I have a 96 sohc, it started "bubbleing" into the over flow for the rad when the engine was shut off, but the heat gague was never near hot. Now its stopped bubbleing and is nowover heating and steaming through the rad cap, ive replaced the rad cap twice to no avail. The service engine soon light is on but I cant pull the codes with the key on off method. Ive also tried ridding it of air locks, but it doesnt seem to have one. Has this happened to anyone else or does anyone know what the problem may be? Your help will be greatley appreciated!

 

Just from what I have read it sounds like a head gasket to me you can take it to most shops and have them check for exaust in the water system also you can smell the rad when the car is running and see if it smells like exaust or if it seems to be bulbbling

 

Like 6.7cummins said have them check it with a presure test to see if its that dreaded head gasket lol and dem bubbles is a sure sign.
They dont take alot of heat for to long so dont wait or you may develope alot more problems than just a bad gasket.

Good luck

 

what color is the coolant? there was a article about the bubbling but im not sure where it was at if i come across it i will post it. sorry i cant help to much at this time but make sure your coolant is toped off maybe try flushing the system

 

I forgot to mention that when I bought the car it was leaking oil quite badly and it was cheaper to install another motor then fix all the leaks, the bubbleing happend with both motors, could it be a bad rad?

 

Is there a technique to getting out a air lock? Also, when the car is starting to get hot it cools right off if i put the heat up on high, does that point to a problem with the thermostat?

 

i had a similar problem not too long ago. long trip back from college. Turns out i had evaporated quite a bit of oil AND coolant, when i noticed my heat guage was rising. like you did, my temp would come down with the heat on. this is normal, because you are pulling heat off of the engine. this isnt necessarily a problem with the thermostat, it actually indicates your thermostat is working (it's detecting a change in temperature ).

i would try the following:
- get a new thermostat first off, it woudlnt hurt and they are under $10. and a new rad cap (if you think you need one)
- if you don't want to neccesarily flush your system (wouldnt hurt anyway), you can top it off with 50/50 mix of coolant and DISTILLED water. can also be bought as premixed 50/50. be sure to top the resevoir off and the radiator if it's needed. if not, im not sure what your problem may be.
- check the oil level, if it's in need, top it off or get a change.
- start your car up and let it come to reg temp. (refer to this as a heat cycle.)
- after your car has had a chance to cool off a bit, remove the rad cap and check the level, if you don't see any loss, im not sure what to tell you. if you do, top it off again (also the resevoir which should not have lost anything.)
- continue the cycle, it took me about 4 heat cycles to get all the air out of the system.

now my oil level is the same (was lost before due to an 800 mile trip in the sun and low coolant) and my coolant never goes down. just try to work all the air out of it like i said. it took me a few heat cycles, but it worked.

hope this helps. if this is not your problem, one of the guys here should be able to point out a bigger (or smaller) problem.

-Zach

 

Thanks, ill try that today

 

had the same thing on my 96, and went through all the checks listed here to no avail, turns out the fins on the bottom of my radiator were GONE, nothing there but the water rails LOL, went to a scrap yard for anoughter ride i was working on for a freaind and lucked out, found a new 2 fan rad in a neon that was wacked in the butt, picked it up for next to nothing