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| Author | Topic: Coolant Dump |
PROWLAW Prowler Enthusiast From:Miami Beach, FL, USA |
posted 07-14-2007 08:52 PM
    
I was driving my 02 around for hours yesterday with no problems..no check-lights, no smells, and the temp needle reading normal. I pulled into a parking lot, went into a store and came out 5 minutes later to find a massive puddle of coolant under the car. I waited until the engine cooled and added more coolant. Restarted the engine, and within minutes the overflow hose on top of the coolant tank started spewing the coolant out again. For some reason though, the gauge (which appears to be working since it reads cold when the engine is cold, and warm when it is warm) never went above the half-way mark. I've never had any mechanical problems with the car and the last service I had done was at a DC dealer...they did a coolant drain and fill (my first coolant change since the car was new)...but that was 2 months (couple hundred miles) ago. Does anyone have any ideas? And could they have done something wrong at the dealer? thanks |
Howard      POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Valencia, CA, USA |
posted 07-14-2007 10:47 PM
There could be air in the system. Your dealer might not have opened the valve at the top of the engine to release the air in the system. |
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Howard POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Valencia, CA, USA |
posted 07-14-2007 10:53 PM
If you have a manual, it will tell you how to release the air from the system. |
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PROWLAW Prowler Enthusiast From:Miami Beach, FL, USA |
posted 07-14-2007 11:06 PM
Yes I have the service manual. But if that was the case, then why would it run fine for the last 2 months? My local mechanic thinks the water pump is bad or perhaps the thermostat...is this possible on a car with only 13,500 miles? |
ed monahan               POA Lifetime Site Supporter Prowler Junkie Personal ScrapBook From:Cincinnati, Oh, USA |
posted 07-14-2007 11:32 PM
A thermomstat is basically just a spring. It could be bad from the first day it was produced. Not likely, but possible. It may not overheat again for a month but I would change it just to be safe. Cheap and easy insurance. That would be the first thing I would suspect and fix. |
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PROWLAW Prowler Enthusiast From:Miami Beach, FL, USA |
posted 07-14-2007 11:51 PM
Ya but oddly enough the car doesn't seem to be overheating. It's just dumping its coolant even though the temp-needle reads Normal! (Of course I'm sure that if I continued to let it run it would overheat from lack of coolant). Does this seem more like a waterpump than a thermostat? Perhaps there's just a blockage somewhere that's not allowing the coolant to reach the engine and so it backs up? |
392HEMI POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:The Villages, Fl. |
posted 07-15-2007 01:43 AM
If the coolant was not reaching the engine, your guage would show HOT and you would smell overheating aluminum. Does the heater blow hot air? I tend to lean with the air in the system theory. In May you were not getting the 93 degree days yet, now you are in the high 80's and I would guess possibly A/C on. When the A/C is on is the electric fan on? In order of probibility, air, thermostst, collapsing hose, blockage in engine block, blockage in radiator, water pump. JMO |
Marc-Colo-99 POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Aurora, Colorado |
posted 07-15-2007 07:01 AM
Try replacing your coolant cap, cheap insurance even if it isn't bad. I know of several cars that had the same problem and a new cap took care of it. |
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PROWLAW Prowler Enthusiast From:Miami Beach, FL, USA |
posted 07-15-2007 11:48 AM
I haven't tried the heater. It is true that I have been using the A/C quite a bit more now...and that's another thing I noticed when I was looking under the hood which is that the engine-cooling fan doesn't seem to go on until the A/C is turned on. As far as the cap...it looks like it's in great shape. Why would a "bad" cap lead to this problem? |
Drew POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Victorville, Ca |
posted 07-15-2007 01:59 PM
What level is left in the reservoir? I noticed mine was an inch below cold level, filled it to level, on my next long run (3 hours) it blew out what I'd put in, back to the inch below level line. Me and my simple mentality concluded it just runs at that level, I keep an eye on it though. |
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PROWLAW Prowler Enthusiast From:Miami Beach, FL, USA |
posted 07-15-2007 02:28 PM
Kind of funny you say that because when I took it home from the dealer after the drain/fill I noticed it was about an inch below the cold-fill line. However, it now dumps out a very large amount of coolant and it did so even when the coolant was at the inch below the fill-line. Therefore, there must be another problem with it. |
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ed monahan POA Lifetime Site Supporter Prowler Junkie Personal ScrapBook From:Cincinnati, Oh, USA |
posted 07-15-2007 04:19 PM
Marc came up with a very good possibility with the cap. The cap keeps the pressure in the system. Just like the thermostat you can't tell by looking at it. How does a gas cap go bad !!! That is what they check at the emission stations. |
catfish POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:scottsdale,az,usa |
posted 07-15-2007 06:23 PM
best way to see if you have air in the system is to loosen the bleeder valve put a clear hose over the end and into a container, if its got air in it you will see the bubbles.jmo, if this is the first time you changed coolant sinct it was purchased id say a sticking theromost.but since its not running hot, which a sticking thermostat would make it do. id say no. also i don think its the cap.mine spewed coolant on the way back from tulsa,when i stopped for gas but mine was running hot,it also had anew cap on it. even though hot i used a large towel ,so i wouldnt get burned and released pressure.which youre not supposed to do and after that it was ok. of course it was 105 outside which contributes to it running hotter than normal.mines done it 3 times,that is spewed coolant for no real reason,and its always been on a long trip when it happens.it only does it after shutting off the engine. ------------------ |
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Marc-Colo-99 POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Aurora, Colorado |
posted 07-15-2007 10:37 PM
A bad cap won't hold the pressure created when your engine warms up. You can't tell the cap is bad by looking at it (just like the thermostat, the spring loses tension) and if your car isn't running hot the most likely thing is the cap. It keeps the system pressurized and coolant under pressure has a much higher boiling point. If your car is running hot even a new cap won't stop it from spewing fluid but if your cap is even marginal (which is pretty common for a 5-7 year old cap) it won't hold the pressure and it may be intermitent. What's a cap cost? 25.00? Either way bleed the sytem, it's simple to do and may save you an overheating problem in the future. |
phil2237 POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:PLACENTIA CALIFORNIA |
posted 07-15-2007 10:49 PM
Change the RADIATOR CAP |
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PROWLAW Prowler Enthusiast From:Miami Beach, FL, USA |
posted 07-16-2007 12:05 AM
When you say "radiator cap" are you referring to the cap on top of the coolant reservoir? This message has been edited by PROWLAW on 07-16-2007 at 12:12 AM |
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ed monahan POA Lifetime Site Supporter Prowler Junkie Personal ScrapBook From:Cincinnati, Oh, USA |
posted 07-16-2007 01:34 AM
Yes |
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PROWLAW Prowler Enthusiast From:Miami Beach, FL, USA |
posted 07-16-2007 06:09 PM
Just spoke to my mechanic. He didn't agree with the cap idea so he went ahead and changed the thermostat...then he said it was still overheating and so he tried changing the cap (obviously he should've tried changing the cap first). Now he claims that it didn't need a new cap and it started working with the new thermostat once the "engine computer" reset to the new one. Therefore he's charging me for its replacement. Is this possible that the engine computer has to reset for the new thermo? Because otherwise it sounds like the new cap would've solved the problem and now I'm being charged for the unnecessary thermo-replacement. This message has been edited by PROWLAW on 07-16-2007 at 06:09 PM |
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catfish POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:scottsdale,az,usa |
posted 07-16-2007 06:18 PM
the computer has nothing to do w/the cap or the thermostat getting reset.looks like he missed the problem.what gives, at the beginning you said it wasn't overheating and later it was.makes a lot of difference in the advice we give.you said temp reading was normal.if it puked fluid it had to have been hot? ------------------ This message has been edited by catfish on 07-16-2007 at 06:19 PM |
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PROWLAW Prowler Enthusiast From:Miami Beach, FL, USA |
posted 07-16-2007 06:28 PM
Allow me to explain. The last I saw it before I gave it to him was that it was spewing fluid but the temp gauge was reading NORMAL. After that I do not know what was going on because my mechanic had it already. He says that it was overheating but I'm not sure he based this on the gauge reading, or on the spewing of the fluid. I guess I have to hope that he saved the old cap so that when I go to pick it up tomorrow I can test it. |
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392HEMI POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:The Villages, Fl. |
posted 07-16-2007 06:39 PM
We can sometimes lead a horse to water, but we haven't learned how to make him drink. The thermostst should be a 195 degree stat.. The pcm (Power Control Module) or Computer has no connection to the thermostat, it does sense a overheat condition and can put the car in an inoperable condition, to save the engine from melt down. Someone is blowing smoke about the computer "adjusting" to the new stat.. Give him our web site and ask him to "carefully explain himself". LOL |
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catfish POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:scottsdale,az,usa |
posted 07-16-2007 08:07 PM
the cap may still not be the problem.mine had a new cap when i went to tulsa and it still puked from being hot even w.a new cap.maybe somebody can expain that.yours may get hot again and maybe not.if it gets hot again you will know.you said this was the first coolant change.the old fluid must have been nasty,how about the radiator condition. ------------------ |
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PROWLAW Prowler Enthusiast From:Miami Beach, FL, USA |
posted 07-16-2007 08:52 PM
Actually the coolant did not look bad at all. Remember, (and correct me if I am wrong), that my 02 came with the new Yellow Zerex G0-5 coolant which is designed to last 5yrs/150,000 miles. The car was purchased new in 2003, so arguably I changed it earlier than the recommended interval. |
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Marc-Colo-99 POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Aurora, Colorado |
posted 07-16-2007 08:58 PM
Hi Jan A cap is made to hold up to a certain pressure. You mention that yours was running hot when it overflowed. When a motor overheats (there's alot of circumstances that will make a motor overheat including something as simple as timing advance or air in the system) the pressure builds up and the safety valve is the cap. The wrong or a bad cap won't hold the pressure even with the motor at normal temps although it may be intermitant which makes it all the more frustating. Prowlaws description in his first post described conditions that would indicate to me a bad cap.
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PROWLAW Prowler Enthusiast From:Miami Beach, FL, USA |
posted 07-16-2007 09:04 PM
So marc, in your opinion, should I try and make a stink about him replacing the thermo and charging me for it? It sounds like even if I put the old cap on (since it's intermittent) the car may still operate normally (while i'm there) and that it would therefore prove nothing. |
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