Coolant Problem
 

so since i got my car it has seemed to leave a coolant pool under it. so i top it up. now today i took the overflow off and it was completely full. maybe i was just filling the coolant too much and it was leaking out of the overflow i thought

but the add coolant light has come on while i was at the track the other day and while driving to work also. The rad cap(not the fill car) was releaseing at 30lbs so i swapped it for another and the new one is releaseing at a good 16 lbs, the system itself is pressure testing good at around 15lbs but its hard to pump it up higher than that, and Mitchell on demand told me that the cap should release at 16-21.

any insight is appreciated, i am hoping it was just a bad cap and the fact that i was filling to much,

so you verified it is coming out of the overflow right? so it could have been the cap. could be overfilling as well. did you check the ast cap?

also you may want to go through the burping procedure to clear out any air that may be in the system. looks like u know what else it may indicate. good luck

pressure test the system. pump up the reservoir and see if the pressure drops. if it does you have a leak somewhere. Then you can start looking for it either visually or by sound. Or if you're really stuck try a smoke machine.

I had the same problem a few months ago. Changed the thermostat, never had the problem again.

Worse case scenario, a coolant seal failure.

yes i did verify it was coming out of the overflow, and i believe that was the only spot it is coming from. please explain how this could have been caused by the old cap releasing pressure at 30lbs instead of 16lbs(the new one).

also, about the overfilling, what could be a cause for that? as it definatly was overfilled, although i dont know if it was a problem, or jsut me putting to much coolant in.


im not exactly sure what the burping procedure is, i will go search it after this post. but my teacher didnt know either, nor did any of my other college classmates.

i did leave it overnight with the cap off, so hopefully all the air got out through that method

Check coolant caps, check rad hoses, check turbo hoses, do a coolant pressure test. Then check all other coolant hoses.


Its only a leak, shouldnt be too hard to find. IF there is no atmospheric leak, then expect the worst - coolant seal.



=Ben

Normally as the engine cools, a vacuum is formed which sucks coolant out of the overflow. If there's a leak in the system, a hose, gasket or coolant seal, that vacuum is lost and the coolant is stranded. Over time, coolant keeps coming in to the overflow, but isn't drawn out.
Basically, open the filler neck cap and squeeze the upper radiator hose. This often forces...or burps stranded air in the system. Coolant level will fall and you top it off. Sometimes it has to be repeated.

we jsut checked it a little more in depth and my teacher seems convinced taht the problem is a sticky thermostat, the rad stays cool around 16-19 degrees and the overflow fills a little, and then the temps went up on the dash gauge and the light came on while the rad was still cool, meaning taht there is no flow going through the rad because the thermostat isnt opening.

sounds more like you have air in the system.

search for 'burp' for procedure to bleed the air out of the system.

have you read the faq thread stickied in this forum yet?

I already told you what the problem probably is, it JUST happened to me a few months ago. THERMOSTAT!

yea dude, didnt u read my last post? i tested the thermostat and it was sticky and opening to late. new one is in, hope its good now