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what does this mean foam in radiator remember the rad had been flushed and i have a new water pump too

So what all did you put in your radiator?

you should have only put in a mixture of 50% Distilled water and 50% Coolant like Prestone or Zerex or a store brand of coolant mix. Looks like soap suds to me.

Or your new water pump shaft seal or hose is leaking and the water pump is sucking air into the cooling system. Has the cooling system ever got hot enough to boil all the coolant out the overflow? or are you just making trouble for yourself?

i had the radiator boild and cleaned at a shop ,i installed a new water pump, and i used a 50/50 mix maybe a tad stronger , thats in

thanks

I had this same problem and it was not a air sucking problem. Check the label on the coolant, be sure it does not say, "low Silicon" The silicon in the antifreeze acts as a foam breaker or foam supressent. This is important in non or low presureized coolant systems.
I added a food grade silicon defoamer to my system and I had not have hade a problem since.
Just check out defoamers on the intranet and do some research.

Lets get down to the basics.

You are getting gas mixed into the coolant somehow. Foam is an emulsion containing gas bubbles surrounded by liquid. Without gas there is no foam. So you have to figure out where the gas (can be air, or exhaust gas) is coming from.

Of course air can enter the cooling system from any opening. It can come from the air in the top of the upper radiator tank. However that dissolved air is reduced by the heat generated by the engine. Air is inversely soluble in liquids. Air can be drawn past any opening. Not only can be past the seal on the water pump shaft but also every hose connection. Since air viscosity is a miniscule fraction of the liquid coolant, air can enter when coolant will not leak. Air can (and will) enter by migrating through the hose. Yes there are minute passages in the apparently impenetrable rubber that air can find to move through. The rate of air passage through the rubber is so low that it is not a real factor and is negated by heat of the coolant that acts to push the air back out of the hose. (Don't forget that water vapor can also go through a rubber hose. It will become important when we talk about brake systems and hoses.)

Finally gas (yes air is a mixture of gas) under high pressure is produced by the combustion of gasoline in air. That gas pressure is what provides the power to propel the vehicle and excess gas is exhausted so a fresh charge can be drawn into each cylinder to repeat the process. This combustion gas is contained by a metal surface and gaskets between the metal pieces. Any cracks in the metal surface or gaps between metal pieces can allow gas to migrate or be forced into the cooling system. This exhaust gas can also contribute to the formation of foam.

Your challenge is to identify and eliminate the source of gas. BTW the silicone anti-foam just covers up the problem not eliminates it. It does so by altering the surface tension that keeps the bubbles intact.

Good luck.

This is the end of the science lesson for today.

i am more confused now ,,,i think i will find a radiator and start there i know its only 85% that may be enough to start to run a little hotter , i did play with timing yesterday,by my figuring you can move the dizzy a small amount, most of the car i have played with timing on you could twist the dizzy a large amount ,i am still figurering it out thanks for all the info its a great help

thanks again still at ity

Let me try to help you to understand what causes foam. It is gas that is mixed into the coolant. It is very small bubbles that also trap liquid between and amongst them. Whipped cream is and example of foam or an emulsion. As you beat more air into the cream it makes the bubbles smaller and more like foam. The stuff that comes out of the aerosol can that you lather on your face prior to shaving is an emulsion (foam).

You can work with the radiator and improvements in cooling will likely help some. But I suspect the gas in the tiny bubbles is not water vapor from reduced radiator cooling. Boiling produces large bubbles which don't make a good emulsion. And the bubbles with water vapor (gas) get smaller or disappear when the temperature drops below the boiling point (212 deg. F @ sea level). Yes water vapor can be a component of the gas inside the bubble but the majority is another gas(es).

You might want to find a shop that can test the cooling system for traces of combustion gas.

I am going to flush it realy good ,take the stat out and run water through the system with the bleed port open at bottom of radiator ,,, i would like to take the top hose off and it dump as i am filling ,, i will see if there is a way ,,

Thanks

I have used a special connection on the bottom radiator hose to connect a garden hose to the bottom hose on the radiator (you may be able to rent one from an auto supply store or car dealer) to reverse flush the radiator. I think that you should also flush out the block as much as possible.

Actually you can get a test kit from your local auto parts store. Some may have to order it. It checks the gas in the radiator for CO2. The kits are not that expensive and have enough stuff to test several cooling systems.

i ask advanced auto and they said they didnt have anything, but there is a test kits you can get but it mainly for shops ?? i have looked on line and dint see anything , i flushed the total system 2 times and run a bottle pg peak flush kit through also and i will go back with new anti freeze

thanks

update

i flushed it 2 times completely ,then i started with clean water and i added a bottle peak flush kit ( that's whats in it now ) run the car to town and around a bit stopping at red lights then came home and let it run in drive way while i cleaned it ( 20 min ) and it just got to have way,, could i have had too much antifreeze ? , would being too strong hurt me ?? that's weird.. so i might run it to town this even while we get dinner and see what it does


thanks