Do you think the thermostat would have cause the leak?

 

If it's stuck closed it could have built up pressure but it isn't likely. Parts go bad all the time, it's part of life unfortunately. Now that you have it topped off again close it up and let it idle. The leak will present itself. If it was a hose you would see fluid gushing out, if it's a slow drip or leak it could very well be the radiator. The bumper is only about a 10 minute removal and it helps trying to pinpoint things with it off and to look around.

 

Thanks man...I'll try this out tomorrow. I hope it isn't anythingbig but I guess thats a reason to upgrade..

 

Alright so I reran the test after taking everything off. I put a little water into the system and let it run for about 5 minutes the radiator fan turned on and I began to see where the leak was. It's basically what I was saying before, the top of the radiator is bubbling water pretty bad and leaking. I checked the upper hose and there's no pressure there at all. I can basically pinch it together. I haven't tried removing the thermostat yet because I see that the fan is initiating so It shouldn't be that. I just want to confirm that "a blown radiator" would be the right diagnosis. Any help is greatly appreciated and thanks for following along with this I've probably saved what a radiator would cost by not taking it to a dealership and letting them diagnose the problem.

 

Must be a pretty big leak if it "is bubbling water pretty bad and leaking" with no pressure in the system. Is it leaking at a seam or what?

 

Yeah man it must have been..I'm trying to make sure thats the only issue before I replace the radiator and it happens again.I'm really not sure why it happened which is the bigger deal.But hopefully someone would know on here what the possible causes could be.And yes it's leaking at the top seam at the pressure bar I think it's called.

 

Morning cry for help!!Can anyone comfirm that this is my issue or is this just a symptom of a bigger problem?

 

don't know I say replace the radiator with a mishimoto and get samco hoses then try again from reading this thread just now that's what I would do my radiator started leaking bad when i changed my hoses for the first time turned out i cracked the top nipple on the bottom so could not see it. I changed to mishimoto and never looked back

 

Yea that's what sounds like the best bet. I'm just want to make sure It's not something else before I buy a 300 radiator not including hoses and It happens again.

 

will not know till you switch it all out to be honest or take it to a evo repair shop of some sort and let them look it over

 

Leak down test. Don't waste money buying parts till u do a test.

It's probably your headgasket.

 

If its cracked at the seams like you say, more than likely excess pressure is what did it and the only way to get excess pressure in your cooling system is blown headgasket.

Compression test, leakdown test first. Regardless you are going to need a new radiator it appears so may as well order that up.

 

You guys think the compression test will tell me why that happened. All I did was install the greddy bov(single spring mod) and the cobb sr intake. I'm not sure if it was an underlying condition that crept up and finally showed itself or if those two changes were a factor. Also, sorry for the noob question but what is the leak down test?

 

A leak down test is like a boost leak test for your engine rather than your intake system. You measure the rate of air loss in each cylinder. It lets you know if there is a problem somewhere, I.E. Blown head gasket at said cylinder, leaky valves, bad rings etc....

Do you have a boost guage. I would be curious to know your boost levels before and after mods. Also is the car on a MBC?

 

A compression test will for sure tell you if the head gasket is gone. There will be a compression drop between the cylinders where the gasket has failed.

From everything you said I feel REAL safe in saying your head gasket is GONE!