90 lt250 blows coolant out overflow tube

[shanembrooks]

Hi Guys-

My LT has started blowing steam and dripping coolant out the overflow tube. I changed the rediator cap thinking that the wasn't holding pressure. Didn't fix it. I changed the head gasket with a cometic, thinking that maybe the gsket was allowing pressure to get into the cooling system. Also didn't fix it. I'm not sure what to check now, it doesn't leak, but it loses about a cup everytime I get it warmed up. Also if I put my thumb over the end of the overflow tube it seems to build up pressure.

Any ideas help! I'm not sure where to go with this.....

[rjatv]

Are you 100% sure your not getting coolant into your combustion chamber?

[O.J. Simpson]

sounds like a cracked head. I had the same problem on my trx and it turned out the head had a hair line crack in it. Take the head off and see if you can find a place to magnaflux it.

[nnnon632]

i'd go with cracked head, but don't think the new head gasket works all the time. when i rebuilt my motor i had the same problem, i thought i cracked the head, it was actually the new gasket. i put the old one back on because im cheap, and i dont have leaks right now

[shanembrooks]

I'm pretty sure it's not getting into the chamber, but I couldn't be 100% It seems like pretty much all the coolant I seem to be missing from the radiator comes out the hose though. I'll lose about a cup, and I'll be down to the top of the fins in the radiator. How about a couple more questions?

1. What head gasket is the best, do some seem to work more often than others?

2. Would it be just as cheap to order a new head as to have this one checked out and possibly resurfaced?

I'm not sure what to do, I have the manual, and I have good tools, but I hate to tear this thing down 3 or 4 times! I'd like to get it fixed so I can take it to the sand dunes sometime soon.

[nd4speed]

Why could it not be a blown base gasket? Overheating?

[shanembrooks]

I'm not sure how to check for the base gasket, but I don't think it's overheating, there seems to be plenty of water in the hoses when it's running, so I assume the water pump is working, and the water coming out of the overflow is not hot. It does it pretty much right after I start it up, before it could overheat. If it were the base gasket, would that allow the pressure from the combustion chamber to get into the cooling system? I just don't know enough to know where to start, and I hate to pay to have someone else track it down!

[shanembrooks]

Any other ideas before I tear it apart guys?

[trx]

check the waterpump for misssing fins or worn out spots


is there like a white line that gos into the cylinder from the head
check all rad hoses for cracks or soft spots


or maybe your raditor is thrashed inside

[shanembrooks]

I didn't see any lines, the inside of the cylinder and the top of the piston looked great. The head looked good too, really. The first time I had problems, I was at the Sand dunes last summer and I noticed I was low on coolant, so I topped it off, and didn't think much of it. THen when I got home I changed the coolant, and started it up, bleed it, and it started dripping coolant out the overflow. So I changed the cap, then the head gasket, and still the same. The only thing is it seems to do it way less now that I changed the head gasket. But it still does it.

Is there a good way to check the inside of the radiator? I can see the top of the core which looks ok, but that's it.