08 base 197 k miles now. developed a coolant leak that i found to be coming out of the water pump so replaced that. burped the system, ran great then found out i was losing coolant about 400 miles later only now quite a bit quick. coolant elbows, which were replaced a while ago, were leaking. changed them out. pushin coolant out pretty good still- then noticed quite a bit of pressure in system.
going into catastrophic mode i went to head gasket issue BUT- im not getting clouds of white smoke. and not water in the oil. im not sure but id think the car would throw a code for O2 sensor, running lean, or something to that effect but nope- no codes.
getting out of catastrophic mode and thinking some, i topped off the system and drove with the rad cap loose. it doesnt appear im losing coolant as much.
could all of this just be a failed rad cap? i was thinking of pulling the plugs to see if any show signs of burning water but no clouds of white smoke throw me off
gonna be a couple of days before i can get onto this but thought id pick brains beforehand. reads like head gaskets are rather rare on the series 3 engines and really hope thats not the issue.
any thoughts are greatly appreciated
