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Originally Posted by infernosg
Both valid points. What seems to be missing though is any sign of an external leak. I'm not seeing anything from any of the lines; nothing from the radiator and nothing coming out of the "weep hole" on the water pump housing. By "signs" I mean no leaking fluid, no evidence of dried fluid, no steam while running, no coolant smell, etc. Also, if there were a small leak allowing air into the system wouldn't that air just bleed off and stop at some point? The system is pressurized when the car is running so wouldn't that prevent additional air from entering?
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No. There is no check valve in a pinhole leak if it's present. If water gets out when at pressure, air will come in when there isn't. It's basic buoyancy and pressure differentials. The system will suck in air wherever possible as it's less dense and requires less energy to reach equilibrium pressure.
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I'm not sure if I'd say the pressure test "passed". I brought the system up to 15 psi and within 10-20 minutes it had dropped to 14 psi. You would think a perfect system would hold pressure indefinitely.
I still think I'm missing something about the bubbling in the overflow bottle. Something is causing a pressure build-up in excess of 0.9 bar but it's not a constant stream of fluid that's coming out like what would happen with an over-filled system. It's a mostly steady stream of gas, whether it be escaping air pockets (but they never stop), boiled fluid (possibly a result of a stuck thermostat) or exhaust gases I'm not sure. I suppose the only way to tell is to have the system checked for the presence of exhaust hydrocarbons but I don't know where I'd go for that.
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Coolant rarely ever is a constant stream coming out. You'll have some gas, but this is usually just gaseous coolant vapor. If however the system has air when it's coming back in from the reserve tank you have issues.
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I have a new thermostat that is not yet installed and a new radiator, water pump and full set of hoses on the way. Is there any hope that installing all those would rectify the issue? If not, I guess I'm just going to have to tear the engine apart.
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No. What you might be able to do to confirm where your issue is; would be to break the coolant system into sections. Separate the radiator from the engine section and test each section. For instance you can block off one outlet on the water pump and pressurize the other. Check pressure after a few hours. Do the same for the radiator and you'll know which one's holding pressure and which one is not.
If your radiator isn't holding pressure because the brazing is falling apart that might be your issue, but if you haven't noticed leaks with it.... then well... That's what I'd do at least.