xthulhu

First month down and she's starting to act her age!
The other night, I came out to the driveway to find this.


I popped the hood, saw coolant all over the reservoir, popped off my radiator cap, and everything seemed to be sort of okay. It happened again another night but this time my reservoir was about 3/4 full but the radiator was still full. Weird.

This morning, my check engine light came on and I noticed she was running funny. Mind you, I just checked her fluids not even 2 days ago. She started overheating so I blasted the heater and got home asap. Radiator was low, reservoir was full and made a mess again.

I don't know why I didn't pay much attention but isn't there supposed to be a hose at the bottom of this thing that sits in the reservoir??


Other than that, would it be that my thermostat is staying closed? Sorry for the noob questions but I'm just picturing worst case scenario and I've never dealt with this (fuild spitting out of the reservoir) before. Thanks guys.

MR.T

Sounds like you might have a blown head gasket maybe at a cylinder that is pressurizing your cooling system (forcing the fluid to spray out of the reservoir.). I've had this happen on my rover.

First thing, Quit driving it. Now would be the time to take it to the shop and have it pressure tested, or tested for combustion gasses in the coolant. If you continue to mess with it you could easily warp a head or block, due to the fact they're aluminum. Blown head gaskets are funny sometimes, they'll just overheat at really random times, so it can put your motor in a lot of danger.

If you do want to diagnose yourself, be aware that there is a refill/bleed procedure that must be followed or you'll leave air in the system and cause it to overheat.



There's a sticky for it I'm sure. I think billman wrote it, but i personally haven't laid eyes on it.
Just make sure to keep a real close eye on the gauge. Or get something like a scan gauge that tells you the actual temp in degrees.

I'm sure others will chime in with good advice. Good luck with it.

zeroptzero

well the radiator is putting fluid into the overflow tank when hot, but it can' suck it back in when cold as the hose is missing on the lid of the overflow tank. There is supposed to be a hose on it. I don't know the history of your car but it may have an air pocket in the cooling system from a past mod/repair and the system wasn't properly burped.

Read the CEL and see what it tells you, I had a CEL light before related to the cooling system but it was from running too cold, so the thermostat was stuck open.

slalom44

You're missing the hose from your reservoir cap that goes to the bottom of the reservoir. Without it, you're going to overheat.

When a hot engine cools, the coolant contracts in the radiator and engine, sucking coolant from the reservoir and preventing air from getting into the radiator. Since the hose is missing it's pulling air into the radiator, reducing the efficiency of your cooling system.

Replace that hose and keep a close eye on it to make sure you don't have another problem.

MR.T

Yeah, listen to these guys. I missed the whole part about the tube missing, haha.

xthulhu

Tube is in place and there's been no overheating issues. Drove her around all day and kept an eye on things.
Next up is getting the codes from the CEL. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks!