This heat!! argghh

[g3vtir]

hey guys,

just a quick question, does coolant expand or something? coz i know that my reservoir was filled up to MAX. Since today was really hot, after driving i checked my coolant level because my temp gauge moved up a bit towards HOT.

When i checked the reservoir, it was filled up to the very top of the bottle. and there were heaps of overflow...

can anyone explain this?

[FR33K]

i can hear my radiator bubbling when i turn my car off lol so im guessin that cant be good either :)
actually i think air goes thru the tube and bubbles in the reservior tank..
maybe ur car is doin the same thing

[wynode]

Check your radiator cap. When the engine is cold, the overflow reservoir should be at around the MAX mark.

[Savant]

when things get hotter they expand.

water turns into steam at 100 degrees celcius at sea level. The cooling system is pressurised and, i think, from memory can handle 120 degrees - not too sure on that one. Anyway, point is, when things get hot they expand and the cooling system can get really hot.

[g3vtir]

ok i've checked my cooling system....pretty much a majority of my coolant poured into my reservoir tank....i checked my radiator and it looked empty so i emptied the reservoir back into the radiator until the reservoir was back to the MAX mark...ok im gonna take it for a drive now...


it just seems like there is too much pressure and it pushes everything out of the tube connected to the radiator cap/just below it that goes into the reservoir. but it doesnt seem like it gets sucked back in.....so everything stays there while the radiator has nothing...anyways im gonna drive it around for a bit now.

[Javed]

Your radiator should hold a shitload more than the reservoir... What do you mean you fill the radiator back up with the water from the tank, it holds like 4 litres or whatever and the tank maybe 1l at most.

[edw-R]

when things get hotter they expand.

water turns into steam at 100 degrees celcius at sea level. The cooling system is pressurised and, i think, from memory can handle 120 degrees - not too sure on that one. Anyway, point is, when things get hot they expand and the cooling system can get really hot.Cooling can't handle 120 degrees. The boiling point of honda coolent around 107 degrees. Becareful!!:honda:

[g3vtir]

hmm ok, just to make things clearer...

when i checked my coolant in the radiator, there was none that i could see, but i know there is some in there.

My reservoir however was full to the very top. It was originally filled up to the MAX line but due to yesterday's heat, the radiator must have overflowed into the reservoir.

The thing is, doesnt the radiator suck it back in? coz pretty much the coolant stayed in the reservoir until i had to pour it back into the radiator manually.

[Weq]

yeah ur boiling ur coolant.. take it easy and keep an eye on the gauge.. if it keeps happening get ur cooling system checked out

[en4cer]

Thermostat? water pump?

[DLO01]

hmm ok, just to make things clearer...

when i checked my coolant in the radiator, there was none that i could see, but i know there is some in there.

My reservoir however was full to the very top. It was originally filled up to the MAX line but due to yesterday's heat, the radiator must have overflowed into the reservoir.

The thing is, doesnt the radiator suck it back in? coz pretty much the coolant stayed in the reservoir until i had to pour it back into the radiator manually.

You might have over heated it and this could be due to another problem.
But yeh, the radiator is pressurised and over flows to the reservoir when the engine is warm. And yes it should return to the radiator from the reservoir when the engine is off and cooling down. If the water is staying in the reservoir and you cannot see water in your radiator when the motor has cooled down, your obviously sucking in air as it is cooling down. Your Radiator cap might be dodgy? Theres a air leak somewhere? Still it should not have overheated in the 1st place and I don't know what the problem is there. Hope this helps. :D

[Civic Type R]

ok i have to ask ..
how 'hot' was it in Sydney ?

[DLO01]

From what I heard it was dam hot! 40+ degrees? :p

[FR33K]

yes very hot
the past 2 days have been 41+
:)
luvin it !

[Civic Type R]

mmm 40's - nice beach weather !
chicks in bikinis .. gear shifter too hot to touch ... i can go on.

[g3vtir]

DLO01,

Yeah that's exactly whats happening. Its not getting sucked back in.....so you think it could be the radiator cap?? nothing else?

[DLO01]

DLO01,

Yeah that's exactly whats happening. Its not getting sucked back in.....so you think it could be the radiator cap?? nothing else?

Positive pressure & Negative pressure (vacuume) act differently on seals, so if something seals under positive pressure it may not seal under negative negative pressure & vice cersa.

I reckon give the radiator cap a go, get a new one and see how it goes.

Also the overflow bottle needs to have a vent hole (usually in cap). When the radiator is drawing back water from the bottle air needs to go into the bottle, to fill the space where the water was. Make sure this vent hole is not blocked.

Good luck man!

[jords]

Dont forget that when refilling your radiator you need to 'bleed' the system a little so there is no air in the line. Undo the nipple,this is found usually at the end of the top radiator hose,open it very slowly, whilst the car is running, allow a little coolant to flow out and then after a few seconds tighten the nut.:honda: