I started overheating bad today, got home.......no coolant in the radiator. But the overflow was full. This has been happening for quite some time, the overflow wouldnt ever change. Yes, its hooked up correctly, and I have a newish radiator cap. Ive searched and couldnt find anything about a tank not working. help!

 

sounds like you're pushing all your coolant into the resevoir...could be caused by a bad head gasket or faulty t-stat.

Are both hoses getting hot?? fan kicking on? spill free funnel to bleed system>???

 

yea both hoses are getting hot, fans do kick on, its just the fluid never get sucked back into the radiator, and I have to keep filling the rad.


Does this mean air is comming in from somewhere else?

 

Have you checked to make sure that the tubes from the radiator neck to the reservoir and the tube that goes down into the coolant are clear and unobstructed?

 

yea, totally clean. I have only found 1 other thread about this....it has to be that I have a leak somewhere thats pulling air in, however hours later after I have shut the car off, there is still pressure in the cooling system. Plugs look normal. Tried 2 different rad caps.

When I loosen the cap about an hour after I shut the car off, coolant shoots into the reserve tank, and it then seems like the rad is half full, every time.

 

Yah, you must be right about a leak in the system then.

I'd be more concerned about where the the coolant is going if it's consistently low. If it's not on the ground or slowly dripping into the carpet under the heater core, it can only be going into the motor.

If you've got access to a leakdown tester, I would check each cyclinder with the radiator full and cap off. If you're getting bubbles in the system, you know the leak is internal.

If you don't have access to a leakdown tester, there is also a kit that allows you to check for combusted gases in coolant. That also would tell you if the cooling system is open to the cumbustion chamber.

 

yeah, I get this too. I haven't tried to see if its the rad. cap though...but when taking off the rad. cap, you can hear air/pressure being released. Fan comes on...etc. Car doesn't smoke, so I don't know if its the headgasket or not.

Let me know what your doing to reslove this. I might go buy a leakdown tester at harborfreight just of the hell of it.

 

Mine did this with a busted head gasket.