I have been checking out my fluids and everytime i look in the plastic jar connectedto the radiator its empty... i drive a 95 civic ex...if you have ever looked under the hood im sure you know what plastic container im talking about....why is all the fluid gone al the time????? is this a problem the radiator is only 2 months old

 

NOt enough fluid in your radiator. Or leak somewhere.

That container is the overflow. When the water pressure gets too high in the radiator if flows into the container. When the pressure gets too low, it sucks water/coolant back into the radiator. If you keep filling this up and it keeps emptying, you are loosing coolant.

Check all hoses for leaks. Also look by the water pump, they start to leak a little before they go out.

 

It's called the coolant fluid overflow reservior, or, as I like to call it, the puke tank. If you fill it & it doesn't keep fluid, the radiator may not have been filled properly originally. This could mean that there's not as much fluid in the system as there should be, so what's in the puke tank is being sucked into the system for circulation through the motor.

 

Hehe... there's some timing for ya!

What HE said!

 

 

yea, you have to make sure your system is filled properly. either your radiator and cooling system isnt filled correctly or you have a leak. check with a repair manual for the proper procedure. it isnt hard at all. good luck

-alan

 

Let's see.. Four things to check when examining the radiator.
1. Fluid level..
- Should be filled up all the way to the opening.
2. Fluid condition
- Should be green or orange depending on the if the car uses Drexol or not
3. Protection level
- Use a hydrometer (i think that's what it's called) and see how much it protects
4. Radiator cap
- Are the seals ok?
- Is the rubber ring gasket swollen?
- Does the spring work??

After you check these, go from there.. Not enough fluid?.. Fill it.. Bad fluid condition?. Flush it.. Low protection level? You want it to protect to at least -24 degrees farenheit. Bad radiator cap?.. If the seals are bad, pressure leaks. To test it, fill the coolant overflow resivoir. If it's empty later, there's probably a bad seal and the vacumm is sucking it in. If the ring gaskets are swollen, pressure isn't allowed to leave the and you'll end up with a blown radiator.. Same thing goes for the spring..

 

If your cap is bad, your puke tank will fill up, and or be boiling, or you'll overheat. If you fill the puke tank & it empties itself, either your coolant level is too low, or you have a leak. Your cap may also be bad, but this is not the optimal way to check for that.

 

make sure to bleed all the air out of your cooling system

 

Well for me, I kept adding coolant in the overflow tank until I did a leakdown test and found that it was something with my head. The coolant is disappearing into my combustion chamber via cylinder #2 somehow (haven't pulled head yet). Hopefully it's just a head gasket or warped head and not a cracked head. But I didn't find no leaks within my radiator system, so things like this could also be the cause of the missing coolant. Just my 2 cents. hth.