Gurgling Sound... Wth!

[ISinNC]

Not sure what the problem is... but my 03 IS is making a strange gurgling noise! It started about three weeks ago and has slowly gotten worse. It seems to do it more when I am on a hill or incline and when I come off the accelerator (I guess because of the angle of the chassis). It sounds as if its coming from directly under the cigarette lighter or just through the firewall there. It definately sounds like air is in a hose or something. I've not experienced any problems, (performance, gauge readings, etc.) and all the fluid levels seem to be ok, except for the tranny fluid which i filled just the other week and the noise hasn't ceased. I'm starting to worry a bit, cause it seems to become more and more prevelent over time. If someone has any idea what this might be, it would be great if you could throw a few suggestions my way. I really don't have much money to be sending the car to a mechanic, nor the time to take to look for the problem myself as I share the car with my wife...

I'd like to know if anyone has had this problem before and knows how to fix it. All help and comments are greatly appreciated.

PS. I'm new to the forum and have enjoyed all of your stories. Hopefully, you other enthusiasts can lend a helping hand.

-Travis

03 Mellinium Metalic Silver IS300 5-Spd

[bartkat]

There's probably air in your cooling system. The noise is probably air going through the heater core. Here's how to fix that.

Step 1: Jack the car up by the front crossbrace behind the oil pan, till the car is up high enough so that the radiator fill point is the highest thing up.

Step 2: Remove the radiator cap, and top off the radiator (they sell radiator fill funnels at autozone that have a stopper plug in them. They're nice to have). If you have the funnel attachment, remove the plug and fill it so that its 1/4 full.

Step 3: Squeeze the lower, and upper radiator hoses to get any air in those out of them. After you cant get any more bubbles out, re-top off the radiator / refill the funnel to 1/4 level.

Step 4: Start the car and let it run. Keep adding coolant as needed. Once the thermostat opens, it'll start to bubble a lot. This is part of the reason why I said leave the funnel only 1/4 full. As the coolant gets hot, it'll also expand, and start to fill the funnel. If you aren't using the funnel, I let it spill out over the radiator for about a minute / 2 minutes, then cap the system and turn the car off.

Step 5: When it starts to bubble a decent amount, shut the car off, and let it cool off (at this point, I pull the cap off the expansion tank that is just behind the radiator, and make sure its at the full mark). If you are doing it without a funnel, just make sure that the expansion tank is at the halfway mark.

Step 6 (funnel only): when the coolant is bubbling not too much anymore I put the plug in the funnel and remove it, and put the cap back on the radiator.

Step 7: Lower the car and drive it around and see how it is. Now that everything is bled and topped off, you might hear *some* air bubbling (not as bad as before), but now that you have the expansion tank filled, it should start pulling any extra coolant it needs from there. After about a week, when the car is cold, check the expansion tank's level, and fill it to the level mark again if needed.

http://my.is/forums/f93/werid-squirting-noise-350200/

[ISinNC]

There's probably air in your cooling system. The noise is probably air going through the heater core. Here's how to fix that.

Step 1: Jack the car up by the front crossbrace behind the oil pan, till the car is up high enough so that the radiator fill point is the highest thing up.

Step 2: Remove the radiator cap, and top off the radiator (they sell radiator fill funnels at autozone that have a stopper plug in them. They're nice to have). If you have the funnel attachment, remove the plug and fill it so that its 1/4 full.

Step 3: Squeeze the lower, and upper radiator hoses to get any air in those out of them. After you cant get any more bubbles out, re-top off the radiator / refill the funnel to 1/4 level.

Step 4: Start the car and let it run. Keep adding coolant as needed. Once the thermostat opens, it'll start to bubble a lot. This is part of the reason why I said leave the funnel only 1/4 full. As the coolant gets hot, it'll also expand, and start to fill the funnel. If you aren't using the funnel, I let it spill out over the radiator for about a minute / 2 minutes, then cap the system and turn the car off.

Step 5: When it starts to bubble a decent amount, shut the car off, and let it cool off (at this point, I pull the cap off the expansion tank that is just behind the radiator, and make sure its at the full mark). If you are doing it without a funnel, just make sure that the expansion tank is at the halfway mark.

Step 6 (funnel only): when the coolant is bubbling not too much anymore I put the plug in the funnel and remove it, and put the cap back on the radiator.

Step 7: Lower the car and drive it around and see how it is. Now that everything is bled and topped off, you might hear *some* air bubbling (not as bad as before), but now that you have the expansion tank filled, it should start pulling any extra coolant it needs from there. After about a week, when the car is cold, check the expansion tank's level, and fill it to the level mark again if needed.

http://my.is/forums/f93/werid-squirting-noise-350200/

I figured that might be the problem, guess since both of us agree, I'll try to attack that first to see if it solves anything... Will get back to you around 2 when the wife returns.

[problem car]

There's probably air in your cooling system. The noise is probably air going through the heater core. Here's how to fix that.

Step 1: Jack the car up by the front crossbrace behind the oil pan, till the car is up high enough so that the radiator fill point is the highest thing up.

Step 2: Remove the radiator cap, and top off the radiator (they sell radiator fill funnels at autozone that have a stopper plug in them. They're nice to have). If you have the funnel attachment, remove the plug and fill it so that its 1/4 full.

Step 3: Squeeze the lower, and upper radiator hoses to get any air in those out of them. After you cant get any more bubbles out, re-top off the radiator / refill the funnel to 1/4 level.

Step 4: Start the car and let it run. Keep adding coolant as needed. Once the thermostat opens, it'll start to bubble a lot. This is part of the reason why I said leave the funnel only 1/4 full. As the coolant gets hot, it'll also expand, and start to fill the funnel. If you aren't using the funnel, I let it spill out over the radiator for about a minute / 2 minutes, then cap the system and turn the car off.

Step 5: When it starts to bubble a decent amount, shut the car off, and let it cool off (at this point, I pull the cap off the expansion tank that is just behind the radiator, and make sure its at the full mark). If you are doing it without a funnel, just make sure that the expansion tank is at the halfway mark.

Step 6 (funnel only): when the coolant is bubbling not too much anymore I put the plug in the funnel and remove it, and put the cap back on the radiator.

Step 7: Lower the car and drive it around and see how it is. Now that everything is bled and topped off, you might hear *some* air bubbling (not as bad as before), but now that you have the expansion tank filled, it should start pulling any extra coolant it needs from there. After about a week, when the car is cold, check the expansion tank's level, and fill it to the level mark again if needed.

http://my.is/forums/f93/werid-squirting-noise-350200/

I figured that might be the problem, guess since both of us agree, I'll try to attack that first to see if it solves anything... Will get back to you around 2 when the wife returns.

wow..im new to the forum and im finding lots of information! i have a 04 lexus and noticed that my car makes a gurgling noise when i first start the engine and the sound seems to be coming from where the cigarette lighter is...i'll have my husband check this out but he probably thinks im just worrying over nothing, but i know when my cars acting wierd. thanks for the info!!!

[smooth1]

Bartkat has helped alot of people. :)

[bartkat]

:D