[lrscott]

I noticed a chuffing noise after I filled the system back up with coolant. It seems like there is still air in the system but I don't know how to get it out. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much everyone! If you want a detailed overview of what exactly happened, read the essay below lol.

I've gotten the new pump on the truck, flushed the old coolant out. Ran an additive through the radiator and pressure washed the crap out of the condenser with the bumper off and the detached radiator. Filled her with coolant yesterday by filling the reservoir up, the block up through the return hose coming off the top of the engine, and radiator using a hose. Did this to minimize the amount of air that would be in the system initially. Started her up and the coolant in the reservoir went down. I topped it up and then started checking for heat on the hoses. Noticed the heater core wasn't getting hot. Stopped the engine and started blowing in the reservoir with the relief tube plugged and pushed the air out of the heater core. It seemed to work because I now get hot air. The system pressurizes fine, I get heat, and its not overheating. However, I am getting this "chuffing" noise that is only present when the engine reaches operating temperature. Not sure exactly where its coming from, but it sounds like its coming from the lower rear section of the engine. I let it sit over night and noticed the coolant in the reservoir went down considerably. I topped it up and started the engine. Took the truck for a 5 mile drive at 40mph with the a/c on. Temps stayed normal and everything seemed fine. Got back and noticed the chuffing noise again. I let it cool for a bit and then slowly released the pressure at the reservoir and heard some bubbling noises coming from some where (not sure where). I squeezed the radiator hose at the top and it really didn't feel like there was any coolant there... I don't really know what to do and hope you all can help. Sorry for the essay of a post, and thanks in advance!

 

[TheoR]

Even when you blow through the top hose into the expansion tank to prevent air bubbles from getting in the system, the setup in the RR is prone to getting air in there no matter what.

When I did my coolant flush the very first time, It scared the hell out of me as in my case even when I followed the RAVE's instruction, air got into the system and the cooling system acted erratically. In my case, as I did my short drive test to get the engine temp up, as I drove the temp needle would move erratically-Up near the red then down near the middle and repeat many, many times. As I opened the expansion tank cap, which after the drive was virtually empy, I would hear bubble noise. As I took the cap off, I also observed the level of the coolant rise up as well.

So, long story short, I think what you're experiencing is a pretty common symptom. What you have to do is to do a short drive test couple of times, and refill the expansion tank as the level goes down in the tank until the system settles down-that is, until all the air is out of the system.

The cooling system is pressurized, so coolant won't boil under pressure, however, once you open the expansion tank cap, you take away the pressure thus you get the boiling effect. So, in between the drive test, you have to let the car sit awhile until the coolant temp comes down.

Hope this helps

 

[lrscott]

Figured I would give an update. Let it sit overnight again and everything seems normal now, although the chuffing noise is still there but probably unrelated... I found that the bleeding instructions provided by RAVE are inadequate to prevent engine damage and will write a little tutorial on how to do it the PIA, but right way. I ended up using an aftermarket water pump that I am very satisfied with. The pump was from ebay and made by a company in Germany. It only cost 70 bucks so I figured WTH I'll try it out. The after market pump is almost identical to the OEM. It almost looks like they used the same mold. It fit perfectly in place and the quality was the same, or slightly better in my opinion than the OEM. Cooling efficiency has increased with the new pump, but time will tell if it was a good purchase. It was a hot day today, about 90F and the rover stayed at 192 to 195 while driving with the a/c on and did not get above 204 while sitting at idle and the a/c on. It used to hit 210 and the electric fans would kick in to cool it down to 200F. It just sat there at 204 and then 199 and then 204. Thanks again for all your help!

 

[paul.adshead]

Figured I would give an update. Let it sit overnight again and everything seems normal now, although the chuffing noise is still there but probably unrelated... I found that the bleeding instructions provided by RAVE are inadequate to prevent engine damage and will write a little tutorial on how to do it the PIA, but right way. I ended up using an aftermarket water pump that I am very satisfied with. The pump was from ebay and made by a company in Germany. It only cost 70 bucks so I figured WTH I'll try it out. The after market pump is almost identical to the OEM. It almost looks like they used the same mold. It fit perfectly in place and the quality was the same, or slightly better in my opinion than the OEM. Cooling efficiency has increased with the new pump, but time will tell if it was a good purchase. It was a hot day today, about 90F and the rover stayed at 192 to 195 while driving with the a/c on and did not get above 204 while sitting at idle and the a/c on. It used to hit 210 and the electric fans would kick in to cool it down to 200F. It just sat there at 204 and then 199 and then 204. Thanks again for all your help!

Where are you getting your figures from? My gauge just has blue, black and red (- no temperatures).

 

[leftlanetruckin]

Same question as Paul.....

 

[Chris X]

To get figures that accurate I'd have to hazard a guess he's got an aftermarket temp gauge fitted?

Come on lrscott, spill the beans!!

 

[lrscott]

LOL, I have my OBD scanner plugged into it. The temp gauge basically says its overheating after about 20 min of driving which is caused by some dumb ground issue. Sorry I didn't mention that before .

 

[Chris X]

Ah ha! Didn't think of that one - thanks for the tip. What kind of scanner do you use? I lent mine out and it returned non-functional, so I am in the market for a new one. (sorry its a bit off topic).

 

[AMcK]

I lent mine out and it returned non-functional, so I am in the market for a new one. (sorry its a bit off topic).

I use one by Autotap which is a PC based system. You can define different graphs, dials, guages etc to whatever is best to look at for the particular sensor you are intersted in. You can also record this live data while driving and replay the graph to analyse it.

This is the newer version than mine - http://www.autotap.com/

This is the one I have - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/B-B-Elec ... 3656wt_897

 

[lrscott]

I have one like AMcK that is computer based. Except mine cost $12 bucks on ebay , works great too.

 

[Chris X]

Thanks guys! I'll check that out. Looks like it is more functional than the Actron one I am replacing. I have half a dozen laptops and netbooks laying around so I can put one to use.