Ok guys Im pretty sure I know the answer to this but just to be sure before I go start ripping my engine limb from limb Is there any way an intake especially with a S/C can pressurize your cooling system to the point of popping off the upper radiator Hose. So far I have cleaned out the birds nest in between the radiator and the condensor and changed the thermostat and I know ifs flowing coolant through the radiator.

Little more background info. Changed the thermostat yesterday due to overheating issues while driving and especially running the air. Never overheated completely just got to the 240ish mark and that bothered me. Noticed awhile back the system seemed to have a bit more pressure that I like but figured it was probably due to the thermostat and coolant. Anyway changed it yesterday and was warming it up and watching coolant flow thru the radiator so I added some more and it started coming out of the fill area so i put the cap on it and Put my intake back on from the S/C to the TB and then the pressure started to rise in the uppper radiator hose and it was getting hot pretty fast. THen Kablewy off the upper radiator hose came and My arm now looks nice and red and grey in some places. Now the two may be completely unrelated but figured I would add that.

So any help in this would be appreciated. Pretty sure I have have a leaky head gasket but figure i would ask before i jump to that conclusion.

 

Methinks you are right about the head gasket.

 

Well it looks like i got lucky. Think it was just an air pocker but this weekend im gonna do some pressure checks anyway.

Reattached the upper radiator hose to the thermostat housing this time making sure it was good and tight. Filled the radiator up with water close to just below where the heater hose is connected and left the radiator cap off so i could watch flow. Started it up and turned the heater on then let it run till the thermostat opened this time I left the intake off between the s/c and the tpi. Thermostat opened and fluid dropped some so i added a bit more water and continued to watch it flow. especially till i seen water flowing out of the top flu. Popped the r/c back on then the intake and watched it till the cpu kicked the fans on and continued to check the pressures in the upper hose and it seemed to be ok. Shut the engine down and came back a couple hours later and the fluid from the overflow had dropped from the hot level to the cold level. So hopefully I should be golden this time. Well till i drive it and check how it does with the A/c on. thats where its been heating up the most which was the reason for the thermostat change in the first place. Next to replace the passenger side temp switch so fans will come on sooner. At least till i get the ebl for the computer so i can do some programming.

Anyway figured id give yall some info even though its prolly been said on here a hundred or so times. Oh and look out for pressurized upper radiator hoses. Mine got me good. made me say all kinds of wonderful church praises!! LOL

 

before you go and start changing head gaskets, Have you checked to see that your thermostat is working properly and is opening, Do you have good hose clamps and hoses.. I was always told that if your head gasket is going you should see bubbles in the radiator when it is running.. You can try that also.

 

I had just put a new thermostat in when I had the big pressure problem. Before it was just getting hot after running the air conditioner on the highway. Figured it couldnt hurt to swap out to a 180 thermostat. New Thermostat had the relief valve in it already but i went ahead and drilled some more vent holes in it anyway as I always do. Air pockets are a pain which is what im thinking I had this last time when the blowout occured.

Was reading an article in Hot rod magazine about cooling setups and how when were building these High performance setups the number one thing overlooked is the thermostat. We add bigger radiators and high volume water pumps but then throw in a standard thermostat which restricts all that water instead of spending a couple extra bucks for a high performance/ better flowing one. I myself am guilty of this as thats exactly what I just did so Im thinking if Im still having issues with cooling while running the A/C then thats what im gonna do. is swap to a better thermostat.

 

I don't think I have ever run a thermostat.. I know I am going to get people who state the obvious and say that my car will overheat etc.. It stays about 170 when running and the electric fans rarely ever come on. I have a stock radiator so I don't care as long is it is working. The only problem I ever had was when the head studs were installed, I was getting antifreeze in the heads by the rockers. I put some BLUE DEVIL block sealer in and let her run. The bad thing was, I didn't remove the thermostat like the directions stated.. Got a little warm as it set up the thermostat so, I removed it and it never got hot again, I think last Aug it got upto 190 1 time and the electric fans came on and cooled it right back down. I have them set in the XFI to 190 for the left one and 210 for the right one.

 

When I do this type of repair I always fill the block up. I put coolant back in the opening were the thermostat goes. Then put the thermostat back in.rookie mistake, FORGOT TO LOOK AT DATE STAMP.