If you have a spare body, you grab a hold of the hose, give it a good squeeze, and have the other body start the engine. If the hose 'pumps up' right away, you have an issue.

 

ok havnt started it yet but when i popped the hood i heard the radiator gurggling checked the overfill and its empty again. No watter on the ground and it couldnt have evaporated. Im gonna pull my dipstick see what my oil looks like before i start it. Im also gonna fill the overflow

 

If it isn't under pressure, top of the radiator as well.

 

ok so I:

checked the dipstick oil is at normal level and looks good.

filled the overflow about halfway then took the cap off and started the motor no geyser.

as i was filling the overflow i noticed i didnt hear any gurggleing and there was no bubbles.

i then got a friend over to start the truck while i held the top hose. I did feel a little pressure but not enough to pump up the hose and it was not solid.

I let the truck get almost up to operating temp. helping it along the way with a few revs still no gurggling or air bubbles and no geyser.

any thoughts?

 

With the cap off...... you should see water circulate when the thermostat opens. Running just water though, that might be an exciting exercise, as the thermostat is close to the boiling point of plain water...... and some of the water will get to that point... thus, the excitement.......

You are evidently losing coolant though... and if it isn't showing up on the ground, its gotta be going somewhere. If the floorboard is dry, then it is getting out the tailpipe, one way or another...... With a mixture in the radiator, if you are burning it, the exhaust will STINK. (and burn your eyes/throat if you get too close.....) It is possible that it is leaking out a freeze plug at the back of the motor, and simply evaporating back there. (it does get a tad warm after all....) A pressure test should show that..... Have you been able to pressure test your cooling system? That would be the next logical step.

 

well im starting to wonder if the PO ever filled the radiator all the way up or not. He was 17 could have not known what he was doing who knows. I just went to top off the radiator and it was full. I added some water to it the other day just enough to get home but it was not full. Could that been my air bubbles? Im just trying to ponder every last thing before i blame the head gasket and make my wallet commit suicide lol

Now how do I go about pressure testing my cooling system/what tools do i need?

 

Cooling system pressure tester..... should be able to beg/borrow/rent one from Advance Auto, Auto Zone, or O'reily's, whichever you have in the area. Easy to use. Takes the place of the radiator cap. Pump it up to about 15lbs, and.... wait.... if it holds pressure, you are golden, if it doesn't, need to find out where the water is going. If there is nothing obvious, pull all of your spark plugs, and crank the motor. (you can disconnect the coil first, to avoid any untoward happenings....) What you are looking for would be water blowing out one of the spark plug holes.

 

in which case if i do see i have a blown head gasket?

ill run this test tomorrow and chime back in with results

 

Either a blown gasket, or a cracked head. (which, unfortunately, is not uncommon for these engines.... **** poor head design from the factory.)

 

oh hell. well i guess in that case id hope for the gasket