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cloud of steam from reservoir

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Old Jan 6, 2006 | 11:21 PM
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Unhappy cloud of steam from reservoir

While I was driving around for about 40 minutes, I saw steam coming out my hood and “add coolant” light came one. Later, I noticed there was big cloud of steam from my reservoir. Coolant was escaping from the hose which is not connected from radiator cap to the reservoir cap. I added more coolant in later, but problem recurred. It didn’t have this problem before when my filler neck doesn’t have a hole which is not connected to the reservoir. However, after I changed the filler neck, so that I have the advantage of the reservoir, I have this problem. For the jdm egine, Does the reservoir hose connect to the filler neck or elsewhere???? What do you guys think caused the problem???

thanks
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Old Jan 6, 2006 | 11:48 PM
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overheated engine? fried coolant seal... time for a rebuild... that's what i always see...

but i dont know though, my rx7 overheated once... coolant was spilling everywhere... changed a broken coolant hose and filled it up with coolant again and up till now it's running... no rebuilds yet.

ur radiator filler neck doesn't have a hole for the reservoir hose? is the radiator still OE or was it replaced with an aftermarket rad already?

i suggest u check ur coolant hoses for tears. u might have one u can't see...
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Old Jan 7, 2006 | 12:06 AM
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i think it was a JDM engine^^
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Old Jan 7, 2006 | 12:10 AM
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Have you serviced your thermostat lately? It's either that, a broken/leaking coolant line letting out pressure, or a fried coolant seal.
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Old Jan 8, 2006 | 03:01 PM
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do you think my radiator is defective? If yes, how do i check if it is bad?
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Old Jan 8, 2006 | 04:36 PM
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i started the engine today. When the temperature reached to 200 degree, at that point it boiled over the reservoir, and i saw that the radiator fan doesn't come on. Maybe, that caused overheating. What do you guys think???

found the radiator is not defective because it was hot everywhere including all the hoses.
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Old Jan 8, 2006 | 04:46 PM
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if the radiator fan is not working, then get another one or an e-fan...
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Old Jan 10, 2006 | 12:55 PM
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if it is not the fan, should i check the ignition timing, maybe that is way off which caused overheating. How hard is it to replace the coolant seal?
thanks...
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Old Jan 10, 2006 | 01:02 PM
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more than likley not the timming.

Remove your fan, start your engine. Let it warm up a bit, and check the radiator for cool spots. If there are any, it needs to be serviced.

Now, I had put a 87 rad in my 88. Turned out I had "similar" problems. It was the routing of the overflow hose, as well as the filler neck I had. There is a difference in the 87 to 88 models. My mechanic, (Ricks Rotary) pointed it out to me.

Someone else can explain it better than I
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Old Jan 10, 2006 | 08:35 PM
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there wasn't any cool spots on the radiator.
i don't have the radiator cowling(cover), do you think that would cause overheating??
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Old Jan 10, 2006 | 08:42 PM
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Pop your cap off the thermostat neck and see if you have a trail of air bubbles coming out.

Coolant seal. They hard to replace? No but you do have to tear down the engine. Is it an S5 (89-91) engine, could likely be a broken cast iron.

The cowling would not do that in a short time. Or a long time, other than sitting in traffic with the AC kick'n.
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Old Jan 10, 2006 | 09:53 PM
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Originally Posted by ProjectKN
there wasn't any cool spots on the radiator.
i don't have the radiator cowling(cover), do you think that would cause overheating??
Put the cover back on,if you do not have an electric fan--its a must!!!
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Old Jan 10, 2006 | 10:00 PM
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Originally Posted by ProjectKN
there wasn't any cool spots on the radiator.
i don't have the radiator cowling(cover), do you think that would cause overheating??
yes that would do it, your not blowing air on the engine as much as you should its just all going out to the sides of the fan.
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Old Jan 10, 2006 | 10:18 PM
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Yes, put the shroud back on. That makes a big difference.
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Old Jan 11, 2006 | 12:31 AM
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*blinks*

Look at where the radiator is. Look at where the fan is. The stock fan will do NOTHING without the shroud.

-=Russ=-
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Old Jan 13, 2006 | 05:51 PM
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thanks guys, i will put it back on and see the result.
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Old Jan 16, 2006 | 03:38 PM
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first of all, i like to thanks those who had given me advice to help me fix my overheated and other problems. What caused overheating was no shroud. after i installed the shroud, the temperature stayed at around 180 degree until i shut the car. Hopefully, no more overheating. CAn't believe the shroud is that important.

But somehow now, my engine is hard to start; it takes about 5 minutes. my battery is brand new. I will check starter to see good or bad.
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