Coolant reservoir steaming/leaking from top?

Tiny
JAMESG14
  • MEMBER
  • 1992 ACURA LEGEND
  • V6
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 400,000 MILES
I just recently bought this car; it's been sitting for the last 5 years approximately. When I bought it from the owner, he informed me it needed a thermostat, which I put it myself immediately after purchasing the car. After putting that in I bled the radiator system for air. I then noticed that when I drive the car, the coolant reservoir is steaming. I can also hear it bubbling in the reservoir and a little bit of coolant leaks through the top of reservoir. This only happens after the engine has heated up or the car has been driven for a few minutes. The engine does not overheat according to my gauges that function fine. I also have heat as well coming through the system. I also confirmed that no radiator hoses are loose or leaking. The guy I bought the car from said that it was something wrong with the radiator cap, so he bought one and replaced it before it was parked 5 years ago. But from what I've researched a lot of people are saying it's the radiator cap. Engine only has about 10,000 miles on it. The only other thing I've noticed wrong with the car is the idling. When the car is first started the engine will rev itself up automatically. It usually does this for about a few minutes and then idles normally. I cleaned the Idle control valve and that seemed to bring the revving down a lot. I don't know if that could be related but thought I'd add it. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Friday, September 16th, 2022 AT 11:17 AM

12 Replies

Tiny
MIKE H R
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,094 POSTS
You say you have cleaned the throttle body, I had to clean a Mazda a couple of times to get it to idle and drive. Because the throttle is responsible for managing the airflow, any gunk or debris in the body can decrease power and acceleration. After cleaning, the engine should run smoother and cleaner.
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Friday, September 16th, 2022 AT 1:08 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 47,513 POSTS
This sounds like you may have a blown head gasket. To be sure, please follow this guide:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

Please go over this guide and report back.
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Friday, September 16th, 2022 AT 4:28 PM
Tiny
JAMESG14
  • MEMBER
  • 38 POSTS
Thanks for the quick responses, a blown head gasket is what I was fearing. I guess it makes since, due to the car sitting for so long. My next step is to try blue devil gasket sealer. Do you guys have an opinion on that? I know to replace the gasket completely or get a new engine would be 3-4x what the car is worth.
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Friday, September 16th, 2022 AT 6:49 PM
Tiny
JAMESG14
  • MEMBER
  • 38 POSTS
I’ll follow the guide tomorrow to be sure. But I believe that white smoke was coming out the tailpipe.
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Friday, September 16th, 2022 AT 6:49 PM
Tiny
JAMESG14
  • MEMBER
  • 38 POSTS
Also, when I replaced the thermostat, the old one was nowhere in sight. Only the rubber seal and metal ring of thermostat.
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Friday, September 16th, 2022 AT 6:57 PM
Tiny
MIKE H R
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,094 POSTS
Conduct a compression test on all the cylinders, see if one is low, when you say the thermostat was missing was when you went to change the thermostat when you first bought the car?
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Saturday, September 17th, 2022 AT 6:32 AM
Tiny
JAMESG14
  • MEMBER
  • 38 POSTS
Okay, I’ll do that. I checked my oil, and it looks good. Not seeing a mixture of coolant and oil. I also checked the coolant in radiator and it looks good.

When I was putting in the new thermostat, that’s when I noticed that the old one wasn’t there. Just remnants left over. But the guy I bought it from already let me know it needed to be replaced. I was just expecting to see the old one. I mentioned that because obviously there’s nothing keeping the coolant back and it’s free flowing. So maybe that increases the risk for blown head gaskets?
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Saturday, September 17th, 2022 AT 8:43 AM
Tiny
MIKE H R
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,094 POSTS
The thermostat slows down the circulation of coolant giving it a chance to cool down when it goes through the radiator. If the guy said it needed a thermostat puzzles me if the old steel housing and gasket was still there. For safety's sake I would drain the coolant. Then flush the whole system with a water hose along with disconnecting the hoses to the heater core. Back flush everything. If there is parts from the old thermostat may still be in the engine it should flush them out. Over the year I found that most vehicles that use coolant need some restriction to help the engine cool down. Free flowing the coolant just circulates through the radiator without a chance to cool down.
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Saturday, September 17th, 2022 AT 4:14 PM
Tiny
JAMESG14
  • MEMBER
  • 38 POSTS
Okay, I’ll flush out the system multiple times. Then I found where I can do a head gasket fluid test. To see if exhaust gases are making it into the fluid. I plan on doing this sometime late next week, I’ll provide an update then.
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Saturday, September 17th, 2022 AT 4:31 PM
Tiny
JAMESG14
  • MEMBER
  • 38 POSTS
Waiting on some additional tools to arrive. It may take approximately 2 weeks or so, will make to provide resolution update.
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Sunday, September 25th, 2022 AT 3:02 PM
Tiny
JAMESG14
  • MEMBER
  • 38 POSTS
This issue is resolved now, turned out to be the thermostat. Even though I replaced it with a new one that O'reilly's said was compatible. I ordered an OEM one and the bubbling has ceased. Thanks for the help.
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Tuesday, October 18th, 2022 AT 1:53 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 47,513 POSTS
Nice work, we are here to help, please use 2CarPros anytime.
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Wednesday, October 19th, 2022 AT 12:08 PM

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