91 VR4 overheating issue... kooky ...

[dudewith91vr4]

after turning this vehicle over for the first time in about 8 weeks and turning it off once it got to a couple of notches short of the red temp zone, i noticed that there was bubbling and a leak from the two bolts that fasten the bottom of the coolant filler neck to the top of the thermostat housing. I can actually hear pressure escaping and see bubbles coming out from underneath the bolts. And of course, once i turn the vehicle off and let it sit, there will be a puddle of coolant on the ground. In fact, there was a leak from that area as soon as i turned the vehicle on from a cold start, as well.. it left a trail of drops going down my driveway.

What is this indicative of.. and could this be the source of my kooky overheating issue? Thanks, as always ..

[GTOJOE]

it's an indication of a bad gasket. Probably has been letting in air and causing your overheating.

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

I believe you have to remove it from that side anyway.

yeah the bolt for it is on the passenger side.

[dudewith91vr4]

gtojoe, do you mean bad filler neck gasket or cross pipe seals?

[GTOJOE]

gtojoe, do you mean bad filler neck gasket or cross pipe seals?

Where ever the leak is coming from. Sounds like the gasket below the filler neck is bad. I would recommend buying a coolant pressure tester. I found heaps of leaks after pressure testing mine. I would remove the filler neck. Replace the gasket then pressure test and see if there are sny other leaks. Common leaks on our cars are the turbo coolant lines. The hoses from the filler neck area that join the hard lines to the turbos. Infact on my car we even found a hole in one of the hard lines.

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[dudewith91vr4]

i gotta ask this, if i haven't already asked.. before i had these issues, i had the timing belt changed on this car... can it skip one tooth and have these overheating issues? it runs okay, but i do hear some missing and a rattle from time to time .. i was thinking time for new plugs, but now i'm thinking maybe it skipped a tooth or the mechanic was inexperienced at this... is there a board member in the las vegas area who can look at this?

[dudewith91vr4]

I'm going away from cooling system issues..the vehicle doesn't leak, no air in the cooling system, the cooling fan comes on when the temp gauge is about 3 notches short of red and then the temp drops back down to about 2 notches above the halfway mark, doesn't push coolant at idle, heater works (albeit when the temp gauge is a couple of notches short of red after a cold start)...

The temp goes up super fast and approaches the red zone when you give it gas (at a stop), I do hear some clicking in the back of the plenum, sounds like maybe injectors.

what do you folks think about it being an ignition/exhaust issue rather than cooling system? no CEL, but i haven't been driving the car, and the battery has been disconnected several times to replace radiator, thermostat, a few hoses, and fix leaks.. replaced filler neck cap and gasket. Background on vehicle is that i had the timing belt and water pump replaced with cheapy ebay parts. It ran excellent for 150 miles or so, afterwards... then it started overheating. Only other cooling related issue i can think of is maybe flushing the cooling system, but that's gonna cost in the 150-200 dollar range, and if it won't fix it, I'm gonna overheat like the car.. lol

is there a way to retard the timing or set it ahead, other than the timing belt.. maybe adjust the throttle position sensor or ignition timing?

replaced cooling fan, temp sensor that screws into thermostat housing, radiator, replaced some clamps and a couple of hoses, did a 1/2arse flush of the heater core (which was clogged a bit) ...

[dudewith91vr4]

okay, looks like there's some coolant dripping into the valley, behind the thermostat housing.. is this the sign of a bad cross pipe seal?... and if so, does anyone have a link to a step by step tutorial? youtube or written ... thanks

[CoopKill]

How many miles on the car, and do you know if/when the 60k Maint. was done?

[dudewith91vr4]

How many miles on the car, and do you know if/when the 60k Maint. was done?

63.5k original ... no idea whether the 60k service was done, i doubt it... I bought it from a dealer auction and had my mechanic replace the timing belt, tensioners, and water pump.