Coolant res spilling over!!!

[JesseSVTJames]

Okay so I came home from a short drive and when I stopped I noticed there was some kind of fluid pouring out, upon further investigation I notice it is pouring out of the res cap.

So my first step was to replace the cap. Done! It continued to flow out after it warned up for about 10 min. If you look in the res you can watch the fluid slowly come up!

I'm thinking the thermostat is stuck closed and not allowing the coolant to circulate. Which thermostat should i get?

There are no bubbles in the fluid and no white smoke out the pipes. So the head gasket can be ruled out. Right??? Hopefully!!

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

Okay so I came home from a short drive and when I stopped I noticed there was some kind of fluid pouring out, upon further investigation I notice it is pouring out of the res cap.

So my first step was to replace the cap. Done! It continued to flow out after it warned up for about 10 min. If you look in the res you can watch the fluid slowly come up!

I'm thinking the thermostat is stuck closed and not allowing the coolant to circulate. Which thermostat should i get?

There are no bubbles in the fluid and no white smoke out the pipes. So the head gasket can be ruled out. Right??? Hopefully!!

Which res?
Is your cooling fan running when you turn the A/C on?
Do you know how to do the burp fill procedure?

http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...-you-post-read-terminator-faqs-hot-links.html

Best T-stat-> http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...ostat-cooling-system-reische-performance.html

 

[MoKo_03SVT]

lol i am dealing with this very issue as we speak. care puked all of its coolant out yesterday. i figured it was overheating due to the mucky 120k mile old fluid/coolant that was in it. so did a coolant flush today, only to find out after i finished, that the problem is with my fan. apparent it died, and is not turning on...thus causing the car to overheat.

you need to find out what is causing it to puke its coolant in the first place. as you mentioned it could be the T-stat. as jimmy (and i mentioned), it could be your fan no-longer working. it could be a few things.

once you DO know what is causing it to over-heat, you have to make sure you burp the system properly, which is also somewhat of a pain.

 

[JesseSVTJames]

The fans were running when the car was on. Not to sure about while the ac is on. I did not add any fluid before it spilled over. This was kind of a all of a sudden thing! I have no idea what is causing it. The heat gauge is saying it is fine right in the middle. No sign of over heating.

 

[01cobravortech]

Good sign with the fan running.

Order the 170F t-stat Jimmy linked you to. Its a great product and the timing is perfect. Once you pull the stock t-stat out, boil it and see if opens properly just to verify if this was your issue or not.

I imagine you're using the stock plastic radiator exapnsion tank? If so, there are instances where its sealing ability is compromised due to an overheating episode. It happened on 2 different Cobras for me. Kept putting brand new radiator caps on the tank and cooling kept spilling out no matter how carefully I burped the system.

Considering the price of the oem tank (NOT CHEAP), I just went to an aluminum tank. I would suggest Moroso, as I've had a Canton tank fail on me. One was enough to not recommend theirs. So just something to keep in mind if you find that you are having coolant still get past a brand new radiator cap.

Moroso 96-04 Mustang Coolant Expansion Tank (Black Powdercoat) - Coolant Expansion/Fill Tanks - Cooling - 03-04 SVT Cobra

If by chance you buy a product from Lethal, use discount code: SVTPERF for 5% off.

 

[rtvickers]

Just to rule it out and so you dont start throwing parts at it and waste money. Go get a combustion gas tester. I bought mine from NAPA for $40. Its a simple test to ensure that you head gaskets are fine.

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

Good sign with the fan running.

Order the 170F t-stat Jimmy linked you to. Its a great product and the timing is perfect. Once you pull the stock t-stat out, boil it and see if opens properly just to verify if this was your issue or not.

I imagine you're using the stock plastic radiator exapnsion tank? If so, there are instances where its sealing ability is compromised due to an overheating episode. It happened on 2 different Cobras for me. Kept putting brand new radiator caps on the tank and cooling kept spilling out no matter how carefully I burped the system.

Considering the price of the oem tank (NOT CHEAP), I just went to an aluminum tank. I would suggest Moroso, as I've had a Canton tank fail on me. One was enough to not recommend theirs. So just something to keep in mind if you find that you are having coolant still get past a brand new radiator cap.

Moroso 96-04 Mustang Coolant Expansion Tank (Black Powdercoat) - Coolant Expansion/Fill Tanks - Cooling - 03-04 SVT Cobra

If by chance you buy a product from Lethal, use discount code: SVTPERF for 5% off.

Excellent advise.

However a warped/over heated rad res can often be saved by taking a fine flat file to it and making the mounting surface for the rad cap flat again. Not that it can't or won't warp again if it spews again.

The Canton tank issues are over and they are on par with Moroso once again IMHO. Alumium tanks don't warp at the cap during an over heating spew event.

It is good that the fan is still functioning, however keep an eye on it if it is the original fan.

Do not remove the burp plug on the crossover tube when the rad res cap is off.
Or you will drain all the coolant from the top of the engine into the res and over fill it, while leaving air in the top of the engine.:nonono:

 

[01cobravortech]

Excellent advise.

However a warped/over heated rad res can often be saved by taking a fine flat file to it and making the mounting surface for the rad cap flat again. Not that it can't or won't warp again if it spews again.

The Canton tank issues are over and they are on par with Moroso once again IMHO. Alumium tanks don't warp at the cap during an over heating spew event.

It is good that the fan is still functioning, however keep an eye on it if it is the original fan.

Do not remove the burp plug on the crossover tube when the rad res cap is off.
Or you will drain all the coolant from the top of the engine into the res and over fill it, while leaving air in the top of the engine.:nonono:

Wow never once saw anywhere on this forum read that you could save the oem tank. Sure wish I had come across that somehow several years ago. That's great information Jimmy. :beer:

Good to hear that Canton has made improvements. In my own case, the welds on my canton tank split. I prefer the beefier Moroso ones. I will say this about Canton...they provided me a brand new tank after inspecting the one that failed. And that speaks volumes about their warranty. :thumbsup:

 

[Dsg-shaker]

Just to rule it out and so you dont start throwing parts at it and waste money. Go get a combustion gas tester. I bought mine from NAPA for $40. Its a simple test to ensure that you head gaskets are fine.

pressure check the system (cap also.)
Block tester as what the guy I've quoted it's pointless to throw money at stuff that hasn't failed...

 

[bambinov8]

I'm having a coolant issue as well while it boost 24psi sometimes ... It will spray coolant out of the radiator tank just a bit :shrug: did a block test and came out negative for blown head gaskets ... No white smoke , oil looks fine , coolant looks fine ... Not sure what the heck is going on oke: and my coolants temps on my logs won't pass 180s

 

[JesseSVTJames]

pressure check the system (cap also.)
Block tester as what the guy I've quoted it's pointless to throw money at stuff that hasn't failed...

How can I pressure check the system? Could it really be my block? There is power same as always. Car is running like a top other than the fact that it is spewing coolant!

Good sign with the fan running.

Order the 170F t-stat Jimmy linked you to. Its a great product and the timing is perfect. Once you pull the stock t-stat out, boil it and see if opens properly just to verify if this was your issue or not.

I imagine you're using the stock plastic radiator exapnsion tank? If so, there are instances where its sealing ability is compromised due to an overheating episode. It happened on 2 different Cobras for me. Kept putting brand new radiator caps on the tank and cooling kept spilling out no matter how carefully I burped the system.

Considering the price of the oem tank (NOT CHEAP), I just went to an aluminum tank. I would suggest Moroso, as I've had a Canton tank fail on me. One was enough to not recommend theirs. So just something to keep in mind if you find that you are having coolant still get past a brand new radiator cap.

Moroso 96-04 Mustang Coolant Expansion Tank (Black Powdercoat) - Coolant Expansion/Fill Tanks - Cooling - 03-04 SVT Cobra
If by chance you buy a product from Lethal, use discount code: SVTPERF for 5% off.

Will the 170 be okay for where I live? The hottest day we get is like 38 degrees Celsius but that is a rare occurance we usually sit around high 20s. I will make sure to boil it once it is out!

I do have the factory res tank and if the thermostat is okay I will look into that! But I am really hoping it is the thermostat. This car has been killing me this year. In Canada our driving season is so short it is great to get some good weather. First it was my diff than exhaust issues and now this. I really hope this isnt all that bad! I just want to cruise!:bored::bored:

 

[JesseSVTJames]

So I pulled out the 180 thermostat and threw it in some water and slowly brought it to a boil. I used a cooking thermometer to check the temp but it only goes up to 190.

As the temperature went up not much was happening until 190 and above. In around what I would guess is 200 it was fully open. It started to bubble a little at 190. So I am thinking this is my problem! No?

 

[01cobravortech]

So I pulled out the 180 thermostat and threw it in some water and slowly brought it to a boil. I used a cooking thermometer to check the temp but it only goes up to 190.

As the temperature went up not much was happening until 190 and above. In around what I would guess is 200 it was fully open. It started to bubble a little at 190. So I am thinking this is my problem! No?

Your t-stat works. IIRC, the stock t-stat supposedly fully opens at 219F.

 

[Dsg-shaker]

How can I pressure check the system? Could it really be my block? There is power same as always. Car is running like a top other than the fact that it is spewing coolant!



Will the 170 be okay for where I live? The hottest day we get is like 38 degrees Celsius but that is a rare occurance we usually sit around high 20s. I will make sure to boil it once it is out!

I do have the factory res tank and if the thermostat is okay I will look into that! But I am really hoping it is the thermostat. This car has been killing me this year. In Canada our driving season is so short it is great to get some good weather. First it was my diff than exhaust issues and now this. I really hope this isnt all that bad! I just want to cruise!:bored::bored:

It's just a hand pump that pressurizes the system,
•170 is fine, I wouldn't consider running "hot" until after 210*

 

[rtvickers]

I went through a very similar situation. I had no signs of any issues except for the coolant coming out of the cap. The car ran great and no white smoke or water coming out of the tailpipes. I threw parts at it for a month, nothing. Still kept sprewing over. I finally did the combustion gas test and it tested positive for exhaust gases in the coolant. It never showed any signs. When I got the heads off, it was burning water in #2 and #3. Hopefully this is not your issue.

 

[DE07GT]

Okay so I came home from a short drive and when I stopped I noticed there was some kind of fluid pouring out, upon further investigation I notice it is pouring out of the res cap.

So my first step was to replace the cap. Done! It continued to flow out after it warned up for about 10 min. If you look in the res you can watch the fluid slowly come up!

I'm thinking the thermostat is stuck closed and not allowing the coolant to circulate. Which thermostat should i get?

There are no bubbles in the fluid and no white smoke out the pipes. So the head gasket can be ruled out. Right??? Hopefully!!

If the thermostat was stuck closed, the fluid in the reservoir wouldn't be hot and the engine itself would be overheating.

 

[JesseSVTJames]

I went through a very similar situation. I had no signs of any issues except for the coolant coming out of the cap. The car ran great and no white smoke or water coming out of the tailpipes. I threw parts at it for a month, nothing. Still kept sprewing over. I finally did the combustion gas test and it tested positive for exhaust gases in the coolant. It never showed any signs. When I got the heads off, it was burning water in #2 and #3. Hopefully this is not your issue.

I am really hoping that this is not my problem!!! I really am not looking foreward to doing a headgasket on my car! But it really seems like this could be my issue...

The reason I dont think it is, is the fluid just seems to slowly come up. Almost like the fluid is stuck and unable to go anywhere. Thermostat not opening or my rad is plugged. Something of that sort. You would think that the if the system had gasses coming from a leak the fluid would eventually bubble. I have watched it all the way up and there are no nothing, just the fluid is smoothly rising.

If the thermostat was stuck closed, the fluid in the reservoir wouldn't be hot and the engine itself would be overheating.

The Engine has not over heated EVER, or ran hot for that matter... Always dead in the middle. What else do you think? What would you start with?

Combustion gas test? Rad?

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

Have you burped the air out of it yet?

 

[JesseSVTJames]

I need to get a new thermostat first. I am going to call to get the 170* today. But it usually takes 2 weeks to get parts here... I have none in the kicking around in the city either.

Is it true I need to adjust my settings for the fan if I go to this stat?

 

[DE07GT]

The top radiator hose should be hot to the touch and the bottom hose should be warm. If that's how they both feel, your radiator is not restricted and the thermostat is still opening. You'd be surprised how old coolant and air pockets in the cooling system can make such a large impact.