Blown head gasket or trapped air ?

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Hello everyone , I have a 03 z06 with 120k on it . Recently I noticed there was a pin hole on top of the overflow tank , which I ended up replacing . Other thing I noticed was car was running hotter then what it used to be .Sitting in garage would go up to 230F then it will go down to 220F . As soon as I start the car I can see bubbling in the coolant tank too . I took it to the dealer and they said it was blown head gasket . I asked them if they did pressure test and they said no it wouldn't do nothing since its internal leak . Not sure if really can believe them yet before I start spending $3000 that they quoted me for . Anyone had similar problems that was it trapped in cooling ?
 
Hello everyone , I have a 03 z06 with 120k on it . Recently I noticed there was a pin hole on top of the overflow tank , which I ended up replacing . Other thing I noticed was car was running hotter then what it used to be .Sitting in garage would go up to 230F then it will go down to 220F . As soon as I start the car I can see bubbling in the coolant tank too . I took it to the dealer and they said it was blown head gasket . I asked them if they did pressure test and they said no it wouldn't do nothing since its internal leak . Not sure if really can believe them yet before I start spending $3000 that they quoted me for . Anyone had similar problems that was it trapped in cooling ?

OK before jumping to worst case scenarios there are a few things you can rule out:

1. Pull any codes out of the ECU (pending or current) - look for P0480, 481 or P1258 - first 2 are regarding cooling fans and last is overheating protection
2. Check if you are actually losing coolant or staying level
3. Rent a pressure tester, run it for a while, if you are losing pressure the system will overheat. Even a small drop in pressure can cause this. There's something called a combustion gas test that's supposed to change colour or something similar but have not tried it.
4. Visually inspect reservoir, T bracket on overflow tank, water pump, rad spout
5. Visually inspect oil for signs of coolant, visually inspect exhaust for whit(ish) smoke, pull a spark plug and check it

It could be a number of things:
1. Bad tstat
2. Clogged rad
3. Pressure drop (leak in system)
4. GASKET is bye bye
5. Coolant fan malfunction

Some are very cheap to fix others a bit more.

So try the easy bits first. Pressure testing the system is a good way to rule out a number of items.

If you even have to pull the heads off to replace the gaskets consider saving yourself a bit of cash and not doing it at a dealer. Also a great opportunity to do some untimely upgrades :) See there's always a positive.
 
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We bought our '05 in 2012. Not knowing the full history, I had the rad flushed and new antifreeze installed. Cheap insurance and peace of mind knowing that everything is fresh in the cooling system. As with the oil, keep the antifreeze and it's anti corrosion inhibitors fresh and there is less chance of problems due to corrosion. Bubbles are usually an indicator of head gasket problems. That sounds like an awful lot of money just to do gaskets. On Friday, we got into slow traffic west of Kingston on 401. We idled along at about 6-7 mph for about four miles. The temperature stayed just under 200 degrees the whole time and went down to where it normally runs once we were back up to highway speed. A good test for an older car.
 
Check and clean your rad first. The bottom air feed tends to pick up lots of road debris.

Did you drain a bunch of coolant when you changed the overflow tank that may have trapped some air?
 
Check and clean your rad first. The bottom air feed tends to pick up lots of road debris.

Did you drain a bunch of coolant when you changed the overflow tank that may have trapped some air?

I cleaned the rad today and there wasn't much of debris in there , it was pretty clean surprisingly .
I lost little bit of coolant when I changed the coolant tank . Once I found out there was pin hole on top that's when I changed it . Not sure if it was bubbling before that because I didn't drive car this year much .
 
We bought our '05 in 2012. Not knowing the full history, I had the rad flushed and new antifreeze installed. Cheap insurance and peace of mind knowing that everything is fresh in the cooling system. As with the oil, keep the antifreeze and it's anti corrosion inhibitors fresh and there is less chance of problems due to corrosion. Bubbles are usually an indicator of head gasket problems. That sounds like an awful lot of money just to do gaskets. On Friday, we got into slow traffic west of Kingston on 401. We idled along at about 6-7 mph for about four miles. The temperature stayed just under 200 degrees the whole time and went down to where it normally runs once we were back up to highway speed. A good test for an older car.


My temperatures are pretty normal when I'm driving . At idling goes up to 230F then goes down to 220 and back to 230 after few min . As for highway it's at 185F to 200 F
 
When you temp is hitting 230, is it hot outside? Pretty typical to see these cars get up to 230.

With the AC on the fans (both) come on at low speed at 185 degrees. They both go to high speed at 194 degrees.
With NO AC running the fans come on at low speed when the coolant reaches 226 degrees. The both go to high speed at 235 degrees.

One thing to check is if you are sitting in traffic and the engine is getting hot, turn on the AC to turn the fans on and see if it brings the coolant temp down.
Also, we have a local mechanic, Steve at Phobia Street who should be able to replace the gaskets for much less than the dealership.
 
I was hitting those temperatures with didn't matter what the outside was . I checked that both fans do come on the right time . Having ac on it does keep it at 220F for a bit then it climbs back on . I will contact Steve . Thanks for your help[/QUOTE]
 
Hello everyone , I will like to update you all and tell you my car is fixed thanks to Steve from Phobia Street Innovation . Car needed head gasket replacement and water pump. .Steve replaced both of those and put in 160 thermostat . Car runs much cooler now , it doesn't go past 196F at idle . Car was fixed in very fast time and price was unbelivable . He's work is top of the line guys , I would highly recommend this place if anyone needs any work on their car .
 
Great news, both getting your car fixed and knowing there is another reliable, and forum sponsor to boot, shop in your area.

Get out there and enjoy that car. Well done.
 


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