Hey, I've got a 2002 Sebring Lx sedan. It's been pretty reliable for the most part. I just noticed the coolant was boiling looked around on the internet and it sounds like either my temp gauge (which is at about 25% but usually stays there) or a rad cap needs replacing. Any advice/help on this would be great. Thanks!
This is the first thing I'd check. They go sometimes and are fairly easy to diagnose and repair. Sometimes tapping it a little with a hammer can open it right up.
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Check the overflow, if its full let the car cool down all the way. Next very carefully with a rag open the rad cap and see if the rad is full. If both are full then change the thermostat. If the problem persists you have a leak somewhere thats not allowing the system to pressurize to raise the boiling point.
if it's not that then the thermostat is not hard to replace (at least not on my truck).... just be careful taking the bolts out - i had one break on me and had to get my truck towed to a mechanic (grrrrr)
if that doesn't do it then it could be a lot more serious - so go see a mechanic
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You can run straight water in your radiator. Glycol just prevents it from freezing. What raises the boiling point is the system rising to 14-16 psi as the temperature increases. Hence the explosion of coolant if you open the cap when hot.
You know what, I just drove it to a dealership because I wanted the proper coolant. Dexcool kinda sucks from what I heard and is bad for that particular engine. My coolant was pretty low, hadn't replaced it. I can almost bet thats what it is. Anyone tell me how to replace it properly. I am aware of the 50/50 mix needed.
I kinda suck at mechanics, grew up not learning any and I wish I did. I let the coolant out into a pan right? As far as I've read I'm supposed to add it after and then recap. How do I uncap. Yes I know I suck lol.
Go get it flushed at minute lube. You'll save yourself time, frustration, and getting glycol on your hands. Also if its constantly going down theres a reason for it. The systems shouldnt lose coolant over time.
Could be a head gasket, which engine do you have ? DO NOT overheat it, start warping heads block you'll be sorry.
My car had this problem. Coolant would boil out the overflow, no matter how well I kept it topped up. If you flush and top up the coolant and it still boils out, there could be a head gasket problem in your engine.
No gasket problem. My friend is pretty good with cars amongst other things, and he basically looked at it, and we tried pouring some coolant in. It had air trapped in the lines, so we basically flushed it after he sucked the excess out of there. We then ran the engine and poured it in, and again twice until we could hear the air come out of it.
That sounded kinda raunchy.
So all is well, I will need a full flush and a line cut down eventually, but problem solved for now. Thanks again guys and girls!
You can run straight water in your radiator. Glycol just prevents it from freezing. What raises the boiling point is the system rising to 14-16 psi as the temperature increases. Hence the explosion of coolant if you open the cap when hot.
You can but it's not good. The crap in antifreeze stops the acid values of water and protects the water jackets.
Okay most thermostats stick open for a fail safe feature.
If it is bubbling you have a vacuum leak. Either rad cap or bad hose. That means the pressure in the system is at atmospheric pressure which boils faster that a system under pressure.
Go to an local parts store and rent a pressure tester and BLAMO test it. Rad cap is my bet. Could be a bad radiator and such.
Edit.
I thought for some reason I read Subaru.
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Coolant Boiling: What's up?
