hello, i am wondering about my coolant system in my 99 sable 3.0 12v autotrans. the upper radiator hose when the system is hot is extremly pressurized so much that i worry it might burst. also no heat comes from heater inside cabin.

also on a lighter note i was wondering if my car has a cabin airfilter. my defroster/heater vents seem to be barely putting out any force even though i can hear the blower working fine and it sounds like it is pushing out more then what comes out of vents.

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You may dealing with a severly neglected cooling system. When was the last time it was flushed? Is that upper hose original? Do you get more air from switching to different heat settings?(vent heater defroster etc)Feel the two heater hoses that enter the pass. side firewall for heat. If your coolant is brown and smells nasty I think we have severe radiator and heater core corrosion. Let me know.

coolant is clean but, i have to have the cap on reseviore tank slightly open to releave pressure or i fear a hose will explode. hoses are not bad or they would have exploded already. i do have an evap fuel not running diagnostics on code reader. and it seems to be damaged since it is tied up with wire and mounting bolts area cracked. i was wondering if it is causing blowback somehow, and pressurizing the radiator. to do that, the head gasket would have to be blown just enough to not notice it in any other way. i do get an exhaust smell when i released the pressure from the radiator tank. not bad smell but more of a condenced exhaust smell. i did have misfires from bad wires and plugs several weeks ago.

thanks for the reply,


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I have fought this same problem for 2 years. I had the rediator flushed twice and back flushed the heater core. I also replaced the water pump and thermostat. I still get water out of the cap when I stop the engine, but it seems to be less since I flushed everything out. Hope this helps
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It may be a stupid ? but have you checked the thermostat? It may be stuck closed. The upper hose that seems to inflate when the engine is hot has just gotten way too hot to many times, and the rubber has become pliable. Next time the car is hot, see if ALL THE HOSES are the same temp to the touch. And what about anything on the instument panel; Re: very hot or cold reading on the temp gauge, or if no gauge, a lit up indicator light. Let me know.

waterpump and therm is new. how do you back flush heatercore without tearing out dash. and i have no gages for temp just dummy lights and none of them went on.temp does rise up and down with applied torque {uphill climbs/ load on motor}.

You will have to disconnect the hoses that are on the right side of the car at the firewall. Place a pressure hose nozzle connected to a water hose in the tubes to the heater core and turn it on high. Let this run to you get clear water and then reverse and flush from the other tube. You may have to get a radiator shop to rot the radiator also. This model radiator comes out form the bottom so I recommend you pay the piper and let them do it. Mine also flushed the heater core for me at no charge. Hopes this helps

Prestone makes a plastic tee that you insert into one of your heater hoses. Just cut, insert tee, and tighten the two small hose clamps (included). It hooks up to your average garden hose to flush out the heater core. Just remember to remove the engine end of the other heater hose. I'm still wondering about the temp of all hoses when the engine is at operating level.

</>@UNSXXX: (reply via PM didn't work):


Has the upper radiator hose been changed? I mean, is it the original one? Reason I'm asking is: I have seen people putting on other hoses, which were not designed to withstand high temperates/pressures.


I would certainly double check the thermostat. Cheaper ones (the ones with the sort of "wax" inside fail very often, especially when hot.


I had a new, a good one, put in mine at one time. It broke (the little metal tab on one side) within a few months. No heat, but hot upper radiator hose.


You should be able to take out/put back inthe thermostat without draining your fluid.


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</>Edited by: 92Mercury

Try running it without the stat and see what happens.Let me know.

I would go ahead and replace the thermostat and the radiator hose. if that doesn't fix the problem, you may have a cylinder head problem.Unless the fan does notcome on when the car gets hotor the water pump isleaking.

thanks for the info on flushing heater core. therm is new and hoses are fine.

My 99 sable is having this same problem. My temp started jumping around, the dial would move up toward H then it would move down toward C, just back and forth while going uphill. I noticed steam and coolant spraying from the plastic recovery tank, and assumed My coolant level was low and that was what caused the temp guage to act wierd. The recovery tank had a small leak so I replaced it along with a new 180 deg thermastat and flushed out the system extremly well. I drove the car around for about 30 minutes everything was fine so I thought it was fixed. Except!! later that evening I test drove it once again, I had driven about 5 miles and heard a thump, I stopped and looked under the hood. The resevoir cap was loose and it had sprayed coolant everywhere. I thought I had left the cap loose. I put some more coolant in it and went back home and let it idle for about 30 minutes everything was fine , the temp didn''t go up or down, the heater worked, no coolant was leaking anywhere. So I went for another test drive, the resevoir cap blew off again, but the temp stayed normal. I stopped, andcut the car off. The fluid was at the top of the reservoir and almost over flowing. I restarted the car and it sucked the fluid back inside the motor. I returned home and let it idle for almost an hour and nothing happened, everything worked fine, heater worked great, and the temp stayed constant.


Sorry for the long post, but this car is driving me nuts. I''m a sub mail carrier and car problems are very stressfull!!!!! ANY IDEAS!!!!!!!

@minnnow

from the sounds of it, the threads on the recovery tank may be shot or the cap is shot. if this is a system like my wife''s where the recovery tank is pressurized (no radiator cap, pressure cap on recovery tank) then you may have gotten a bum tank or cap. the thermostat may also be sticking and causing the coolant to build up on that side of the system and blow the cap.

The system must be pressurized, the recovery tank cap is a 16 lbs psi cap. I hope I''m lucky enough to have bought a bum tank.


I would like to wish everyone here a Merry Christmas!!

yeah... sounds like the threads are crap on the tank or cap.

The guy at the shop says iI have a blown head gasket. He says the reason the cap blows when its driven down the road is that the exhaust gases are going through the blown gasket and putting the extra pressure on system. What is involved in replacing a head gasket? I know the heads probably need to checked for cracks, but will they have to be reworked (what is reworking?) and would this be a good time to replace freeze out plugs? I know I sound like wimp, I can change/replace starters,alt, water pumps/ brakes and stuff like that but I''ve never tried to take an engine apart and put it back together.

ah... that would do it. reworking is making sure the head is not warped and resurfacing the gasket surfaces (cleaning and machining if necessary). This gets the head into a better working condition. You will need a torque wrench that is metered for the range the bolts on your engine need. you may also need numerous sockets/drivers to get at those bolts. If the freeze plugs are not warped (bulging) I wouldn''t worry about them. to replace the head gasket, you also have to replace the intake gasket (if it doesn''t come off cleanly) as well as the valve cover gasket on the head involved AND you will be required to take numerous other things off if they are in the way (wire harnesses, spark plugs, wires, vacuum lines, etc). It is a very involved process. and if you don''t keep absolute track of every nut and bolt, it may not work when it''s put back together (or at least not for very long).

Thats why I''m letting the shopo fix it. Thanks for the replys, there is a lot of helpful info here. Thanks guys!!!!!!

You''re very welcome. We do try our best to help if we know anything about the issues.

this may sound weird but i figured out some of my sable issues with this site (http://www.topspeed.com). some of the comments are good ideas though. I think you need to check the thermostat.