Quote:
Originally Posted by 87tdwagen
I'm late to the party. I believe I read that you replaced the red cap. Did you pressure test the cooling system? While less likely than other items, it is possible that you might have a head gasket issue. Either way, a system pressure test (over a few hours) will help determine if you have a leak somewhere.
Good luck.
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The head gasket/head failing is a possibility that I’ve purposefully not put much thought into for my own sanity.
The car shows no symptoms of a failed head gasket other than running slightly hot. This combined with the big gradient across the radiator, no heat, and air in the top tube point me towards a less serious coolant flow issue.
I did pressure test the system, although my test kit was a bit wonky and didn’t seal great to the expansion tank. Here’s my coolant system pressure test results from page 1:
- Holds 15psi for a few minutes
- Holds 8psi for an hour
- Holds 5psi indefinitely (overnight)
Does that seem normal?
I will not discount the possibility of a head gasket failure however! Is there anything I can do to check for headgasket leaks while I have the cooling system apart? I suppose I could start it for a minute or two and try to observe combustion gasses exiting the cylinder head coolant passage.