- Location
- MilkyWay Galaxy
I have have had an unusual radiator problem for the last four years. :bawl:By backwards, I mean most radiator problems have to do with leaks. Mine does not leak, and to be a little punny it does not suck either, and that sorta sucks if know what I mean. In other words it refuses to refill itself from the overflow bottle when it cools down overnight.
I had the radiator cleaned, rodded out, and repaired recently, 3 weeks ago and the unusual problem did not go away.
The system works normally and runs fairly cool while the engine is running (170 winter, 215 summer with A/C on at 100 F ambient). It is an open system with an overflow bottle. The problem I have is that the coolant in the overflow bottle, about 80% of the time, refuses to return the radiator when the radiator cools down overnight. Sometimes it has returned to the radiator in the past, like 20% of the time, but since I got the radiator rebuilt it has not returned on its own, yet.
There are no external leaks anywhere and have not been any for 3 years ( I would have noticed). The radiator had a small head leak at the top of the radiator that sealed itself (good use of radiator sealant) but that got properly soldered at the radiator shop a few weeks ago, so it is no longer a possible source of air getting into the radiator during cooldown.
The overflow bottle and return hose is air tight, no fluid or air leaks, the radiator cap has been replaced and tested with several brands and pressures over the last three years (tried like 5 new caps). The overflow nipple on the radiator cap throat is OK. I have put 20,000 miles on this beast while I had this problem. I just manually poured the coolant back into the radiator each morning if the coolant bottle was full. The engine/radoitor system runs cool. The overflow quantity is normal.
I have run out of ideas. Any one else ever had this sort of problem and found a solution, or figured out what was causing it.
I thought it might be something like a water pump seal going out, but its been doing this for 20,000 miles since 2003!
Its a 1985 jeep radiator (was 2.5 Liter gaser) in a jeep Cherooke Pioneer , now with a Nissan SD22 diesel transplanted engine with a manual tranny so no tranny fluid in the radiator. Absolutely no engine problems and no coolant/oil mixing, etc. Everthing is normal except this da#n coolant return problem. Oh, and all the coolant hoses are only 12 to 18 months old. I am currently running a 13 Lb. pressure cap and the overflow that does not return to the radiator is about 1 quart.
So what's my problem????:helpme:
I had the radiator cleaned, rodded out, and repaired recently, 3 weeks ago and the unusual problem did not go away.
The system works normally and runs fairly cool while the engine is running (170 winter, 215 summer with A/C on at 100 F ambient). It is an open system with an overflow bottle. The problem I have is that the coolant in the overflow bottle, about 80% of the time, refuses to return the radiator when the radiator cools down overnight. Sometimes it has returned to the radiator in the past, like 20% of the time, but since I got the radiator rebuilt it has not returned on its own, yet.
There are no external leaks anywhere and have not been any for 3 years ( I would have noticed). The radiator had a small head leak at the top of the radiator that sealed itself (good use of radiator sealant) but that got properly soldered at the radiator shop a few weeks ago, so it is no longer a possible source of air getting into the radiator during cooldown.
The overflow bottle and return hose is air tight, no fluid or air leaks, the radiator cap has been replaced and tested with several brands and pressures over the last three years (tried like 5 new caps). The overflow nipple on the radiator cap throat is OK. I have put 20,000 miles on this beast while I had this problem. I just manually poured the coolant back into the radiator each morning if the coolant bottle was full. The engine/radoitor system runs cool. The overflow quantity is normal.
I have run out of ideas. Any one else ever had this sort of problem and found a solution, or figured out what was causing it.
I thought it might be something like a water pump seal going out, but its been doing this for 20,000 miles since 2003!
Its a 1985 jeep radiator (was 2.5 Liter gaser) in a jeep Cherooke Pioneer , now with a Nissan SD22 diesel transplanted engine with a manual tranny so no tranny fluid in the radiator. Absolutely no engine problems and no coolant/oil mixing, etc. Everthing is normal except this da#n coolant return problem. Oh, and all the coolant hoses are only 12 to 18 months old. I am currently running a 13 Lb. pressure cap and the overflow that does not return to the radiator is about 1 quart.
So what's my problem????:helpme:
Last edited: