alright so i got an 2001 5.3l. been havin issues burping my system. the car doesnt run hot or anything but the waterpump is making popping noises like as if theres air bubbles in it. at the moment i have a ls2 waterpump with no thermostat (was given the waterpump without the thermostat and havent got to buy a thermostat yet). i had a ls1 waterpump that was makin the same noises thats why i put the ls2 one on. anyways ive done the vent hose burp thing, the raise the front of the car thing. i havent hooked up the heater yet.

it was pretty much a super budget build on like no money so everything is used.

heres a vid of the awesome popcorn popping sound its making.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPodrgjyK1I

alright changed waterpumps and still wont burp. when i pull the steam tube off with the car cold it pushes air until steady water, but when i turn the car on nothing but steam comes out. aaaaaaaahhh this is pissing me off.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

the only other thing i would try is the way i used to bleed mine. i would take the steam tube line off and hold it up. just above the intake. then fill with coolant. after i would just start to get some coolant out i would button it up and then run it without a cap on the overflow or radiator in your case. then let it warm up to temp. then install the cap and run till good and hot. then let it cool off and remove the cap to let the air escape. by then i would have to add more then put cap back on and done.


but i have never heard a water pump sound like a knock.

 

i think i tried that too. ive been tryin all sorts of things for the past 2 days. i did find out that when it does start makin that noise and i pull the tab on the radiator cap and it relieves some pressure the sound goes away but i lose coolant

 

That's a good one, never heard that noise before. First thing I would do is get a new radiator cap, I've seen a failing cap cause problems.

I never even burped my car, just filled up the radiator then checked it periodically after driving. But I guess aluminum is more forgiving...

 

You sure it's not the tensioner ?

 

Tried 2 rad caps. Nope not the tensioner. Just hooke it up to hptuners and sitting it got up to 238ish then he told me to cut the car off. Dunno what the hell is up with this thing.

 

I would invest in a new water pump and thermostat. What are your fans set at ? Is he first one turning on?

 

Lookin to get a new waterpump. Fans are on with ignition.

 

waterpump at rock auto is like $80

 

I don't think its the waterpump though. I've tried 2 already.

 

alright tried a couple things today. cut off the little ball tab thing on the thermostat so its just a hole now. pulled the upper radiator hose and filled it up first with the steam tube on then off. did the same with the car running. with the car off itll spit air then straight water, when i turn the car on itll spit and just keep spitting.

maybe cracked block/head, headgasket? the oil looks fine.

heres a video of the car after its been idling for about 10 minutes. have my hose in the radiator and on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdB3DlmmBfE

 

Is the engine full of coolant? Best way to ensure that is to fill the block using the upper rad hose as a filler neck

How is the steam line connected? Is the system getting pressure? How old is the radiator cap? Is it sealing?

 

it should not be spitting at all. there is air in there somehow. when everything is hooked up normal how does the coolant look into the top steam fitting on the radiator just below the cap? what is the temp difference between the top and bottom rad hoses?

 

pulled the upper hose and filled it. steam line is connected to a port off my radiator (stock 3rd gen radiator). i just did a pressure test and found out that i got 2 small leaks in my radiator and that my brand new 18lbs radiator cap only holds 16lbs of pressure and yes the cap is sealing.

i let it run and the upper hose was around 130-135ish and the bottom was 160-165ish with my temp gun.

 

I had fun burping my car aswell 2 weeks ago.But unlike your swap,I drilled and tapped my waterpump for the steam tube and its hooked up to the throttle body and then the steam nipple...for now.I also connected the heater core even though I dont winter drive the car,I like having defog on those spring/fall nights,plus its good insurance of ya start to overheat.

When I first burped it the car wouldnt get very hot even after 50 mins of idling.Was sitting around 190* and couldnt get the fans to turn on.

The second attempt,I filled the upper rad to the pump,then filled the rad,filled the over flow tank at the hot level and started the car again and got to 210* and the thermostat was function and I kept adding more fluid and did this 3 times that I was comfy to drive it around for a few days.

Today I think I got mine fully burped,I started the car up and cranked the heat up on defog and took the car for a decent beating.Got back home and let it cool off.Then checked the fluid and I was down a good amount.At this point Ive never had the factory fan settings come on yet!I have a my old a/c turn on wire hooked up to a relay to trigger the secondary fan also as a safety precaution.I started within a good 15-20 mins with the rad cap off I was seeing 230* and the fan turned on and down went more coolant.I was ready and filled it up before the fan shut back off and capped it.I drove around the block and noticed the temps going back down rather nicely to 200* and popped the hood,both fans were just shutting off.My heater core has never worked soo good lol and the car seems to perform better.

Keep trying to burp it I guess.Seems like these motors can get quite a few air pockets and are not easy to evacuate.Do a full heat cycle too and then let it cool back down,I tend to try and squeeze the rad hoses as the car is warming up and the rad cap off to create some turbulence and for smaller pockets out aswell.Eventually it will be ok.I dont think your parts are bad..but that sound is a new one lol.

 

well ive tried a couple different methods the past 3 days. i lifted the car, squeezed the hoses, drove the car with the cap on the first lock, heat cycled it, but after everything its still pushing air out. i hope not but i think i might have a bad head gasket. goin to get a block tester kit and see what it turns up.

was weird cause it got hot on the freeway but drove fine on the streets.

 

I was told by a few good tuners in my area that these motors do run fairly hot on the highway to help atomize fuel more and for emissions,usually in the 220* and up range.This is normal on a stock tune.

What scares me in that sound your getting lol.Its not in rhythm with anything else as the motor is running.If the head or block are cracked/bad gaskets.You will get signs of it by not..either the oil will change that nasty milky stuff..or white smoke out the tailpipes,you would notice your coolant always going down rapidly aswell,spark plugs would show it aswell if you pull one out.Any loss in power?No engine codes coming up etc?

 

oil looks fine and no smoke out of the exhaust. and its not pissing coolant into the overflow like it would if it was a head gasket.

 

very odd my friend.Well if you have the stock ls1 waterpump,try drilling and tapping it for the steam tube.Maybe the fitting on your rad isnt at a high enough point in the system to function properly.Other than that..maybe you have some fairly clogged cooling passages in the motor itself,might need to flush it out and then try again.

 

hmm maybe ill try that.

ive been searching about flushing and lsx motors "airlocking" and cant seem to get any straight answers.

what would be the proper way to flush this thing?

 

That I have no idea lol,I got lucky and didnt have to end up going that route.

 

I'd look into a bad head gasket. Remember, air can go places where fluids cannot. Might be a one directional leak i.e. a cylinder into coolant passageway. Re-torque the heads just for good measure? Just a thought.

 

True,at your stage..Id try every trick in the book and see if there are changes.Cooling system isnt very complicated so i wouldnt doubt your close to finding the problem and fixing it.

 

i use this tool for all my cooling systems. it uses compressed air. put the cone in the rad top where the cap goes. hook up compressed air to it and close the small valve. push the little button and it will pull a vacuum on the system totally collapsing the hoses. then let go of the button and let it sit for about 5 minutes. if there are no leaks it will not drop. then i fill a 5 gallon bucket with my mix and stick the hose in it. open the valve very slowly and it will suck the coolant in the system. unhook and start the car. after idling and or driving till warm recheck and add about 2 quarts. put the cap back on and done. if i remember correctly it only cost about 60.00

 

i saw someone mention that thing when i was searching for stuff. man that thing is like $100

 

was wondering what would happen if i ran the steam tube to the overflow bottle?

 

yes it is a little expensive. now it only takes me ten minutes to test and fill with no air whatsoever.

 

Ive read that the steam tube must be hooked into a constant coolant point in the system.The overflow tank would only introduce more air than you already have and pretty much kiss the motor goodbye.This is why I drilled the waterpump.Plus its a cleaner look lol

 

but then ill just be shooting steam into the waterpump. im guessing its a headgasket.

 

no,technically when its burped properly its a constant stream of coolant that comes through the steam tube,thats why it would flow through the throttle body etc from factory.If its a head gasket,by now there would be a bigger sign of it.maybe intake gasket not sealing,waterpump gasket.something is getting air where its not supposed to.

 

i know its a constant stream of coolant that is supposed to go through it. intake gasket? thought no coolant goes through the intake on these cars? waterpump gasket is new. i did notice that my my 2 front steam tube gasets are leaking.

 

well takin a second look and i dont even have any gaskets on the crossover. maybe airs getting in from there?

 

did you mention intake gaskets? coolant does not circulate thru the intake.

 

intake gaskets are good but might buy a new set too.

 

the intake has nothing to do with the cooling system at all.

 

i know it doesnt. 86whiteta said "maybe intake gasket not sealing". since ill be pullin it off to put the steam tube gaskets on i think ill put new intake manifold gaskets on while its off.

 

ok but still. the intake gaskets will have to do with running bad and giving a mnap sensor code. nothing to do at all with the cooling system

 

yeah i know that.

 

intake gaskets have nothing to do with the cooling system,but if the steam tube crossovers are leaking on the heads themselves then thats a issue.

 

well i ordered new steam tube gaskets. hopefully thatll fix things.

 

ah 2 waterpumps, 2 thermostats, no thermostat, new steam vent gaskets, flushed, pressure checked, spark plug check, raised car, shook car, drove car and still have air. all i wanna do is drive the damn thing again. aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

if its a headgasket i wanna know so i can start pullin the motor and buying parts.

 

drive it..get on it a bit and keep close attention to the temps.it might just work the air out eventually like mine did.but mine wasnt this much of a hassle.

 

alright so i took the thermostat out to try something and changed the steam vent gaskets. just got back from a 30-45 minute drive. cruised around, floored it a bunch of times, come to a stop and sit in gear, all that stuff except get on the freeway. still making the noise but not as much. ive owned a couple of cars that had blown head gaskets and this one isnt acting like one. i get paid tomorrow so i might just take it to my mechanic and see what he can find..

 

what temperatures is the car running at?

 

i dont really know at the moment but when i had it hooked up to hptuners it got up to 240ish. the aftermarket gauge i installed reads waaaaay off from the computer. after today it sat around 160ish. the sensor is off the drivers side of the waterpump. i didnt have enough room to get the back or the passenger head but i might try and do that this weekend. when it overheated on the freeway it was at like 200-220 on my gauge. i just found out this past friday how off the gauge was.

hptuners was reading 240ish and my gauge was only like reading 180ish maybe. dont remember exactly.

heres where i put the gauge



the gauge:

 

Ii jut thought of something. Would it be cause I only have water in the system that its boiling over? I'm goin to buy coolant tomorrow since I get paid.

 

only times i see guys running just water only in cars is at the track and using a water additive like royal purple.i dont know exactly what it does but i dont think you should be using just water alone at those temps.the water itself is probably boiling before it can even cool the motor down.

 

Yeah that's what I thought. I've been messin with this soo long that I totally forgot. Buyinn coolant after work today and hopefuly hopefully that'll fix it

 

I would flush the system and run purified water and a bottle of dex cool

 

Ewwww. Not a chance Id run that crap in anything. Cant go wrong with the green stuff