You’re driving all day fine and when you arrive at your destination and suddenly you start hearing a bubbling sound when engine is turned off. If you’re like many vehicle owners, your first thought will be something might have gone wrong. Well, it may be a problem or it might be a normal operation.
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Reasons Behind Bubbling Sound When Engine Is Turned Off?
The most common reason behind this issue is your coolant system. Particularly if you have an expansion tank attached to your radiator. When the coolant cools and condenses, it moves into the radiator. However, there’s also the possibility that there is air trapped in the system that can cause your car to overheat. Let’s see the in-depth reasons behind this cause:
Common reasons for this to happen:
1. Inexpert Coolant Service:-
The most common reason for the bubbling sound when engine is turned off is the air that is trapped in your system. That wasn’t bled out properly when your coolant was changed. There are several ways to bleed air from the coolant system, including using a funnel on the radiator attached to a special tool that allows mechanics to run the engine while filling the coolant. There are also bleeder valves located on the coolant lines that let you bleed air out.
2. Blown Head Gasket:-
A blown head gasket can allow exhaust gases to enter the coolant, which becomes trapped in the system and can cause a bubbling or gurgling sound during operation.
3. Air In The Heater Core:-
The car’s heater core uses coolant to provide heat for your cabin. If air makes it into the heater core, you’ll hear a bubbling or gurgling sound from the passenger side, behind the glove box.
4. Low Coolant:-
If your coolant is low, then air moves in to fill the void left by the missing coolant. Again, this creates air pockets in your system, which cause the gurgling sound. Low coolant is generally caused by a leak or several leaks, including from cracked hoses, a leaking water pump gasket, and many other possible locations.
5. Normal Operation:-
As mentioned above, some vehicles have an expansion tank as part of the coolant system, and hearing some bubbling is normal with these types of systems.
Hence, these are some basic reasons behind the bubbling sound when engine is turned off.
How To Fix The Issue Of Bubbling Sound From The Engine?
A car engine can make a variety of noises. Because there are many fluids and mechanical parts which get hot and cold there can be bubbling or gurgling noise which is caused when problems arise. Following are some steps through which you can solve this issue of bubbling sound from your engine properly.
Step 1:-
Check for engine overheating. When an engine runs hot or overheats it can cause a thermal lock in the cooling system which can produce a gurgling or bubbling noise inside the engine radiator. When an engine overheats it can force coolant into the overflow container which can create a bubbling sound. Never check the coolant level until the engine has cooled completely.
Step 2:-
If the fluid level is low it can pull air into the system causing a bubbling sound when the engine is turned off due to the air bubbles in the system. Check the power steering fluid level by locating the fluid reservoir and removing the cap counterclockwise. If the fluid level is down or there is no fluid in the reservoir the system leaks. Inspect and replace a leaking power steering pump or hoses and rack and pinion or box assembly.
Step 3:-
The Air in the heater core can also be caused by an excessive volume of coolant being circulated through the core. The heater core is designed to have restricted coolant flow to minimize these bubbling sounds. To repair this condition a flow re-stricter must be installed on either the core input or outlet hose.
Hence, these are some steps that can help in solving the issue of bubbling sound. The Engine oil is circulated throughout the engine when is running. When the engine is shut off this oil which is located in the cylinder head will drain down and back into the oil pan. This is normal and should not be thought of as a problem.
Conclusion:-
We hope the above-mentioned information about the issue of bubbling sound when engine is turned off will be helpful to all the readers. If anybody’s doubts persist feel free to comment in the comment section below. We’ll try to solve your doubts as soon as possible.