New Radiator Gurgling?

[Lizzi]

Hi all,

I've just had a new radiator fitted to my 05 Avensis. (Had a bit of a 'prang' that resulted in a dented rad!)

Just picked it up from the garage that did the repair, and I notice that on start up I get a couple of seconds of gurgling noise from the engine. Seems ok apart from that. Its happend three times now. Should I return it to the garage for them to check it over? Also I see that the coolant bottle is only half full when hot. The Toyota garage I take it to for servicing always have it at the full mark on cold.

Any advice please?

[gazza1286]

I would suggest you still have some air in the system. The coolant bottle would probably have been at the full mark directly after the repair. However at each heat/cool cycle a small amount will have been drawn back into the main system to replace the purged air. Take it back - probably just needs topping up. Also if you run it with the heater full temp for a short while more air will be purged.

I wouldn't just top it up at this stage as you can't be sure of the strength of coolant the garage used - so diluting it may not be wise.

[acetip]

Squeesing the rad hoses can often help clear air locks but dont try it when engine is hot. And as Gary said put heater on max.

[pault38]

Run from cold remove the lid on the expansion tank let it run until fan cuts in. At this point the thermostat should of opened you may well get coolant spurting out the top as your coolant is close to if not boiling, but once the thermostat is open the level will drop. At the same time keep your heater on hot. If you cant get the fan to cut in/thermostat to open its because the outside temp is cold and you may have to build your revs up a little to overcome this ie sit with your foot on the accelerator between 1500/2000 rpm.

A good indicator is your temp gauge. Watch it, it should go up with the temp of the coolant then drop when the thermostat opens.

Once the thermostat has opened top up to the required level.

Or take it back if thats too much hard work.

On a safety note remove the lid of the expansion tank before you start the car. This should only be done when the engine is cold as doing when warm could cause hot coolant to spurt out the top due to pressure in the system.

[dollythesheep]

Had the same problem. "Burp" your cooling system with radiator cap off and coolant reservoir open. For an easy guide see YouTube for quite a few videos of simple instructions like the one attached. Worked superbly for me.Car Maintenance How to Burp Your Car\'s Cooling System - YouTube.wmv

[Lizzi]

Thought you might all like the update to this :

I took it back to the garage that did the radiator fit, as not only was it 'gurgling', with a low coolant level, but some of the plastic engine covers hadn't been replaced. They 'found' the covers and double checked the system, clearing the air lock in the new radiator.

Took it on the motorway a few days ago - gave it some acceleration from the slip road, and 'bang' ; steam coming from the exhust and engine, and the temp. gauge through the roof. On inspecting it after it had cooled, we could see that the bottom radiator hose was off!

A very sharp call to the garage at the beginning of the week - many apologies by them. They took it back to 'double check' everything, and make sure the coolant loss on the motorway hadn't caused any further problems. It's back with me again now - I've been watching the temp gauge and coolant level like a hawk, and all seems fine. However, unless I'm imagining things, I noticed on my way home from work that the blowers seemed a bit cool at 24 degrees. Was blowing hot when I cranked it up to 27, but definately seemed cooler than I remember at 24. - Any ideas what could be causing this?

[pault38]

i think probably the new radiator is doing a better job of cooling your coolant than the old one so you have to turn it up to get the same heat, after all your car heater uses the same coolant as your engine. Is the temp gauge slightly lower than it used to be?

[Konrad C]

Thought you might all like the update to this :

I took it back to the garage that did the radiator fit, as not only was it 'gurgling', with a low coolant level, but some of the plastic engine covers hadn't been replaced. They 'found' the covers and double checked the system, clearing the air lock in the new radiator.

Took it on the motorway a few days ago - gave it some acceleration from the slip road, and 'bang' ; steam coming from the exhust and engine, and the temp. gauge through the roof. On inspecting it after it had cooled, we could see that the bottom radiator hose was off!

A very sharp call to the garage at the beginning of the week - many apologies by them. They took it back to 'double check' everything, and make sure the coolant loss on the motorway hadn't caused any further problems. It's back with me again now - I've been watching the temp gauge and coolant level like a hawk, and all seems fine. However, unless I'm imagining things, I noticed on my way home from work that the blowers seemed a bit cool at 24 degrees. Was blowing hot when I cranked it up to 27, but definately seemed cooler than I remember at 24. - Any ideas what could be causing this?

Lizzi,

The garage demonstrated poor attention to detail twice on your car. Sloppy work and not puttting parts back where they should, demonstrated this.

Lucky for you (or not) it was the cooling system and not the braking or steering!

I hope there are no long lasting damage caused by the incident.

Konrad