its always empty..i always refill it..ijust changed my radiator cap..what else could be the problem?

thank guys

 

check hoses, gaskets for leaks.

 

also, check the reserve tank for leaks too.
leave the car parked on a paved driveway for a day and look under it for any coolent, if theres some there, look in the engine bay to see where abouts its coming from. if theres none there, you got yourself another problem

 

inspect the reserve tank since its so easy to remove.

then pressure test the cooling system.

 

haha mines always full.. i have one of those aftermarket ones and its always full i thought it was bad>?

 

u dont need coolant anyway. its just a wait factor drain it all and u will gain 10-20 hp.....

 

good idea i think ill do that tom!! thanks for the advice

 

Speaking from experience, I had the same problem for a while. I'd go out for a drive and come home only to discover that I needed to refill the reserve thank. This and whenever I gave my moter a hard push, white smoke would pour from the rear of the car. I thought I had blown a head gasket or something. It turned out that when I crawled underneath the car after it had been running for a while that my lower radiator hose was leaking from where it connected into the thermostat housing. It would dribble down to where the speedo cable was connected to the tranny and gather up, leaving a pool of coolant until I hit an incline or floored it, which it would then drip onto my exhaust and burn; causing the white smoke. The problem eluded me for the longest time because it was right where you couldn't see it happening.

Cost to fix: $2.00 (new hose clamp)
Time it took: 2-3 hours (after flushing system and refilling to spec)
Number of curses and profanities while fixing: 30-50

 

You people do realize it's an OVERFLOW tank for the coolant when it gets hot, don't you? It's not supposed to be full all the time....if it was, there would be nowhere for the excess pressure to go when it starts getting hot. If it's empty, and you're not actually LOSING coolant, it's not necessarily a bad thing.

I never drive my cars hard enough to make the radiator work that hard.... and because of this, my tanks are never full. I never lose any coolant from the radiator, so nothing ever <U>overflows</U> into the overflow tank.

It's not a bad thing if there's nothing's in it. Just make sure your actual radiator level is okay.


[Modified by hot_EG, 6:53 AM 10/28/2002]

 

Well checking the reserve tank for leaks is the first thing. If there's no fluid or leaks from the reserve tank. You filling up with fluid and it blows air into the tank and blows fluid out the top. It is your radiator cap is the next thing you left the check.

But is not the radiator cap you have to pressure test the system advanced auto parts will give you the tools to do it you to pay a fee to use it though. To check the pressure of the system do not over pressurize it. That will show if you have a hole in the top of your radiator if you have no fluid loss. It's actually boiling off in the radiator because it's not building pressure.

Other things you can check is see if your transmission fluid is clean radiator fluid. Also check your oil see if there is radiator fluid in it. Also check The radiator itself by taking the top off when it's cold in seeing if you have a rainbow in your radiator fluid. If you still have a problem check your exhaust and see if it smells like it has radiator fluid in it when the car is running.

Now if it's in the exhaust Oil or transmission fluid that's your head gasket are you have a cracked Block.

 

Man, you're commenting on a 14 year old thread. I'm sure the OP has this sorted by now.