give it ag with a coolant change!

Will be gutted if it is the head gasket because it might just push me to buy another motor as opposed to spending out a fortune on it!

 

[shab_the_man]

get a coolant/gas check done, thats the only way to determine if there are exhaust fumes in the water.

If that comes back ok then I would suggest a thermostat problem. Do you notice any tempreture problems?

 

[dave0922]

Quick update guys,

I did the check again today and this time there were no bubbles coming up through the filler cap! So the only thing that I can think of is that there was perhaps some air trapped in the system from the last coolant change?

When there was bubbles coming up the first time, they were not like gushing up, more like one every 3-4 seconds. Also there was definatly no odour like petrol or exhaust fumes.

Hopefully it was me just being paranoid and that it was just a bit of trapped air in the system.

Also might be worth mentioning that I have not lost any coolant or excess oil, there is obviously gradual oil loss as these engines are known for burning oil through vtec but nothing out of the ordinary.

Fingers crossed, i may be in the clear with the head gasket worry!