Coolant overflow?????

[ghandi1981]

am i adding to much coolant in there??? or is the car just overheating???? temp gauge stays in da middle.....and i add the coolant when the engine is cold..... any ideas???<P>AJ

[Ramdao]

did not understand, please explain better!

[Sonicxtacy02]

ok i assume your'e saying you refill the resivoir everytime your engine is cold. If thats the case, do you see coolant on the ground after you drive off. Do you smell fish? (coolant smell). Keep in mind that when the engine is warm coolant in the resivoir is pulled in making it look like the engine may be leaking.

[ghandi1981]

i think i had too much coolant in the system b/c after i drove around for a couple of miles and stop the coolant started to shoot back into the resevoir (is this normal??? i mean its all hot and stuff after the engine is run right?? wouldnt it expand therefore get shot back into the resivoir???) then after i turn on the car it gets all sucked back in...i dont know whats going on????<P>aj

[ghandi1981]

alright i drove to school from home and popped the hood and i saw the coolant overflowing and bubbling....i pulled off the cap after it stop overflowing and i saw steam coming out of the end of the plastic tube....is it supposed to get that hot to shoot the coolant back into the resevior???? when the engine is running where should the coolant in the resevior be??? thanks<P>AJ

[pelado]

There's two marks on the side, one says cold and the other hot. Self-explanatory.

[ghandi1981]

actually on mine it says low and full [img]shrug.gif"%20border="0[/img] after i turn off my car it shoots the coolant into the reservoir and after i turn it on it sucks it back up....what i am really trying to say is that is the coolant reservoir tank supposed to have anything in it when the engine has been run to operating temp?????<P>AJ

[chance]

sounds like everything is working fine. your engine will draw from the overflow tank when its hot. when you shut it off the excess coolant will flow back into the tank. when your car is cold, fill the resivore to the full line(about mid tank)<P>if nothing is running out on the ground and there is coolant in the system you are good to go

[pelado]

Low mark is for when engine is cold, high mark is for when engine is hot.<P>Make sure your coolant system is full when your engine is cold, fill reservoir to low mark.

[ghandi1981]

ok just got to school today (45mile drive)....coolant was all spilling out big time....burned my damn hand(im stupid)....but the temp gauge didnt go past half???? as soon as i turned the car off the s--- started to overflow....it was hot as hell....i saw steam coming from out from under my hood...but it was from the reservoir.....damn what is wrong????<P>AJ

[OsoSlo z28]

if your coolant is boiling, you are overheating. have you removed any of your rad. hoses lately? if so, then you might have an air pocket in there(that's how i blew my head gasket). you could have a stuck thermostat. but if you say the coolant temp gauge doesn't move, then either that sensor/connection is bad, or i don't know [img]shrug.gif"%20border="0[/img]

[andy]

could be as simple as the radiator cap needs replacing or as complicated as a blown head gasket. What kind of mixture (antifreeze/water) do you have?<BR> Andy P. 93 GS

[ghandi1981]

ok heres the details....the other day(week ago) the p/s and w/p belt snapped off and i overheated (i was on the highway and drove for less than a quarter mile to a gas station)....i saw the temp gauge shoot up so i know that it works...they replaced the belt and everything seemed fine....they also replace the radiator cap....<P>if you drive your car overheated for over 10miles what will happen???? cuz my car drives fine (45 miles from home to school) ...but when i stop (turn off the engine) is when all hell breaks loose...one of my friends said that the thermostat could be stuck or something is stuck causing the coolant to spill into the coolant reservior...<P>oh btw i dont think the coolant is boiling...i am using 50/50 mixture and when i pull off the cap to the reservoir after is stops shooting coolant out all that comes out is steam....but the coolant in the resevoir is not boiling at least i dont think it is(its like when u blow air into a cup of liquid it "looks" like it is boiling)...well when the steam is being shot into the full reservoir it looks like it is boiling...but yea the coolant is still hot as hell(i found out first hand...got it all over my hand and it burned the crap outta me )<P>AJ

[andy]

if you drive your car overheated for over 10miles what will happen???? <P>A high probability of a blown head gasket.<P>if there is air in the system how can it be released???<BR> I warm the engine up with the radiator cap off. this gives me a chance to see how well the fluid is circulating. You should notice the thermostat operating by the flow of coolant. When the radiator will take no more coolant put the cap back on and fill the overflow resevior to the hot level.<P>how can i tell when there is coolant in the oil??? can i tell by just lifting the dipstick???<P>you might see it in the coolant with the cap off or you might see it on the dipstick. but these are not a quarenteed thing.<P>I have seen similar coolant problems when the radiator was old and clogged up.<BR>I have also seen those symptoms on motors with blown head gaskets.<BR> If you had a blown head gasket I would think you would see other symtoms as well.<BR> At the very least check to see if you have white smoke out the tail pipe with a sweet smell of cooked antifreeze.<BR> Hope this helps<BR>Andy P. 93 GS

[ghandi1981]

thanks andy.... besides the smoke from the exahust....what will happen if a car is run with a blown head gasket???<BR>thanks<P>AJ