ok heres the situation. s4

i just finished getting my car ready for its annual inspection... i had a 3in.. RB midpipe that i replaced with my custom cat (t2 model). i also put in my air pump to hook up all the emissions.

so the first thing that i do is put on the cat, after i do that i take it for a spin and the temp for real hot. i pull it back in and i noticed that there wasnt any heat comming threw the interior vents or the rad. and shortly after i turn off the engine , the coolant hose depressurized

after i put the air pump on the problem presists,,


does the cat have something to do with the engine temps??

is it possible to tighten the water pump to much so that it doesnt work right??

let me know asap!!


please excuse any gaps or incoherencies...its really late

 

Any water leakage?

 

see i thought it might have been the thermostat or the water pump. but the problem only occured after i installed the CAT....weird

 

arrrgh one more thing. i noticed that when i give it a slight rev, its hesitant for a second to go back to idle...which hasnt happened before.

um not that i can see while its running, however when ever i turn it off, it spits out of the overflow like crazy, but i canged that rad cap...

but again i really think that it MIIIGHT have something to do with the emiisions crap : /

 

If this were a piston engine it would be a blown head-gasket.

 

Or you could not answer my question

Anyways, top off the water again. Remove the rad cap and start the car...does water shoot out?

James

 

Was the cat you put on good? Or is it clogged...?

 

Did you install the split air tube?

 

split air tube installed, cat almost brand new, only used twice (500 miles).

and when i take off the rad cap water does seep out of the top but very little.(there are no air bubbles either

 

only leaks when i turn off the engine or let it sit and idle

 

So , with the radiotor cap off and the car running water does not shoot out?

If the answer to that is NO...

I would try replacing your pressure cap.

It might be messed up....allowing water to bypass it and go straight to the bottle as the water heats/expands. And never allowing the coolant system to pressurize.

James

 

no it does over flow when the car isnt even warmed up. and the cap is brand new.

another weird observation is that the radiator is pressurized when its not even hot. AND when ever the engine is at normal temp (acording to the temp gauge) there is heat comming threw the heating vents but when it get hotter, the heat completely goes away.

 

update i went to replace the thermostat thats new (just to see if it fixes anything) and i got alot of brown gew all along the inside of the tube.

this mean anything?

 

Brown goo or milky fluid is typically the sign of leaking oil seals, but you say there is no bubbling???

 

id flush it!

 

Basic cooling system troubleshooting: http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/cooling.htm

That page is the first place to start for any cooling problem. It covers nearly every scenario. Almost sounds like your rad cap is bad...

 

its brown goo. like its that radiator stop leak.

ok, again since i litteraly replaced the rad cap 2 days ago i doubt thats the problem.

-when cold and at idle the water is pumped threw the radiator (when the pressure cap is removed, no air bubbles occur, but the water level does rise without passing threw the engine)

-when just starting the car i have heat inside but when it warms up, the heat completely goes away when i have the heat on full blast - heater hose???

you know what?

screw this i just bought an koyo rad, and its sitting in my garage...im just going to swap it out and change the heater hoses (maybe there clogged) and also change the thermostat....

what i dont get is why all of this would only happen after i put the cat, split air pipe and air pump on... would i be getting to much back pressure???

 

ok, i fixed the problem!


the verdict- incorrect coolant/water mixture clogged and froze the thermostat shut and was difficult to open and replace


THE MORAL OF THE STORY- always make sure you have enough of the right coolant mixture in your system!