A lot of gas bubbles in coolant, OM603
A lot of gas bubbles in coolant, OM603
Hi!
Things replaced:
- factory fresh #22 cylinder head (about 4000km)
- new 72mm water pump
- smal pulley
- new radiator
everything is as per factory, the only thing missing is the heater pump below the washer fluid reservoir. Car is also fitted with the ventilation-line that bypasses the heater core into the expension tank.
But still - I have constant bubbling in the expension tank... Here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhXTPMxGGo
I let the engine run with heater on full power untill it was hot (a dash above the 80° mark), then I put the cap back on the expansion tank. It takes about 15 minutes (engine hot, idling) for pressure to build up. And pressure does not dissapear over night, when I open the expansion tank next morning, it's still pressurized.
I don't know what to do anymore... But I have a feeling that this is no regular behavior. Cracked block!?!? Leaking heater core!?!? I'm out of ideas, realy. Before I also replace the heater core and the engine block, maybe someone else has some bright idea or maybe this is normal after all!? My n/a OM603 doesn't have the slightest bubble in the expension tank and loses all pressure when cooling down.
Sigh. i hate this engine, but it has cost way too much money to throw it away now...
Thanks for any input!!
Cheers,
Jan
The #22 head has extra steam holes between the cylinders, right? Did the head gasket have these holes?
It's not a leaking heater core. You can get get a "block tester" kit that checks for the presence of hydrocarbons in the cooling system. That would tell you if combustion gasses are getting in there.
Yes & yes, there's only one type of gasket available (in various thicknesses) at MB's.
try purge/bleed , air is trapped somewhere the bubling is the water pump efect, got a similar problem the other day in my 605.
one thing u can be sure the pressure building is not going anywhere!!! after cold , or u may just have a gasket sealing bad wich is not normal.
Coolant level is not changing, though... Which it would if it was trapped air? You would not believe how long & many times I have tried to bleed the coolant system. Also my block has the ventilation hole for water pump impeller area (with correct water pump housing with ventilation of course).
I'll borrow the CO2 tester at work, only thing to make sure... And if it is CO2, this fooking car gets finally scrapped. It's just costing money and still not working or driving. Piece of shit!
The thing is that u mentioned the "RADIATOR" was changed!!! are u familiar with high spots in the cooling system , so coolant does not fill in, just like that.... i had the same problem. despite the factory manual say it will bleed by itself sometimes is does not.
i pray for a negative CO test . u´ll see for sure is somethig smaller that a gasket.
If it pressurizes itself while running, and that pressure doesn't go away after it cools, then you have a combustion leak. The source of the leak is the only thing in question. On mine, it had been overheated and two headbolts had been stretched. Are you sure the torquing was done right? More likely, it could be a head crack, block crack, even a porous casting, or a defective head gasket.
+1.. You can be sure that it is "foreign" gas if it does not go away after water cools down. So go ahead and scrap it.
If there is even a chance of the head bolts not being done correctly I'd check them. You can remove them one at a time, verify that there isn't debris/oil in the hole, and then re-tighten to the first torque round. After all have been checked, retighten by the book. In the situation that you are in, it can't hurt and is really cheap to do.