Coolant being pushed out of reservoir

Tiny
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  • 2000 TOYOTA CELICA
  • 1.8L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 125,000 MILES
I did a full bleed on my cooling system. Heat is in full blast and the most that is opened allowing coolant to go through the system. At first there was heat coming out of the vent (note) this is during the bleeding process. But when I took the car for test drive the heater stop working and there is no heat coming out of my vent. The temperature gauge pointed to high, but when I turn on to AC while I am driving the temperature gauged goes back to some what to normal. I did a pressure cooling system test and not leaks indication. I also did a combustion leak test and shows no leaks as well. It seems to me that the thermostat stop working while I am driving the vehicle because when I park back the vehicle the lower hose where the thermostat is not hot anymore but the other hose is very hot. I did pull out the thermostat the day before and test it by soaking it into a boiling water. Thermostat started to open and when I pour cold water it stared to close again. I cannot seem to figure out. Please help. Thanks
Monday, May 21st, 2018 AT 5:33 AM

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Tiny
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Make sure the jiggle valve was set within 10° of either side of the twelve o'clock position, like shown here.
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Monday, May 21st, 2018 AT 10:08 AM
Tiny
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I just checked the position of the thermostat and it is exactly where it needs to be. Any other ideas that might help me diagnose the ptoblem? Thanks
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Monday, May 21st, 2018 AT 10:47 AM
Tiny
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One thing struck me as odd, what you said, " The temperature gauge pointed to high, but when I turn on to AC while I am driving the temperature gauged goes back to some what to normal. "
That is exactly opposite of how it should behave, when turning on the AC usually the cooling system will get a bit hotter, because the AC condenser now is getting hot and it sits right in front of the radiator, thus the hot air blowing through the condenser blows right onto the radiator.
Anyhow, since the reservoir is overflowing, try removing the thermostat altogether and having it out just for now until we get the overheating fixed, plus with it out it should bleed the air out instantly.
Let me know if it no longer overheats with the thermostat out or if it still does and if it still does, make sure the cooling fan runs when the engine gets hot.
The passenger side fan is for when the AC is turned on, so I assume that is why the temperature may be lowering. Check if the drivers side fan runs when the engine gets hot. I assume maybe only the AC fan is working. You could try that even before removing that thermostat.
If the drivers side fan does not work when hot, check the rdi fuse in the junction box under the hood, left front inner fender panel. If it is okay, try a new fan relay #1 same j/b.
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Monday, May 21st, 2018 AT 11:13 AM
Tiny
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Thanks, I will check on that and get back to you ASAP with an update.
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Monday, May 21st, 2018 AT 11:29 AM
Tiny
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So I checked the fuses and I took out the thermostat and left out like you suggested. Everything looked fined with the fuses. I am still getting coolant overflow from my reservoir. I did bleed out the cooling system and after I drove it for a test drive and left the heater to on position. At first there was plenty of heat coming out the vent but after five minutes of driving the vehicle, suddenly the heat disappeared and the coolant was pushed up from the reservoir. This is without the thermostat installed on the car. I waited few hours and I am letting the vehicle cool down and this time I installed a new thermostat and still getting the same results. I am starting to worry and I am not sure what is causing to this problem. Please help. Thanks
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Monday, May 21st, 2018 AT 11:34 PM
Tiny
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Did the drivers side cooling fan come on when the engine got hot?
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Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018 AT 7:02 AM
Tiny
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Yes, both fans came on. I take it back about what I said at the very first post about about the AC, "The temperature gauge pointed to high, but when I turn on to AC while I am driving the temperature gauged goes back to some what to normal". I carefully observed the situation this time and got a different results. When I turn on the AC the temperature gauged stayed at high and there is no heater stop working (Note) this is during while I'm driving the vehicle for a test drive. I just put a new thermostat just to play safe.
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Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018 AT 8:30 AM
Tiny
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There will be no heat if the coolant is boiling over and out of the reservoir, because the heater core will fill with warm air instead of hot coolant.
You are going to have to find out why the engine is overheating.
Does the tailpipe blow out any white smoke?
When you said, "I also did a combustion leak test and shows no leaks as well." Was that the test for checking for combustion gases in the coolant, the test that turns a liquid a certain color is present, like when checking for a blown head gasket?
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Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018 AT 9:51 AM
Tiny
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No white smoke and the test I use is a liquid test that I use. When it turns yellow a presence of combustion leak. But in this case during the test. The color stayed blue. There is no white smoke in the tailpipe and as for the heater core. There is no sign of leaks as well such as moisture in the interior or any fog in my windshield.
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Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018 AT 11:26 AM
Tiny
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You may have poor coolant flow through that radiator. After the engine warms up shut it off and feel over the entire core of that radiator. The entire surface should be hot, if you find any cooler spots, that may indicate a clog. Make sure no tubes have been cut out of that radiator and if it does have cool spots and no cut tubes, you could try a coolant flush but if you already did that, and you have cool spots, you may need a new radiator or that one rotted out. A radiator shop can do that.
Another possibility if the radiator is fine is the water pump being weak, so if the radiator checks out fine you may want to install a new water pump but first make sure the bottom radiator hose is not soft and sucking closed when the engine is running and warm.
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Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018 AT 11:32 AM
Tiny
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Okay, thank you. Greatly appreciated your input. I will work on hose and keep you up to date when I am done.
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Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018 AT 11:41 AM
Tiny
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You are welcome and good luck.
We will be here if you need us again.
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Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018 AT 12:02 PM
Tiny
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Hello, I started taking apart the radiator. What strikes me is that it looks like there are two pieces of radiator that are currently installed in the car. Is this normal to have to piece of radiator for this type of car?
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Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 AT 1:14 PM
Tiny
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The one toward the front is the air conditioner condenser.
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Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 AT 2:35 PM
Tiny
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Thanks!
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Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 AT 8:03 PM
Tiny
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Okay, so an update with my vehicle. I replace a new radiator a new thermostat and a new water pump. I still cannot seem to figure out how to fixed the problem. Here are my experience after bleeding the coolant system (I am not sure if I am bleeding properly). First thing first I massage the lower, upper and the heater hose watching the fluid going down from the reservoir. During this process I have the heater switch off. I waited several interval for the fan to come on and off before adding more coolant into the reservoir. After adding more coolant, I put back the cap and the bleeder to the reservoir and let it run for at least fifteen minutes pressing the gas pedal at 300 rpm interval for five seconds. After that I turn on the heater switched and felt heat coming out of the vent. Now when I start to test drive the vehicle few miles down. Suddenly the temperature from hot air went to cold air. The gauge pointed out to high and is blinking next to the (H) indicating that the engine is hot. I quickly pull over the side of the road and noticed that the gauge once again pointed out to normal temperature. So I open the hood and noticed that the coolant was pushed out from the smaller hose next to the cap and the level of coolant is high. The lower hose is not very hot but it feels warm and have strong pressure. I am not sure what to do or how to fixed this problem. Please help and thanks once again.
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Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 AT 2:12 AM
Tiny
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I notice you said the heater was off when you were bleeding the air out. The heater should be on hot, so the coolant circulates through the heater core so the air can be bled from it, but you can leave the blower fan off.
Another thing, did you test the radiator cap with a pressure tester or at least install a new cap?
Is there any engine oil heater or anything like that that may be stuck on?
Are you missing any cooling fan shroud?
Are they a lot of leaves or anything blocking the grille?
Are you sure the air conditioner compressor is not accidentally coming on when driving?
How does the engine run, does it run poorly?
Are you using the proper mix of coolant to water?
I would leave the AC off until this overheating stops. If it only overheats when the AC is switched on then perhaps a fan is cooling as much as it should.
But since you did say you have heat then it gets cool, I assume you have the heater on not the AC.
This is puzzling, that is for sure.
I see this other post is also by you, did you get that system bled like in those instructions?

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/how-do-you-bleed-a-coolant-on-a-vehicle
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Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 AT 7:31 AM
Tiny
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Okay, here is another update about my vehicle. I took it to the shop that I trusted for many years. He printed out some few pages of instruction how to bleed the cooing system. He also told me that, "if the reservoir still overflow some coolant. Park it right away and do not open the cap. Let it cool for few hours or a day. When engine is completely cool. Open the reservoir cap and listen for a pressure sound. If there is still pressure coming out from the reservoir. It could be a sign of leak head gasket". So I did what he told me to do. I open the reservoir and there are no signs of pressure so I assume I can rule out leak head gasket. It does have new water pump, radiator and thermostat. It looks there is a flaw coming out of the hose just right next to the bleeder. Upper hose is very hot and the thermostat is opening since the lower hose does get hot as well after a while. Fan is working properly as it should. They turn and comes and goes. After I bleed the cooling system (following the instruction that my mechanic gave me). There is heat coming out of the vent (this is during the bleeding process). I took it for a test drive and at first there was a sign of success. Heater was blowing hot air. I turn it off and on and still no changes of the temperature. This was about two to three miles of test drive. This is where it started to give me problems. When I change the temperature to AC and then back to heat. Suddenly the temperature from AC temperature to normal temperature, but no heat. Then the temperature gauge started to pointed out to H. I am not sure what to do. I mean the only that I can think of is changing the heater core. But I am not sure if the heater core is even bad, because there are no signs of failure. I already kicked myself for dishing out money for thermostat, water pump and radiator. When really none of those things are the problem in the first place. Do you have any input that I should check next? Thanks.
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Wednesday, May 30th, 2018 AT 8:37 PM
Tiny
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So basically no change.
Why did you not answer my questions?
I notice you said the heater was off when you were bleeding the air out. The heater should be on hot, so the coolant circulates through the heater core so the air can be bled from it, but you can leave the blower fan off.
Another thing, did you test the radiator cap with a pressure tester or at least install a new cap?
Is there any engine oil heater or anything like that that may be stuck on?
Are you missing any cooling fan shroud?
Are they a lot of leaves or anything blocking the grille?
Are you sure the air conditioner compressor is not accidentally coming on when driving?
How does the engine run, does it run poorly?
Are you using the proper mix of coolant to water?
I would leave the AC off until this overheating stops. If it only overheats when the AC is switched on then perhaps a fan is cooling as much as it should.
But since you did say you have heat then it gets cool, I assume you have the heater on not the AC.
This is puzzling, that is for sure.
I see this other post is also by you, did you get that system bled like in those instructions?
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Thursday, May 31st, 2018 AT 7:39 AM
Tiny
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Oops, sorry about not responding your question. Majority I did everything I could in different ways and suggestion from many experts on how to bleed the vehicle. I did both and left the heater on hot and set the fan to off in my first try and on the second try. Also, it does have a new radiator cap. As far as engine oil heater you mentioned, I am not so sure what exactly that means and how to diagnose as well as how to look for that issue. Cooling fan has no shroud or any problem of turning on. They seem to be fine. The car has been cleanup very well and no signs of trash or leaves around the motor and hoses. About the performance of the vehicle. It runs great and smooth and I have no problems until it starts to overflow around the reservoir and losing heat. As for the coolant I do have a 50/50 water and coolant that I put in to the cooling system. Anyway, summer is practically almost here and it has been very hot lately in Minnesota. So AC is a must for me to have it on. Like I said on my previous post. During the bleeding process the heat does come out from the vent and during my test drive it comes on when I turn the switch off and on, but when I switched it to AC and then but to heat. That is when it gets overflow in the radiator and the heat disappear.
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Thursday, May 31st, 2018 AT 8:10 AM

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