ST205 GT4 too hot?
Discussion
I've got a celica gt4 that I've had since just before christmas so I'm not sure what is normal for it really. But sometimes when I pull up, even after I've let it stand for a few minutes and turn it off I can hear a bubbling noise if i lift the bonnet or crouch near the front end. Is this normal on any car? I took it to a garage before because I thought it was overheating, left it with them and they said there was nothing wrong with it. Then one day when I was giving it the beans and lots of steam started to pour out of the bonnet vent. The expansion tank cap had blown off shooting coolant all over the place. They told me to change the radiator cap and it hasn't happened again. I've only heard the bubbling since I took it to the garage.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
The coolant system on the 3SGTE in your Celica can "kettle" after being turned off. My MR2 Turbo(same engine) does it sometimes after an enthusiastic run. As far as I know its caused by the remaining heat in the turbo continuing to heat the coolant in the pipes feeding it which effectively continues to pump the coolant round as it heats up.
In the MR2 its quite disconcerting as the turbo coolant pipes are almost directly behind your head! This would tally with your bubbling noise as the turbo is at the front end of the Celica's engine bay and about half way up the height of the front end.
If your expansion tank filled but the engine has been fine since you replaced the rad cap it's likely that just the rad cap was faulty.
However, had that happened to me I'd still want to get a sniffer test done to totally rule out any head gasket issues.
Also, was the coolant system properly bled and refilled after replacing the rad cap?
You can easily do the coolant yourself with some time and the right coolant. A sniffer test won't take more than half an hour at a decent garage.
May also be worth throwing a new thermostat on too, just so you know in your mind the coolant and coolant system is 100%.
In the MR2 its quite disconcerting as the turbo coolant pipes are almost directly behind your head! This would tally with your bubbling noise as the turbo is at the front end of the Celica's engine bay and about half way up the height of the front end.
If your expansion tank filled but the engine has been fine since you replaced the rad cap it's likely that just the rad cap was faulty.
However, had that happened to me I'd still want to get a sniffer test done to totally rule out any head gasket issues.
Also, was the coolant system properly bled and refilled after replacing the rad cap?
You can easily do the coolant yourself with some time and the right coolant. A sniffer test won't take more than half an hour at a decent garage.
May also be worth throwing a new thermostat on too, just so you know in your mind the coolant and coolant system is 100%.
Edited by Marf on Thursday 3rd February 09:16
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