Cooling system question

[Figman]

Hello everyone:

I have a ?01 SE7 with SLS, ACE and 70.3K miles. About 2 months ago I discovered a leak from the upper radiator hose T section. I went to my Indy guy and he replaced the thermostat, he said it was defective and creating additional pressure causing the leak. Once replaced, the leak went away. As a precaution and anticipation of the hot summer weather, few weeks later I asked him replaced every cooling hose (about 11 or so in total) and pressure test the system, everything looked good. Two weeks ago I found another leak on one of the skinny hoses attached to the bottom of the reservoir tank. It turned out to be a clamp. Once again as a precaution I decided to replace the plastic tank (I heard somewhere that after a while they develop cracks) I figure the truck is seven years old and over 70K miles. So we topped off the coolant level and tested, so far so good. Today I noticed coolant on the ground and while checking I noticed coolant coming out on the overflow hose that connects to the neck of the plastic tank and points to the ground. Never in four years of ownership or the hottest day had coolant come out thru this hose. The day was nice and cool, the temperature gauge read the correct temperature but with the hood open and the engine running the coolant felt like boiling in the reservoir tank and the upper radiator hoses were very hot. The radiator was replaced about two years ago at the dealership due to a leak.

Is something about to blow up? Is something creating additional pressure that is causing clip-on clamps to fail and the one that were replaced by the screw-on type are so tight that coolant comes out the reservoir tank? Maybe I am overreacting but I don?t want this thing to blow up 200 miles from home.

Sorry for the long email but I figure the more information the better your comments will be.

Thanks all, your help is always appreciated

Figman

 

[Jagfixer]

If your gauge is correct and is not overheating, you need to look in the reservoir when it is cold and check the fluid level. Possibility it was overfilled. Your fluid will be near 200deg so it will be hot. Most thermostats try to regulate it between 185 and 204 deg. So touching will not work. If your garage has a temperature scan/reader, it would be useful.

 

[roving disco2]

i forgot, like an idiot, to retighten the cap on the overflow bottle last year on my 99 d2. and it spilled coolant out the overflow tube pressure related? check the cap first and/or look at the fluid level in the morning after the car has been sitting for awhile. if it is above the full mark then it is over-filled. and yes the hoses should be hot to the touch and the overflow bottle should be bubbling when the car is running, cars run hot :applause:

 

[MUSKYMAN]

I have never seen the fluid bubbling in a DII resevoir?

the fluid will constantly be circulated through the resevoir thru the return that runs in at the cap area.

cooling systems are designed not to bubble because bubbles capture air and the viscous nature of coolant will then pump that air through out the system and cause reduced coolant flow.

If you have bubbling in the resevoir you have cooling system issues.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

to the original post...

it sounds like to me you had a initial issue that was followed by a couple small issues related to quality of work.

I would inspect the level when cold to verify the correct fluid level cold and then watch the system over the coarse of a couple hard drive cycles. maybe even crank up the AC and go pound the truck up some big hills and really heat it up so you get a good idea if the cooling sytem is working correctly. Better to find a issue while watching then have it show up when your just expecting to get wifey and the kids to the water park on that 95* day.

 

[Figman]

Hello all:

Thanks for you replies; I stopped by my indy guy and asked them to pressure test the system. the leak seems to stop however I remember the tank level much higher that what is recommended. Anyway they tested and there is not evidence of a leak anywhere; however the tip of the overflow hose is always wet with drops of coolant.

Today before my trip to the mechanic I checked the level and it was perfect; for the past few days I have been checking the level and after a trip the level seems to be on the higher side but eventually makes back in to the recommended level. My mechanic said it could be a bad seal on the plastic cap, he let me borrow a used one from another truck that is not "leaking"

Any way thanks and I will keep you posted.

 

[Figman]

I spoke too soon; now I am really nervous. On my way from the shop to my job I got stuck in a lot of stop and go traffic and when I finally got to work I noticed the coolant level much higher pass the normal (cold) mark. the temperature gauge was still at normal level. Finally when I got home, I checked again and the reservoir was almost full where the coolant is coming out thru the overflow hose; sometimes drop by drop or a small continuous drip. It looks like coolant is going out of the engine to the tank but is not going back to the engine to the point that the only way out is the overflow hose. I am afraid if this continues while I am driving the engine is going to run dry and overheat. it is like something is preventing the coolant to flow properly.

what should I do? please HELP!!!!