Boiling water sound under the hood drivers side

[csd]

I have 2003 pt touring.
Today i drove about 10 min and came to a traffic jam, after about 5 min in the jam, i got the grugling sound under the hood, near the drivers side, the temp started going up, but not to a dangerous point, just 1/4 over the middle on the temp gauge, luckly the traffic jam got away so i kept driving, now air flowing in the rad, temp dropped fast, to test it i parked letting the engine run for a while, hit the gas to get the temp, up and nothing all seems fine.
In other ocasions i've been driving a lot over 3 hrs and in heavy traffic, and no problems, last year this has happend about 4 times, but the temp has never gone up to the red zone, no steam pouring our of the engine, no serious problems, i do sometimes get a bit low in coolant but no badly, checked for leaks , there seems to be no leaks.
My guess would be that is has something to do with the thermostat getting stuck, or the rad fan, or maybe i have air in the system.

I'll check the rad fan with the A/C on
Can someone point out where the thermostat is so i can check it out.
And where do i drain the air from the cooling system?

[CREWZIN]

csd,

Your guesses of thermostat sticking or air in the system could be your problems. If it's air, see what I posted in this thread.

Gurgling sound under hood.....

[csd]

it happend again, so i turned on the A/C temp dropped fast, no problem the temp just made it a bit over de middle mark.
The Rad fan is ok, cause when i got the A/C on temp dropped at once, it has to me a stuck thermostat.
The other thing is that is was low on coolant again i added a lot almost a gallon, there seems to be no apparent leaks, at least i see no dripping, maybe its a small leak not noticeable, that gets evaporated. Now that the coolant level is full, i will track it every week to see it its keeps loosing.
Any suggestions

Another thing, i get the MIL on, when i turn the key to ON, positon, but nothing while driving, i did the error code check and nothing shows up, is this normal

[CREWZIN]

Your car may have a seeping head gasket and/or a cracked cylinder head that is allowing antifreeze into the combustion chamber. At low speeds this would cause a misfire or your car to run rough. A slight amount of coolant in the combustion chamber at higher speeds would not be noticeable. You should have your engine checked for a leaking head gasket.

Yes, the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light) should come on briefly when you turn the key on, but then go out.

[csd]

Thanks for the reply, not good news, at low speeds seems to run a bit rough, very low( 6 mph) speeds,but almost not noticeable, i think almost nothing, could be spark plugs or worn out engine mounts, that makes it shake a little, but, like i say it's very. litte, you need to have a trained ear to hear it.
The funny thing is , that when i bougth the car, it was perfect, this began after 6 months after i made the first oil change, and during that time i never had any overheating problems.
If that was the case, what would you recommned, is the reapir worth it, if i get new parts, or, should i just get rid of the car.
Thanks for your help.

[CREWZIN]

That's really a personal decision. If you don't want to spend any more money, trade it in. If you want to find out what's wrong, a compression check and cylinder leak-down test should tell you the condition of your engine and you can go from there.

Losing as much water as you say, without a noticeable leak is not good news. But it could be something you overlooked like a pin-hole in the radiator hose which is leaking onto a hot engine/exhaust part and evaporating/burning off before it hits the ground.

[csd]

Thanks for your fast reply.
Buying new parts, is not a big issue for me o own and import buissnes and i can get the parts from china for about 100 usd.

Now that you mentioned the last part it can be that as well, i had a very small crash in december that made a hole in the radiator, the dealer changed it and i have a new radiator, since then the problems has been intermitent, the grugling sound, about 4 times, and no serious overheats, the low coolant issue has only happend 2 times, all this in about 7 months.
Any suggestions?

In case i decide to repair it, with new parts, do you have any idea how it might turn out, i heard that cars with this problems after they get fixed, they are never the same anymore.

[CREWZIN]

Originally Posted by csd

In case i decide to repair it, with new parts, do you have any idea how it might turn out, i heard that cars with this problems after they get fixed, they are never the same anymore.

That's depends on (1) what was wrong, (2) what parts were needed to fix it, (3) who fixed it. What you quoted was really in the event of a crash when the frame and major components take a hit.

Beside the compression check, the cylinder head leak down test, you might also do a radiator pressure test, which actually should have been done with the new radiator. That will put pressure on all the hoses besides the radiator.

[csd]

Thanks for your great help.
I 'll check all that you mentioned, i can't be sure on assumptions, i'll take it to the dealer to discard , and see the real problem,
Thanks.

[CREWZIN]

Your welcome. As "Bobs Turbo PT" would say; let us know what happens.

Good luck.