1995 Isuzu Rodeo. Overheating. Changed thermostat and gasket. Radiator cools down. AC and heater work. Hoses look alright. No cracking bubbling minor swelling near connections. What else do I do?

You may have a blown head gasket. Carefully remove the radiator cap not the reservoir cap then start the engine and look for bubbles coming up in the coolant if you see bubbles it's a head gasket. A cylinder leak down test will show you which one. I assume you changed the thermostat. I hop this helps. Take care.

You did not mention the thermostat, which is the second thing to check after making sure the cooling system is full of liquid.

Fill the rad or overflow bottle right to the top and run the engine with no cap on,if you see a constant flow of bubbles your head gasket is leaking or you have a crack somewhere in the cooling system.

possibly heater core.

Hi, it is likely you have an air bubble in the cooling system. Park on an incline, open the radiator cap, run the engine until the thermostat is open, turn the heater on, crack open any/all bleed ports to release any trapped air, and fill the radiator to the neck. Wait until the level stops dropping and make sure bubbles don't continue to come up. If they do, you may have a blown head gasket that will keep forming these bubbles until you change the gasket.
Please let me know if you have any questions and thanks for using Fixya.

hmm try driving with the ac on and see if it over heats if not then the normal cooling fan isnt running as fast as it should and need to be replaced..

If that dont work remove the radiato cover and start the car,, your looking for coolant being pumped out the radiator or a lot of bubbles chances are the cylinder head gasket is cracked or the head itself is cracked in eighter case it will need replacing.. Once you see water being pumped back your sure its one of those problems..

there could also be a blockage in the coolant lines ,, let the car cool overnight remove one of the hose and blow into it,, you should see bubbles in the radiator.. if not there is a blockage on one of the hose,, find it and replace it..

umm...Where do I start? First thing you should have done is to replace the radiator cap. You could then self test the thermostat by placing it into a pot on the stove (Think its supposed to open @ about 195 degrees) If all hoses look good...Check the oil...any discoloration? Bubbles? Is the Oil higher than the 'Full' mark on the stick? This could be an indication of coolant in the crankcase, which frequently means blown head gasket. Oil ok? Check the radiator over flow...Any oil traces inside? you know...that infamous oil rainbow that developes when oil comes in contact with water? If you had a mechanic do all this stuff for you, I am shocked (and dismayed) that he didn't perform a hydrocarbon test on your radiator to see if emissions from the engine are present in your radiator...Over heating can be a great indicator of a cracked block or head...or of a compromised gasket. Its not always so obvious at first, but very obvious once its to late. The gentleman with the air bubble solution, sounds pretty brilliant to me.. This sounds like classic head gasket to me. Any white smoke coming from the tail pipe after warmed up? If so...and vehicle not worth new engine or head job..They have some pretty amazing liquid head gasket repair solutions out there. Lastly...The heater core...When you run the heat, are you smelling 'sweet' radiator odor? Is the defroster actually fogging up your windshield?, if this is the case...You can bypass the core by inserting a coupler between the supply and return hoses...This would stop the over heating...unfortunately it would stop all heating (Inside the vehicle) until it was replaced. Pull your spark plugs...are they fouled? Check cylinder compression...any cylinders low? All this could contribute to your vehicle overheating. Go back to Mechanic and have him pressure test radiator, work from there. All I can think of off hand...Hope this can help you.

The three most likely thing's cause overheating are faulty thermostat,electric fan or clogged radiator. Only at has been overheat so much it boils dry that it will cause engine trouble. Most common problem's are blown cylinder head gasket or a cracked cylinder head.
mixing coolant and water depends on where the gasket has blown or head is cracked. You will first need to check if it actually is overheating. The reason is. If the head is cracked or gasket blown then you can get a false boiling which is compresion from the cylinders blows through the crack in the head or gasket causing the coolant to blow out of the radiator cap.Fill the radiator to the top leave the cap off then start the engine.If the water blows out then you will need to remove the cylinder head check the gasket is ok. If its damaged replace if not get the head checked for crack's. If no water blow's when you start it check the thermostat is working properly. To check the thermostat put it a in a saucepan cover it with water bring the water to the boil. It should open before the water boil's but near boiling-point. If its ok then start the engine again leave it running until it boils and check the fan is running. If that's ok then its radiator problem. Their is no way to check if the radiator is ok you will need to get a new one. One last point. If the cylinder head or gasket are faulty it was caused by overheating so by just fixing the cylinder head problem is not a cure it will overheat again. Check the three things I mentioned at the begining and told you how to check them. Hope this help's. Cheer's

I would go with slowcalafl. It is either air, or a cracked head bad head gasket. Remove the radiator cap when cool. Start up the car and watch for bubble emerging from the coolant. If it continues to bubble, you have a bad head or head gasket. If not, look for improper timing as another possibility.

sounds like you might have a head or head gasket problem, combustion pressure leaking into radiator/cooling system causing pressure build up (hose swelling) the noise could also be from this failure.
get engine warm so hoses swell, turn off engine remove spark plugs leave radiator cap on and pressure from cooling system as is(hoses swollen) wait 5-10 minutes crank over engine with plugs removed and keep clear of spark plug holes, put paper in front of spark plug holes if water comes out of spark plug hole or slight wetting of paper with water head or head gasket is at fault.