i made another post in general tech but didnt get any help the problem im having is when i start my car the rpms shoot up to almost 2000 and wont go down the exhaust smells funny and after about 30 seconds of the car running i noticed a little leak comming from the upper hose but the clamp is tight so i go to take off the cap and coolant comes rushing out and into the catch tank are these things linked the only thing i can think of that could have caused this is me pressure washing the engine, why is there so much pressure in the cooling system and should i drive the car this way to get it to a shop?

 

After reading the post about 6 times (punctuation is nice, isn't it?), and then 4 more while I replied, I think I get it.

Replace the upper radiator hose. If you squeeze it while the engine is cold, I'm sure you will see plenty of cracks. It is also probably ballooned out at the ends, by the clamps.

The cooling system is under pressure, yes. By raising the pressure of the fluid in the system, you increase the boiling point.

 

Hmmmm....................Well, I have to agree and disagree with Stekman. I think you have several problems, though I'm not sure exactly what is wrong due to not enough information. The coolant system doesn't pressurize until it gets hot. Pull the cap off the radiator before you start it and see if it overflows. If it does then you have a head gasket leak sending exhaust gases into the coolant. The funny smell is possibly coolant in the exhaust. I agree it sounds like you need to replace your radiator hose and possibly the thermostat. As far as 2000 rpm, my car does that when it's cold and then settles down. You're in Seattle, so I'm not really concerned about it, it needs to warm up.

 

Pressure test the cooling system. Turn the car off, pop the cap, pump it to the cap pressure rating and watch the gauge. If it drops, you have a leak, and like 89 said, possible head gasket (if you have a detected pressure drop, a compression test on the cylinders would show a cylinder leak). Cylinder compression would then be forced into the cooling system, pressurizing it beyond normal psi. Another check would be to read the plugs; see if any are steam cleaned.

 

I took the car to the shop and they said that the IAC was bad and the TPS had very weak or no signal at idle, and the high pressure when the engine was cold was caused by having a bad cap that would not release pressure when it should around 15 psi.