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Pressure Problem In the Cooling Syatem???

zetecpower

New CEG'er
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Messages
7
While driving one day my lower coolant hose blew and all the coolant leaked out and overheated the car. I replaced the hose and filled it with new coolant.Now my car has a pressure issue in the Upper radiator hose which connects to the thermostat. The hose swells up right where it connects to the thermostat. When i open the cap the swelling goes down and the coolant disapears into the system. I feel like my car is not cooling properly now. It might be because of the air in the system or maybe i blew my head gasket???
Hot air in the vents only blows hot air when i push on the gas while driving and when i let go of the gas to cruise downhill or come to a stop my air cools down alot and blows cold air.
Does anyone have any idea what might cause the problem. Its my only car and i dont understand where the problem is in the system.
 
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i would start with a coolant flush and replace the thermostat. also pull off the hose and make sure nothing somehow got stuck in it.
 
did the flush at sears the other day and replaced the thermostat today and its still doing what i described?
Could air in the system cause that?
 
air in the system should not cause the hose to swell.

does the sweel go away when you shut the car off?
 
I'm just guessing that this hose is wearing out JUST like the other one did and is about to blow. Replace the hose...
 
i dont think the hose wearing out bc its been replaced about a year ago plus there shouldnt be so much pressure in the system bc coolant flow is about 10-15psi and its not powerfull enough to swell up thick rubber hose. I noticed that the reason it swells up is because there is no coolant there but a steam from the hot engine that just building up more and more. When i turn the engine off the swelling does down but after a while. But if i open cap on the reservoiar the swelling does down very fast.
 
Is coolant cycling through the engine? It's possible the water pump isn't working, although that isn't common whatsoever on the Zetec. Took mine out cuz the gasket was leaking and it turned better than the new one I put in :shrug:
 
remove all the air from the cooling system and see if the hose continues to bulg.

also check that your thermostat isnt stuck closed.
 
How do you remove air from the system the proper way?
By the way my car woudlnt start today
 
Could also be a bad heater core. My ex had a bad heater core, and her car did the same exact thing as you're describing.
 
I doubt that the heater core is bad because it still blows hot air through it when i drive it with foot on the pedal.
This morning my car did not start at all, seems like my spark pluggs are drowned in gas or wet from condensation. Might open them up and dry them on stove for a bit then try again and see how it goes
 
id still try to bypass your heater core, if possible. If someone says they've had this exact problem its worth looking into. IMO

i personally have no idea what else it could be other then a water pump problem. the system doesn't seem that complex, even in my short time working on cars.
 
Before you go doing anything crazy or expensive, replace your radiator cap (actually a misnomer- it's on the reservoir bottle) and that hose again. If pressure were building up to the point of swelling a GOOD hose, the cap should vent it out.

Do that and see what happens.
 
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