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throwing coolant out of the back of the motor?

C

Cruz

New member
so late last week i was driving my car home after about a 30 minute drive going 70mph the whole way. i pull off the interstate and i notice my temp rising and i was going through the drive through and heard some strange (new) grinding sounds and saw my temp spike so i shut it off, then had to drive a little more and it ended up blowing all the coolant out and steaming about a mile down the road. i got water in it and made it home. originally thought it was a hung thermostat but it happened again today, not to the point of steaming hot because i only drove about 10 minutes with a 10 minute break in the middle. it has also been using some oil lately...the car is all stock and at 140,365 miles. i have someone that can help me tear down the motor...i plan to replace those pesky plastic boots, all the other boots, hoses, gaskets, seals, plugs and wires...i plan to possibly build it up some but nothing big at all..anyone have any info on what could be going on? and also what would be a couple small things i can do in the process to make her run better after? really need some hope because i plan to do this teardown as soon as my buddy gets a couple days. thank you!
 


its been splattered everywhere, really haven't been able to locate an exact spot yet. but it has all been on the passenger side between the battery and firewall
 
Cruz said:
its been splattered everywhere, really haven't been able to locate an exact spot yet. but it has all been on the passenger side between the battery and firewall
Click to expand...
upper coolant elbow then. it blows coolant all over the pass side inner fender.
 
i'm looking to tear the block down and replace the upper and lower radiator hoses, heater hose, intake manifold gasket, thermostat, and those little plastic boots...will these work? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DGWAJDW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AYUN1EXO5XQB3
or should i use these? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A1A6PT4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
also how are
NGK 3403 NGK G-Power Platinum Spark Plug TR55GP plugs?
also need to do something about a new sound in the front end when i'm turning, worse when i'm turning into a small incline
thank yall for the help..also had my f250 throw both batteries today, and my cummins fan assembly is going crazy
 


Either of those elbows will work. I used dorman. Stay away from platinum plus in a 3800. Use iridium or copper. Depends on how often you want to do it.


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For what it's worth, RTV on the coolant elbows has caused me problems when using Dorman elbows. I took the belt tensioner back off and replaced the Dorman elbows with GM elbows plus silicone grease instead of RTV. I had to scrub all the RTV out with Scotch-Brite and mineral spirits. I can't tell you for sure whether the problem was the Dorman elbows or the RTV, but I'm not using RTV no more.
 
Just make sure what ever elbows you use. Clean up the holes very well and lube the o rings a lot.


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^ Well, for me it sure helped me slide the elbows in easier. I don't know how you do yours, but I try to slide both elbows in at the same time and then immediately line up the 3 bolts in their holes for the tensioner assembly. If the elbows are clocked right, they'll pull in as the bolts pull the tensioner in. Grease makes all of that go smoothly. For the record, I like using the Dow Corning 111 grease. It's a high viscosity silicone grease that stays where you put it. I apply it to both the elbows as well as the holes they're going into.
 
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Never had to use RTV, clean the holes out good, that's it, done, never a leak other than putting in the elbow and pinching the o-ring, so replaced the o-ring and never a leak. Ever... For $8, it's a maintenance sites if you haven't changed them in say, 50k, swap em out and have no worries.
 
Absolutely no need to rtv the orings on the elbows. The lube helps them slide in and they will not slide out once the tensioner is bolted up.

I've always just lubed the orings with coolant, and the only problem I ever had with the Dorman elbows was when one split on me. Never had a problem with the orings seeping.
 
It's going to depend on the amount of corrosion and pitting the holes have. O-rings won't seal consistently in all situations. The usage of the aluminum elbows we have now will make it worse.

I'm not saying that the elbow will fall out once the bracket is bolted into place, but the elbows can move around. The less they move, the less chance you have for a leak.

Using rtv solves all of these problems.
 
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