I let the car warm up and the smoke was still present, even after I gutted the cat. When I'm driving the car, the temp gauge stays below the middle which is awesome, I've never felt this comfortable driving this car. On the other hand, if I'm just letting it idle in the driveway, it eventually begins to overheat. I checked the coolant tank and there are indeed bubbles in the tank, but only after it idles for about a minute or two. I am not running any fans because the connector pulled right out of the wires when I went to connect them. I also hear a hissing sound from my passenger head side. Does this mean I didn't install that headgasket properly or is the bolt torque an issue? Thank you in advance.

Fix the fans.  It will overheat without it.

 

Hissing is likely a vacuum leak.  track it down.

 

Smoke, meh......might go away with a good drive and fresh gas.  Might not.....old car could be worn rings.

Hot on the highway = water flow problem, hot in the driveway = airflow problem.

 

Big generality, and there are certainly exceptions, but this idea always gives you a place to start looking.

You are telling us a lot of detail crammed in together.

 

Those bubbles appearing in overflow reservoir - while overheating idling in the driveway ? Do they also appear when temperature is normal and you are cruising the highway?

 

What is the outside air temp while you are doing all this?

 

Any car almost anywhere will get hot idling away without cooling fans to draw air through the radiator

The bubbles are while sitting in the driveway. I'll get the electric fan on asap. And I also replaced the piston rings so I don't think that's the smoke issue.

I'll look for a vacuum leak as well, thanks for the input.

Hot on the highway = water flow problem, hot in the driveway = airflow problem.

 

Big generality, and there are certainly exceptions, but this idea always gives you a place to start looking.

 I've replaced many radiators in multiple vehicles over the years for this issue. Running around town, less airflow. Like you said, there are exceptions. You need to have fans running if you're idling or it will overheat if it sits. If coolant got all the way down to the muffler, there would still be smoke. I've had a few cars that too almost 30 minutes of 2-3k revving to clear out.

Edited April 2, 20188 yr by skishop69

Found the vacuum leak,it was the little elbow of the thermostat housing I forget to connect.

now to fix up the fan.