i have an 86 GXL with an 88 TII swap and i was bleeding the cooling system yesterday after finishing the swap and I was wondering if i have a possible coolant seal failure. No white smoke, it does smoke a tiny bit when idle but it smells like oil/fuel (which is a different concern in itself)

here is the video


what do you guys think?

 

Damn it seems my video with a situation like that is lost from ytube.. cant tell for sure but i think it's ok especially if you dont smell coolant from the exhaust.. just my opinion. But those big bubbles are suspicious.. do they keep coming?

 

this clip was recorded after a complete engine, and radiator drain and refill and about 5 mins of idle with the coolant funnel. i think the big bubbles were coming from air trapped deep inside the engine. I have a temp gauge i need wire up, but i dont think i have the right size thread pitch sensor. if anyone knows the pitch on the coolant drain plug on the drivers side of the block, or that can direct me to a site that has the sensor i need that will fit i would appreciate it. thanks guys

 

The drain plug pitch can be found in threads for installing an aftermarket gauge.I remember distinctly the guys talking about that..and IF my Melon is working right I think it was Clokker who mentioned it or stated it.

 

Then i guess it's okay.. the small bubbles should disappear at some point.. does the coolant flow through the intake? using bac and all that stuff? These places could trap air inside, I noticed it after I removed all the stuff where coolant flow through.

 

Coolant flows not so much "through" as "around" the throttle body and yes, that circuit can be problematic.
Water is pumped from the rear of the waterpump housing, over the BAC (in the form of a ludicrous screwed on sink) and then through the thermowax device on the throttle body before flowing back into the rear iron (or is it rear housing?).
These are small ID bore hoses and there's aluminum and iron components, so corrosion is an issue.

Without knowing the general condition of your car, it's worth noting that while you should inspect this circuit, depending on model, it can require some disassembly. Nothing terribly onerous but you may need some gaskets, vac line and (maybe) water lines (which are molded/specific and not cheap), so be forewarned.

The stock temp sensor is a weird British Pipe Thread but a standard 1/8 NPT seems to work OK.
Heresy I know, but it's worked for me...
There's a 14mm blind plug in the lower front iron that is good if you can gain access (i.e., no AC or PS).
And there's an undrilled mounting pad in the rear of the pump housing that's perfect if you want to go to the trouble of drilling and tapping.

 

Biggest difference is 1/8" BPT is 28 tpi vs 27 tpi for American standard pipe (NPT). Slight difference in the taper size but brass is soft and will, to a certain degree, conform.

 

I don't have ps, ac, or the bac. I routed that coolant plug that's on the rear housing to the back of the water pump just next to the ecu coolant temp switch. my plans are to get a 3/8 NPT to 1/8 NPT brass fitting and use that as my coolant temp gauge. I'm going to see if my guess on the pitch was right. The drain plug I'm referring to is the one on the drivers side front iron just under the spark plugs.

Heres what the fitting i picked up looks like: also i wonder if there is enough contact area on the sensor itself once it tightened. idk