So I went on a little road trip tonight and I just got back. I went from L.A. to Pechanga casino (Temecula). I was coming back and I was on the road for no more than 10 mins when I look down to the temp. and the needle is all the way up. In my mind I panicked because I thought maybe since I don't check the temp often since the radiator is fairly new the temp could have been up for a while and I could have already warped something so I immediately pulled over and I noticed that the rad. was empty and the reservoir was full with boiling coolant and it was smoking. I added water to the rad and turned the engine on so it could circulate and added more water. I then continued and about 30 miles later the needle was fluctuating so I pulled over to be on the safe side. again rad was pretty empty and reservoir smoking. I checked the rad. cap and it is broken. the spring is inside the radiator and I'm assuming the cap beneath the spring is also in there. Now my question (if you've read this far) is can a bad cap be causing the hot coolant to not circulate and just push it to the reservoir? Does my reservoir have a hole and because of it coolant is leaking from there? Will replacing my radiator cap and/or reservoir solve my problem? If I replace both I'll still check for leaks by adding pressure to the rad with a pump to be on the safe side....Thanks for reading

 

Replace your radiator cap. Fill the system with coolant/water. Then check for leaks if no leak is found its your radiator cap that was casing that.

 

Bump

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by zero708970 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Now my question is can a bad cap be causing the hot coolant to not circulate and just push it to the reservoir? </TD></TR></TABLE>

The cap maintains a pressurized system. A bad cap will improperly release pressure and coolant will be forced into the reservoir. As mentioned above, buy a new cap, refill the system with coolant (not water), bleed the system, and hope that the overheating did not permanently damage the engine.

 

I had my cooling system pressurized and I didn't see any leaks so I ended up adding coolant and buying a new cap. I haven't had any problems since then but I haven't driven on the highway yet....Hopefully like you said I didn't cause any permanent damage.....

 

Best of luck.

 

my reservoir tank always empty 2 days after i refill it..is this problem relates to my radiator cap as well?..and my temp overheat as well..

 

bump.....anybody?

 

could be blown headgasket

 

how do i check and confirm that my head gasket blown?..any clear pictures to see it without dismantling the head.

 

i had the same problem with my 94 civic a few days ago, i took it to go trade some wheels about 2 hrs away and just glanced at my cluster and noticed it was on the H as well. so i put on the heater(suck the hot air out of the engine) it went down enough to drive to advanced auto parts a few miles away, noticed that my radiator cap was shot and there was no coolant, replaced the cap and filled the coolant have not had problems since =D

 

the water in my radiator level always good..just the matter water in spare tank always empty after a few days. And it overheat when i drove for long periods or above 60km/hr