Run your car if your radiator spills out some water when it wants to?
Like, it'll sometimes just spill some water out after i drive it for a while.
It only does that sometimes.

It never overheats though.
And I constantly open up the radiator to make sure there is water in there.
And I also carry a gallon of water in my hatch just in case "Buddy" needs water.

 

how does it spill out ???? and no thats not normal.

 

well i know its not normal, but after i turn off the car, it just sort of just spills out from somewhere from the radiator. sort of like spilling water out of a cup, but slowly.

like a slow ****.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Adankid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

like a slow ****.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Great analogy

 

ha nice, i'd probably work on first figuring out where exactly the coolant is leaking out from

 

first of all, i hope you have more than just "water" in your cooling system. secondly, check to make sure you're not overfilling the system with COOLANT. it may be purging from the overflow resevoir. just a thought.

 

isnt antifreeze just so the coolant doesnt...well, freeze. water should be fine unless you're in a zone that gets snow.

and you need a new radiator it sounds like haha.

 

Can you see the water leaking out or are you just assuming. My honda was loosing coolant and I just kept replacing it, not thinking much of it, but I was loosing a head gasket andt it just got worse and worse to the point I had to pull over every 30 miles and fill it back up. Needless to say this got expensive and one day driving back from college it finally overheated. Don't put yourself in this situation it is not fun.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tadashisan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">isnt antifreeze just so the coolant doesnt...well, freeze. water should be fine unless you're in a zone that gets snow.

and you need a new radiator it sounds like haha.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Coolant has a higher boiling point than water. If the water gets to hot, it may become a saturated vapor, which is harder to pump(a water pump can't pump air or vapor). This may also cause the pressure to rise and you may lose a coolant hose.

 

yeah....
i seriously need to replace my radiator...
anyone have any recommendations?

btw, the engine is a 94 GSR.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ploeg8393 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Coolant has a higher boiling point than water. If the water gets to hot, it may become a saturated vapor, which is harder to pump(a water pump can't pump air or vapor). This may also cause the pressure to rise and you may lose a coolant hose.</TD></TR></TABLE>

interesting..I've never had anyone (even mechanics) say don't use water. But maybe they said it was ok if it was an emergency fill up. idk.

 

Doesn't water rust metal? Just another thought and yes, the water is only for emergencies.

 

Not aluminum, which much of the engine is. Water is a main component in the cooling system anyway, 50water/50coolant is the norm.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlackoutVTi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not aluminum, which much of the engine is. Water is a main component in the cooling system anyway, 50water/50coolant is the norm.</TD></TR></TABLE>

well now most coolant comes pre-diluted. yes, i have never known anything BUT water being strictly an emergency-use fluid. manufacturers spend money developing what blend to use, so obviously they don't think water is a good idea

 

well, its been a couple of days, and my car hasn't "pissed" anymore.

and i constantly check my radiator to see if it has sufficient water, and it does.
im confused.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Adankid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well, its been a couple of days, and my car hasn't "pissed" anymore.

and i constantly check my radiator to see if it has sufficient water, and it does.
im confused.</TD></TR></TABLE>

water or coolant......didn't we just go through this?


Modified by Ploeg8393 at 1:23 PM 7/30/2008

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by na+b18c_hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">manufacturers spend money developing what blend to use, so obviously they don't think water is a good idea</TD></TR></TABLE>

This isn't very good reasoning. Manufacturers spend money developing a product to make money. The reason they think water is not a good idea is because water is free

I agree with BlackoutVTi; when I'm filling up a radiator, I do 50/50 coolant/water (unless it's pre-diluted...which is just coolant and water anyway). However, any time I need to fill up my radiator, I always use water. If water wasn't a good idea to put in your cooling system, why would gas stations have those water pumps specifically meant for your radiator?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hushypushy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

This isn't very good reasoning. Manufacturers spend money developing a product to make money. The reason they think water is not a good idea is because water is free

I agree with BlackoutVTi; when I'm filling up a radiator, I do 50/50 coolant/water (unless it's pre-diluted...which is just coolant and water anyway). However, any time I need to fill up my radiator, I always use water. If water wasn't a good idea to put in your cooling system, why would gas stations have those water pumps specifically meant for your radiator?</TD></TR></TABLE>

idk about all that. but i wouldn't rock water in my cooling system. and like someone stated earlier...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ploeg8393 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Coolant has a higher boiling point than water. If the water gets to hot, it may become a saturated vapor, which is harder to pump(a water pump can't pump air or vapor). This may also cause the pressure to rise and you may lose a coolant hose.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by na+b18c_hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and like someone stated earlier...
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Right, and they are correct. However, where I live (Northern California) it's not a big deal. It never gets cold enough to freeze, and no matter how hot it gets, my temp gauge doesn't even go above 1/3. IMO the most important thing about coolant/antifreeze is that it inhibits corrosion.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tadashisan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">isnt antifreeze just so the coolant doesnt...well, freeze. water should be fine unless you're in a zone that gets snow.

and you need a new radiator it sounds like haha.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not quite.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ploeg8393 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Coolant has a higher boiling point than water. If the water gets to hot, it may become a saturated vapor, which is harder to pump(a water pump can't pump air or vapor). This may also cause the pressure to rise and you may lose a coolant hose.</TD></TR></TABLE>
x2
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tadashisan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

interesting..I've never had anyone (even mechanics) say don't use water. But maybe they said it was ok if it was an emergency fill up. idk. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, don't use just water. You need a 50/50 solution. Too much antifreeze does not flow smoothly. Just water can cause it's own problems. low Boiling point, will not flow freely, rust. Yea, i've actually seen people who had a radiator leak and instead of fixing the leak, they keep refilling with just water. Eventually there is nothing but water in there and when your car sits over night or during the day, it will rust the inside of the radiator and through the hoses. It's a serious pain to clean out too.

 

Water with water wetter is the minimum you should ever use in your cooling system. Our cars are not designed to run on straight water, and you will gunk up your radiator and your sensors with corrosion.

 

Now back to the issue...have you ever looked at the overflow tank during/after the slow ****? Platic cap ever popped off or have you seen the fluid bubbling inside?

 

yeah one time when i opened it up, the radiator was empty, so i turned on the car and filled it up with water, and once i filled it up to the top, it just started to bubble.

I'm thinking about just buying a new radiator, but not sure which one, anyone have any suggestions?

 

Fluidyne, KoyoRad, etc.

Buy an aluminum one, they kick ***. My car has never overheated, even with a half empty radiator and 95 degree weather.

 

Sounds like you are using just water in your system. When the water is reaching its boiling point, it is creating excess pressure in the cooling system which is causing the overflow to release.

Save yourself the concern and help your motor by just using a premix coolant.

As for the coolant vs water issue, as long as you dont live in a location where freezing is an issue it is ok to use just water. But you will have to flush the system on a regular basis. The water will rust up the water pump.

Also when water gets to its boiling point it will lose volume, so you will have to keep an eye on the level in the cooling system.

IMO not really worth the extra effort, unless you are in a racing situation where water alone will benefit.