Champagne coolant

This section is for technical Q & A
Please try the search function before starting a new thread.
Forum rules
Many subjects will have been discussed before. Please try the search function before starting a new thread.
Check in the Know Your 2 as the information you need may already be there.
Important ! - Please make your topic title as descriptive as possible . titles with just "help" generally dont get as many answers as a title that points to the problem
The forum Administrator has chosen to advise you that this topic is 3 years and 5 months old and that you may wish to begin a new topic or use the search feature to find a similar but newer topic.
User avatar

Topic author
m122794
Posts: 67
Joined: 23/06/16 8:57
Current Model: MK2
Years of MR2 Ownership: 6
MR2's Owned: 1
Real Name: Graham
Gender: Male
Location: Cheltenham
Been thanked: 1 time

Champagne coolant

Post by m122794 »

Hi

I fear I might know the answer but after a spirited trip out in my local Cotswold countryside I seem to have fizzy coolant.
When I got back the overflow bottle was hot and overflowing a little so I turned off the engine and it quickly settled down. I have driven the car a couple of times since and the temp guage now sits at about 2/3 of the way up whereas it normally just gets off cold. Running the car up from cold with the pressure cap off almost immediately makes the coolant overflow with very aerated coolant. Revving it a bit makes the filler neck look like an F1 champagne bottle.
I'm thinking head gasket but is there anything else it might be? The rad is a nearly new aluminium job and looks fine. Compression is 150,175,170,170 so I'm suspecting a blow in cylinder 1?

Any help gratefully received, thanks.


User avatar

peteV6R5
Posts: 2683
Joined: 13/08/07 13:06
Years of MR2 Ownership: 12
MR2's Owned: 2
Real Name: Pete
Gender: Male
Location: Stratford upon Avon
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Champagne coolant

Post by peteV6R5 »

certainly looks like the suspect cylinder has HG issue with what you are describing, get a leakdown test to be 100% sure.
Image
Highland Drive 13/14/15/17/18/19
JAE 07/09/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17
Japfest 09/11/12/13/16/19
Wales runs 14/15/16/17/18
User avatar

jimi
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 5164
Joined: 17/05/04 1:00
Years of MR2 Ownership: 18
MR2's Owned: 1
Gender: Male
Location: Glenrothes: The Kingdom of Fife
Has thanked: 45 times
Been thanked: 116 times
Contact:

Re: Champagne coolant

Post by jimi »

As Pete says you need to do a leak down test to narrow it down, a low compression test could be down to rings or valves and nothing to do with the head gasket.
whereas it normally just gets off cold
This concerns me, everything being normal the gauge should sit just below halfway ( summer or winter), just off of cold would indicate a problem with the cooling system.
My advice would be to bleed the system properly and then see what happens then.
Follow exactly the procedure in this article from step 25 https://www.mr2oc.co.uk/know-your2/mk2/ ... ement.html
Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
Image
User avatar

Topic author
m122794
Posts: 67
Joined: 23/06/16 8:57
Current Model: MK2
Years of MR2 Ownership: 6
MR2's Owned: 1
Real Name: Graham
Gender: Male
Location: Cheltenham
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Champagne coolant

Post by m122794 »

Thanks for the replies...I took the engine out, split it and the head gasket was blowing on Cyl1 hence the low compression. There's a small amount of corrosion in the block face where the leak happened so I need to get it re-faced but the dilemma now is whether its worth going to the expense of stripping and re-boring the block (there's a noticeable step in the top of the bores) and then re-building the bottom end or whether its a better solution to just find a 1mz and put that in. The car is a standard Rev3 sunroof model with replaced sills etc so is it better to keep it standard or is it going to be worthwhile doing the V6 swap?
User avatar

peteV6R5
Posts: 2683
Joined: 13/08/07 13:06
Years of MR2 Ownership: 12
MR2's Owned: 2
Real Name: Pete
Gender: Male
Location: Stratford upon Avon
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Champagne coolant

Post by peteV6R5 »

m122794 wrote: 27/11/20 10:42 Thanks for the replies...I took the engine out, split it and the head gasket was blowing on Cyl1 hence the low compression. There's a small amount of corrosion in the block face where the leak happened so I need to get it re-faced but the dilemma now is whether its worth going to the expense of stripping and re-boring the block (there's a noticeable step in the top of the bores) and then re-building the bottom end or whether its a better solution to just find a 1mz and put that in. The car is a standard Rev3 sunroof model with replaced sills etc so is it better to keep it standard or is it going to be worthwhile doing the V6 swap?
loved my 3VZ V6 so go 1MZ would be my choice
Image
Highland Drive 13/14/15/17/18/19
JAE 07/09/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17
Japfest 09/11/12/13/16/19
Wales runs 14/15/16/17/18

MRHAPPY62
Posts: 1298
Joined: 19/02/12 15:27
Years of MR2 Ownership: 10
MR2's Owned: 3
Real Name: JAMIE
Gender: Male
Location: WEST SUSSEX
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 17 times

Re: Champagne coolant

Post by MRHAPPY62 »

Love my 3vz :D
MK2 3sge Uk sold.
MK3 Chilli red sold.
MK2 Smg Gltd Super Edition now with V6

Quick Reply

   
The forum Administrator has chosen to advise you that this topic is 3 years and 5 months old and that you may wish to begin a new topic or use the search feature to find a similar but newer topic.

Return to “MK2”