hey yall,

I think Its time to rebuild the engine in my 89 TII. I've been having one problem after another with the cooling system. first it was the thermostat. then the radiator cap. then the heater hose blew off. now I think that one of the coolant seals in the engine has gone. When I start up the car with the radiator cap off I get quite a few bubbles up through the radiator fill tube. also the overflow tank is overflowing. could this be anything other than a coolant seal? or am I well into rebuild land.



Thanks for all the help,

Mont

Every time I have seen the problems you are having (i.e. bubbles up through the

cap) it is time for a rebuild https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub..._DIR#>/sad.png

its possible you have a leak, and theres air in it. might be coolant o rings too

get it done by someone reputable!!! Cant stress that enough. Get examples, references, etc. Don't get screwed like I did.

i heard the 89's all had overheating problems so....unfortuantely its time for a rebuild....

did you ever overheat it? if that answer is yes, then you have the answer to your rebuild question too

If you heard they ALL had problems, here's your first exception - 420,000+ miles and no cooling issues.

420,000 Miles! Whoa ... Did you swap a diesel in there or something lmao just kidding. Good luck to you! Hope you reach a million!!!

that is simply not true.

No I never did overheat it. Thank god. just the bubbles in the coolant and after driving it for a while the add coolant light comes on and I pull over and stop the car. OK so anyone know where a good shop in Colorado is?



-Mont

ok ok ......not all 89's had cooling probs but it was common for that year.....and congrats on the 420,000 miles....anyone see that mercedes commercial when that old couple had one that had a million miles on it??

no

have you checked your heater hose? the one that runs from the firewall to the lower drivers side of the motor, where it connects to the engine, that spot in particular is notorious for failing (oil drips from the filter onto that hose, causing it to degrade quickly) if the clamp there has started to cut through the hose, it can cause a leak, and, allow air bubbles in. not saying it is that, but it is always good to check the cheapest answer first.

The 420,000+ isn’t all on one engine. Engine number two has 50,000 or so. But in the thirteen years I've owned this car, I've never had a cooling issue. The radiator has been replaced, all the hoses (a couple of times), thermostat, a couple of thermostat housings, a couple of water pumps, but those are all consumables - they are supposed to wear out. It’s like tires. No one says “all 89+ have tire issues”. It's part of operating a vehicle.



Mojo, if you borrow a cooling system pressure tester, that may give you some insight as to whether it’s rebuild time. I'd do that first because it's free. If it fails that test, and I couldn't find an external leak, then I'd have a radiator shop perform a CO2 test on the coolant. The CO2 test will tell you for sure whether a coolant seal is gone.

damn.. could u imagine, a million, ur almost half way there, i've never heard of any car hitting that. that'd be crazy

whats the compression? its a quick way to decide if u need a rebuild.