boiling over

T

T man

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To make a long story short-my coolant keeps over-flowing out of the reservoir.


It started on idle, the car would spontaneously spit all of its coolant out of the reservoir while i was venting the air (in the cabin).

So i filled it incorrectly, and it happens again. It basically spits out ALL the coolant i put in it.

Today i got home with 3 gallons of 50/50 prestone antifreeze. Filled it up at the cross-over tube and the reservoir started filling as i was doing this. It took a little over 2 gallons.

Test drive! Drove good, came back to check for leaks-found none.

Test drive again! Stomped first gear hit second and temp skyrocketed... Popped the hood and waited for it to cool, got back into my spot (litterally 10 seconds away).

The end result... All the coolant leaked out again from the reservoir cap! This is a new cap too.

What gives???
 
when tiffs car did this...after loaning it to a family member..
we replaced everything cooling system related
cap, resevoiur, thermostat, crossover tube Orings and radiator.

turns out...in the end it was a headgasket blown when the car was borrowed.
car got hot, they didnt notice until...it STOPPED/DIED.
 
If you find out that you have a blown head gasket, there is a chemical out there that some mechanics use that actually work to seal up the head gasket without pulling the head off. Apparently, this chemical is only available to repair shops.

The chemical cost is around $80, and there is a quite involved process to use the product, but if it works, it will save you some major bucks. Wendy's son had this done to his 94 v6 Mustang that blew a head gasket due to a coolant leak from a bad heater core, and he has been driving the wheels off the car since the repair. I had my doubts all along, but it seems to actually work. :)
 
mlschultz said:
If you find out that you have a blown head gasket, there is a chemical out there that some mechanics use that actually work to seal up the head gasket without pulling the head off. Apparently, this chemical is only available to repair shops.

The chemical cost is around $80, and there is a quite involved process to use the product, but if it works, it will save you some major bucks. Wendy's son had this done to his 94 v6 Mustang that blew a head gasket due to a coolant leak from a bad heater core, and he has been driving the wheels off the car since the repair. I had my doubts all along, but it seems to actually work. :)
Click to expand...

Actually you can get it pretty much anywhere, Bar's Stop Leak I believe it’s called. I put it in our '93 Lumina van 3.1L and it help up for a year until the engine was replaced, and a friend of mine has put it in her Explorer Sport Trac 3.0L about 4 months ago and it's still holding.
Oh and it’s like $10 at the store :)
Reminds me of Tires Plus' "Fuel system treatment" which they will charge you $80 and consists entirely of one (1) bottle of STP fuel system cleaner available at your local parts store for less than $7.
 
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calisonic said:
Actually you can get it pretty much anywhere, Bar's Stop Leak I believe it’s called. I put it in our '93 Lumina van 3.1L and it help up for a year until the engine was replaced, and a friend of mine has put it in her Explorer Sport Trac 3.0L about 4 months ago and it's still holding.
Oh and it’s like $10 at the store :)
Reminds me of Tires Plus' "Fuel system treatment" which they will charge you $80 and consists entirely of one (1) bottle of STP fuel system cleaner available at your local parts store for less than $7.
Click to expand...

Sounds about right to me.

I replaced the head gasket on a 3.8 V6 same as on that mustang. I doubt this had anything to do with the "heater core" the design of those head gaskets is just flawed.
 
And the "Involved process" the shop told you is probably just a coolant flush/cleaning if nessisary, adding the chemical, and running the enigine for a while. I'm sure it's all on the bottle.
 
I am with you guys, but this mechanic said this stuff is not for retail sale, and it actually costs $80 for a one engine treatment can. Is there a mechanic by trade out there that has heard of this stuff?
 
I would NOT use the Barr's Stop Leak!!!!! It'll gum up your rad and the heater rad too! Then, after it does stop the leak and you think you are safe, it'll let go and now you have to replace the radiators too.... it seems to block them up real good!

This stuff has been around for ages....and I've never heard a good outcome from using it.
 
maxmk8 said:
I doubt this had anything to do with the "heater core" the design of those head gaskets is just flawed.
Click to expand...

Max...he was saying that his heater core was leaking, therefor all the coolant was gone which caused the engine to overheat and blow the head gasket. :)

budpytko said:
I would NOT use the Barr's Stop Leak!!!!! It'll gum up your rad and the heater rad too! Then, after it does stop the leak and you think you are safe, it'll let go and now you have to replace the radiators too.... it seems to block them up real good!

This stuff has been around for ages....and I've never heard a good outcome from using it.
Click to expand...

+1 Imagine what other small orifices it will clog or "fix" other than the blown head gasket.

mlschultz said:
I am with you guys, but this mechanic said this stuff is not for retail sale, and it actually costs $80 for a one engine treatment can. Is there a mechanic by trade out there that has heard of this stuff?
Click to expand...

I know what you're talking about but I can't remember the name. Its some pretty nasty stuff though and I've never actually used it, I always just fix it right. :)

Regardless...lets not condone poor Tman's engine already!

All your issues point to the resevoir cap to me, even though its new I'd try another new one just in case. Sometimes parts are bad from the manufacturer, don't just assume its good unless you test it. You can also take it to a shop and they can test the cap for you.
 
the mechanic that put in the motor is swearing that the radiator is to small and wants to tear it all apart, put in new hoses and the OG radiator. I'm pretty sure this is total B/S though.

The car does not over heat until it decides to explode coolant everywhere... And over heats as a result of the coolant loss.

The stall is in the 3k range, and i have yet to install a tranny cooler.. Can driving around town in stop and go traffic cause this problem because its heating up a portion of the radiator?

I'm super pissed.
 
T man said:
The stall is in the 3k range, and i have yet to install a tranny cooler.. Can driving around town in stop and go traffic cause this problem ...
Click to expand...

It sure isn't helping, that's for sure.

I totally removed the tranny from the radiator and installed a huge stand alone transmission cooler and both the engine and transmission run cooler. ;)
 
driller said:
It sure isn't helping, that's for sure.

I totally removed the tranny from the radiator and installed a huge stand alone transmission cooler and both the engine and transmission run cooler. ;)
Click to expand...

+1...asking for trouble there.

I also went with JP's type of setup and both do indeed run cooler.
 
could it relate to all the coolant exploding out of the over flow tank after a week or so of driving?
 
Have you checked your dipstick to see if any of the coolant is showing up in with your engine oil? A loose converter really throws off a lot of heat in traffic with stop and go, and is locked up at highway speed. You said it tossed it's cookies after in town stop and go, which is why you were pointed to a tranny cooler. There is a leak down test that can determine the condition of your engine.
 
There's no coolant in the oil.

The heat from the transmission though could cause the coolant to explode out while the car is at normal temp?
 
What you are now saying is that the gage on your dash says you are in the normal operating range and yet the coolant explodes out of the overflow bottle?
 
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