Rev Den said:
You do know there is no radiator cap on a 88?
Right?
Rev
So what does the '88 use for pressure relief? When a radiator or cooling hose burst, it is nearly an explosion, NOT to mention the dangers of superheated liquid being sprayed everywhere. Ralph Nader would be doing back flips, if someone was dumb enough to produce a vehicle with NO pressure relief for the cooling system.
Are we getting terms confused? Pressure Relief Cap, a.k.a. Radiator Cap (because its
usually on the radiator), which some people still call it a Radiator Cap no matter where its placed on the system, others just call it a Pressure Cap.
BTW, has anyone tried to fit a metal tank in replace of the plastic bottle for closed cooling systems. I would think a good metal tank would be far less likely to crack than plastic under that heat and pressure cycling.
Academic Bickering Aside, if your system has some sort of pressure relief valve, like a Pressure Relief Cap (A Radiator Cap installed in a different place) I would look at replacing it. They are cheap and often fail after a couple of years.
If the Pressure Cap malfunctions, it could hold a much lower pressure in a perfectly good system, which will allow the coolant to boil at a much lower temp, and once the coolant starts to boil it will force its way out past the failing Pressure Cap. In this case, a new Pressure Cap is all that is required to return the system to perfect function.
Also pay heed to the advice about cracks and leaks, they will have the same effect and can be difficult to find. Some cracks or leaks, will still seal up to a certain pressure, then start to leak once the coolant starts to get warmer and build pressure in the system, and the results can be the same as the bad Pressure Cap. The coolant boils way to early (at a lower temp because the pressure is lower) the rapidly expanding steam forces itself and coolant with it out the leak.