What the hell is happening in my coolant system?!
09-03-13, 01:50 PM
#1
What the hell is happening in my coolant system?!
A little background:
Car is NA.
less than 20k on motor.
Temp readings are taken via upper radiator hose adapter, and aftermarket gauge.
Ambient temp in my area is around 80-85 f.
My car usually runs at 86-88* C.
Okay so the other day I drove about 5 miles to the mall, the car reached full operating temp during the drive, but shortly after, dropped a few degrees.. When I popped the hood, the upper hose was swollen, and when I removed the rad. cap coolant gushed out slightly(maybe an oz. or 2, very minimal). I drove home after, and the car reached operating temp, but stayed there, and there was no swollen hose.
So today on the way to work, again car reaches operating temp. no problem. But after about 15 minutes of driving, the temp drops from the usual 88* C down to 79* C. Which I can only assume is wrong?? And when I get to work and check the hose it is swollen again, but only VERY VERY slightly. I mean there was HARDLY any pressure in there, but it wasn't as soft as it should have been.
My question is, what the hell is causing this swelling hose, and weird temp fluxuation???
Car is NA.
less than 20k on motor.
Temp readings are taken via upper radiator hose adapter, and aftermarket gauge.
Ambient temp in my area is around 80-85 f.
My car usually runs at 86-88* C.
Okay so the other day I drove about 5 miles to the mall, the car reached full operating temp during the drive, but shortly after, dropped a few degrees.. When I popped the hood, the upper hose was swollen, and when I removed the rad. cap coolant gushed out slightly(maybe an oz. or 2, very minimal). I drove home after, and the car reached operating temp, but stayed there, and there was no swollen hose.
So today on the way to work, again car reaches operating temp. no problem. But after about 15 minutes of driving, the temp drops from the usual 88* C down to 79* C. Which I can only assume is wrong?? And when I get to work and check the hose it is swollen again, but only VERY VERY slightly. I mean there was HARDLY any pressure in there, but it wasn't as soft as it should have been.
My question is, what the hell is causing this swelling hose, and weird temp fluxuation???
09-03-13, 03:53 PM
#2
umm, the hoses are supposed to swell normally. there is supposed to be 10-13psi in the cooling system under normal conditions. if your particular system has not been doing this it usually means that the system is going into vacuum when it cools off, meaning the pressure cap relief is faulty or the hose to the reservoir is blocked up.
pressure in the system raises the boiling point of the coolant, if it's not building pressure properly you may be developing hot spots inside the cooling system even if your coolant temps are not extremely high.
normally if you were to do that scenario you would be rewarded by a face full of steaming hot boiling water, and that does not mean there is a problem.. there are warning labels all over the cooling system for this reason.
pressure in the system raises the boiling point of the coolant, if it's not building pressure properly you may be developing hot spots inside the cooling system even if your coolant temps are not extremely high.
normally if you were to do that scenario you would be rewarded by a face full of steaming hot boiling water, and that does not mean there is a problem.. there are warning labels all over the cooling system for this reason.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 09-03-13 at 03:56 PM.
09-03-13, 04:29 PM
#3
umm, the hoses are supposed to swell normally. there is supposed to be 10-13psi in the cooling system under normal conditions. if your particular system has not been doing this it usually means that the system is going into vacuum when it cools off, meaning the pressure cap relief is faulty or the hose to the reservoir is blocked up.
pressure in the system raises the boiling point of the coolant, if it's not building pressure properly you may be developing hot spots inside the cooling system even if your coolant temps are not extremely high.
normally if you were to do that scenario you would be rewarded by a face full of steaming hot boiling water, and that does not mean there is a problem.. there are warning labels all over the cooling system for this reason.
pressure in the system raises the boiling point of the coolant, if it's not building pressure properly you may be developing hot spots inside the cooling system even if your coolant temps are not extremely high.
normally if you were to do that scenario you would be rewarded by a face full of steaming hot boiling water, and that does not mean there is a problem.. there are warning labels all over the cooling system for this reason.
I should have known there would have been confusion, due to the face that I hate writing 56k posts, and not wanting to explain every little detail
Everytime I said "swollen" I meant "above average swollen" hahaha
When I take the cap off and let it run, the coolant kinda just seeps out slowly..
ALSO! I just want to add: Every time I remove the rad cap, I triple wrap a towel around it to avoid a face full of steam hahaha
09-03-13, 04:31 PM
#4
determining the running pressure is difficult by simple feel of the hoses. it can be done but requires a pressure tester on the radiator and run up to full operating temperature.
if it is in fact overpressurizing, you don't want to know the answer as to why it is doing it.
if it is in fact overpressurizing, you don't want to know the answer as to why it is doing it.
09-03-13, 04:43 PM
#5
determining the running pressure is difficult by simple feel of the hoses. it can be done but requires a pressure tester on the radiator and run up to full operating temperature.
if it is in fact overpressurizing, you don't want to know the answer as to why it is doing it.
if it is in fact overpressurizing, you don't want to know the answer as to why it is doing it.
One thing I was thinking though was air bubbles in the coolant system? I installed a new thermostat a little over a month ago, and didn't really spend too much time burping the system..
09-03-13, 04:52 PM
#6
air in the system will compress more readily than liquid will(virtually not at all), so the pressure with air in the system would be lower unless it is constantly being fed in a little at a time.
i would spend a little more time in bleeding the system though and see if the problem remains. be sure you are topping it off from the cap on the engine and not on the radiator.
i would spend a little more time in bleeding the system though and see if the problem remains. be sure you are topping it off from the cap on the engine and not on the radiator.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 09-03-13 at 04:56 PM.
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09-03-13, 06:32 PM
#10
well you can rule out some possibilities with simple questions. is your water temp sender facing straight up and in a spot where it could be reading an air pocket?(bad sender positioning) does the car take longer to warm up than usual?(stuck thermostat in failsafe mode) have you tried replacing the cheap and easy parts like radiator cap first?(faulty cap not purging properly)
09-04-13, 11:44 AM
#11
well you can rule out some possibilities with simple questions. is your water temp sender facing straight up and in a spot where it could be reading an air pocket?(bad sender positioning) does the car take longer to warm up than usual?(stuck thermostat in failsafe mode) have you tried replacing the cheap and easy parts like radiator cap first?(faulty cap not purging properly)
Car warms up normally, but has random temp drops(ALWAYS goes right back to 85-86* C when it's done being stupid)
Rad cap is only about 2.5 months old, but I have been known to destroy those things rather quick, I'll replace it today.
Also, just thought I'd add, I'm likely having some silicon rad hoses dropped off to me later by a company I work closely with(buying them at wholesale cost $26). Should I just source some OE type hoses, or am I better off with these?
09-04-13, 11:48 AM
#12
silicone hoses should last as long as OEM if they are quality silicone parts, not all silicone is created equally, nor are aftermarket radiator hoses.
OEM radiator hoses for example i have seen to last the life of these cars unless they come in contact with a material they do not like, such as transmission fluid or engine oil which the rubber will absorb and weaken the rubber.
samco hoses are the benchmark for silicone radiator hoses.
OEM radiator hoses for example i have seen to last the life of these cars unless they come in contact with a material they do not like, such as transmission fluid or engine oil which the rubber will absorb and weaken the rubber.
samco hoses are the benchmark for silicone radiator hoses.
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