Why would an engine "gurgle" only after turning it off (and spill coolant?)

[clare]

As long as it doesn't het over about 210F, forever.

[clare]

As long as it doesn't overheat, there is no danger. I have often driven a LONG ways with a pinhole in a hose, for instance, by simply putting the cap on loose and leaving 1n inch or 2 of headroom in the rad to get home for a repair. All the pressurization does is allow you to run hotter than 210-212F, and keeps the coolant from evaporating.

[clare]

About 225F at .96 bar

[Bram van den Heuvel]

Thanks Clare and Ed, for those numbers (where Ed said 223F which is close enough to 225 that I'll use the 225 figure).

So, with the cap off, the 50:50 coolant boils at 225 degrees. With a pressurized system, Ed says we can go to 250 before boiling. The thermostat has a 180 degree opening point.

If I assume that the coolant is designed to be at around 200 degrees, plus or minus 10 degrees, that means an unpressurized system should work just fine for light loads since the coolant stays below the boiling point of water, at least on average.

I think what was happening was that locally, in hotspots, the coolant was boiling since it was no longer pressurized.

Does that logic make sense?

[clare]

The difference is likely the difference between 50-50 glycol/water and 50-50 commercial antifreeze and water. My number was based on 50% glycol, Ed's number was 50/50 antifreeze/water.

could well be. Could also be air bubbles. Pressure helps both.

[micky]

You can drive as far as you want if you turn it off and let it cool every time it gets hot.

[micky]

Don't you believe what you saw?

If it takes quite a while to get too hot, the water pump is working.

[micky]

Good point. When there's a leak, I think it better not to tighten the cap, so the pressure doens't increase and it forces the coolant out.

[micky]

Is it a pinhole or a hairline crack?. I don't think it can be both.

[Bram van den Heuvel]

Thank you Clare for your helpful hints which I very much am thankful for.

I decided not to risk engine damage. I swallowed my pride to buy a new radiator at the local dealer (for twice what the online charges were).

I was very livid that the new radiator MUST come with the transmission cooler, even though mine is a manual. No choice. The dealer only sells one-size-fits-all radiators which they insist they work as well even though a portion of the radiator is useless.

I replaced the 3 alternator-fan, compressor, & power steering belts.

When I removed the battery to clean it up, I found this rust!

Not knowing what to do, I hosed & brushed & put on naval jelly acid.

What do you suggest to fix the battery acid damage on the painted metal?

[clare]

Clean up well and coat with a polyurethane or epoxy cahssis paint. I like the POR15 product for stuff like that. Being protected from UV under the hood topcoating is not required. Coating it afterwards with a rubberized rocker guard sure wouldn't hurt, and would be better than nothing if you can't find POR15 or equivalent. Even some heavy chassis grease would be better than nothing.

[Bram van den Heuvel]

Thanks for that advice.

I didn't have all the flexibility I would have liked since I had to hitch a ride to get the paint so here's what it looks like before putting the battery back (after filling it with distilled water & charging it while I was working on the vehicle).

At the moment, the radiator is in, and I replaced the 1.5 gallons of red coolant with 1.5 gallons of tap water (for now) until I get the rest of the parts (hoses, thermostat, gasket) so for a few days, the tap water will serve as a "flush" of the system.

I ran two cans of OReillys engine cleaner to get rid of the grease and hosed it all down, and then I noticed that a lot of the vacuum hoses are cracked, so, I just wonder if there is a metric supply of generic vacuum hoses?

OReillys seemed to have only US sizes and the dealer will obviously have the hoses at a hundred times the true cost. But it looks like I should replace them all.

The hoses are about 20 years old so they're past their prime.

Is the only answer the dealer, or is there a way to get good quality generic metric vacuum hoses so that I can do the entire engine bay?

[Bram van den Heuvel]

I didn't want to risk it so I went to the dealer to buy a radiator out of their stock. It's all in now, where I'll have to do the rest of the job when the parts come in later this week (hoses and thermostat and gasket).

Right now, it's got tap water in it, since I'm opening it up later anyway, so this is a "flush" of sorts.

The Toyota guys all say use "red" coolant but I already have "green" concentrate in stock, and when I read the bottles, they all seem to make wild claims at the same time they say they work for all makes of cars.

For example, does an "Asian" engine really need different coolant?

[Ed Pawlowski]

I've not had to change coolant for years so I'm not up on the latest products I did find this though, about Zerex

ZEREX? Asian Vehicle has been designed to meet the requirements of Asian manufacturers, which specify a silicate free HOAT formula with a phosphate additive to protect their cooling systems from rust and corrosion. Available in both red and blue formulas to better match your Asian vehicle?s specific requirements.

FYI: Hybrid Organic Additive Technology HOAT

[clare]

Looks pretty good

The tiny vacuum hoses look pretty good, but the larger hoses are getting pretty rough. Fuel and emission hose is stocked by your local NAPA, likely O'Reily and Ktagen etc as well. Up here, Canadian Tire stocks it

Might get away with cutting back the split ends if the hose is long enough. Another source is auto wreckers - strip hoses from newer vehicles.

Try NAPA since OReilys struck out.

[clare]

Just don't mix them and you should be OK. With the green stuff change evrty 2 or 3 years. The original red is a longer life coolant.

[Tekkie®]

Uncle Monster posted for all of us...

Who are you? Ralph Nader?