Got gas (at a gas station, you know who you guys are) today and came out to find my car leaking antifreeze. Popped the hood and it was leaking torward the right side where my over flow jug is. My overflow jug was full on the hot level. Threw a hose clamp that i forgot from the motor swap over the edge of the cap of the jug. I wasnt overheating or anything but after the motor cooled down i check the antifreeze level and it was low. traveled about 5 miles down the road to my trans am buddys house where i did some trading in parts and filled up my radiator with fresh water (about 3 cups) Got home and the car threw up the new water into the overflow jug that was full:16suspect Is this normal? the fluid isnt up to the top of the radiator nor can you see it looking into the radiator. The water in the jug was boiling. temp was normal once again.
The overflow tank is used in conjunction with a cap that lets the fluid in the tank get sucked back into the radiatoe as it cools. There are two levels marked on the overflow tank - Cold and Hot. Fill the tamk to the "cold" level and the radiator to completely full. Check to make sure that the overflow tank is properly vented and the hose that goes between the tank and radiator goes to the bottom of the tank. Make sure you have the right cap - it will have two rubber seals.
Do you have a catch can or overflow tank? They act different. Also fill the radiator 3/4" to 1-1/2” from the top. If you fill it more it will find away back out
I thought that with an overflow bottle you ran the radiator completely full. The bottle catches the expansion coolant and returns iit to the radiator as it cools. If a "catch can" is used then you use a different cap and you have to run the radiator level down to the baffle - about 1" low.
Your right, an overflow bottle is designed to keep the rad full regardless of temperature. The bigger the rad the bigger the overflow needed to accept the glycol as it heats and expands. Justin the glycol in the overflow shouldnt be boiling. It may have been air from the rad bubbling the glycol in the overflow but it has to get pretty hot to boil in the overflow.
problem solved? dumped the overflow jug into the radiator and got rid of the rest. Filled the jug up an inch and no boiling or overflowing, guess i had too much
