over the winter i keep my car at my shop and park it outside in the mornings and pull it in overnite, this morning i had the hood up and i just happened to grap the upper hose and it still had pressure on it, it only ran for 30 seconds last nite when i pulled it in so the pressure is not from heat, im thinking i hurt the head gasket with the 200 shot last season, the car runs fine, doesnt over heat or lose coolant, what could cause the cooling system to hold pressure so long.
im going to take the plugs out and let it sit overnite and see it the pressure goes away, any other ideas would be appreciated

 

Not to sound silly, but since it is winter could it be that the hose was just stiff from the cold. When you say pressure from the hose, do you mean pressure like it is filled with air or water?

 

it has pressure on it like its been running for an hour, when i take the radiator cap off coolant rushes out

 

Does your overflow system work? Could be that the engine boiled some water into the upper hose when you turned the engine off and you have a tight system which keeps the water in the hose and radiator. If you are worried about a head gasket I think someone on this board once suggested to take the cap off and run the engine for a bit and look for bubbles (not the little soda bubbles but ones that continuously bubble out and pop). Do this along with checking the water for oil, or the oil for water in it.

 

its very possible that the thermostat just didnt open cause you only ran it for 30 sec, if it were a head gasket, your rings would of bleed the pressure off. if you are still worried about your heads, buy some block test at napa or oriellys.

 

yea the thermostat has stuck on me before while driving, i think i have another one laying around my shop somewhere im going to throw it in there later on, and ill do the chemical block test later and see what i can come up with

 

i wouldnt worry about the thermostat being stuck, it hast to be up to operating temp to open. just run the car for a while and see if its getting hot.

 

it doesnt go over 200 while driving for the most part but every now and then it will climb in to the red and ill shut it off and pull over and as soon as i do the temp will drop

 

Another thought, what's the pressure rating on your radiator cap?
I know you can get up to 25 or 26 psi. I would also agree the car needs to be warm to see if the t-stat is opening.