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New Renix Coolant Bottle and Cap problems

NO.
 
Muad'Dib said:
If it did though i would seriously consider buying it ... thats the only reason i dont now. Plus Ecomike's clamp trick works great too! I have still yet to try a volvo 940 cap ... but i probably will in the future.
Click to expand...

Actually I think it was 8Muds clamp trick, and he got from an unknown source. :D

Topped off my bottle yesterday morning. Made a few 10-15 minute trips yesterday, and it never got over 180 F with AC running, and no visible leaks, so I am still a bit puzzled, and nervous about what happened Friday.
 
bgred2 said:
Here is mine. VERY satisfied
Jeep%20tank.JPG
Click to expand...

I have the same bottle and I am very satisfied with it. It was a little expensive, but I think well worth it.
 
My cap popped off a few times. Never again as I bought a new rad and now have an open setup.
 
rockin ron said:
CONVERT TO THE OPEN SYSTEM, NO MORE problems! Run air in Moab @ 90 outside temp and no Issues, have the fan on a switch and a 10 blade fan, way better for sure.
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Slip Kid & Rockin Ron,

Thanks for the feed back, but I started this thread with a request that it be devoted exclusively to discussion about problems with the Renix coolant bottle CAP itself on the Renix style plastic bottles. This is not an open system versus closed coolant system thread or debate. There are already plenty of those discussions and lively debates in other threads in this forum.

My most recent post was to update others here, ( that are trying the worm gear clamp solution on the Renix plastic bottle CAP), that mine held while my lower radiator hose managed to blow off the lower radiator nipple (also plastic) in spite of a worm gear clamp on it too. Note that the WG clamp on my lower radiator hose was probably loose as it had not been tightened since the new radiator and hose were installed over 2 years ago. I did NOT tighten that radiator hose clamp as much as I usually do others as I was afraid of damaging the new radiator plastic nipple at the time, and the new radiator hose was thicker than normal when new on that end. As the hose aged, it seems it reached a point where it just blew off one day.
 
I think my biggest issue is the rubber gasket in the cap.
It seems compress after a while and seal loses strength.
I now have 2 o-rings in there and seems to be holding pressure way better,
I also use hose 2 clamps to get the pressure more even on the threads.
Last cap got deformed (quadracrap), now using new cap from dealer also keep one spare from NAPA.

I've called in the past and a sight glass can be added for a small fee
 
Well tonight I found a German made bottle cap in stock at Autozone, $6.99. The exterior plastic feels harder than the China cap, and the internals are different too. Will try the new cap tomorrow on mine. I am not having any leaks at the bottle or cap, but I have seeing higher temperatures and pressures in my system recently, may have something to do with very low humidity and near 100 F temps. Hit 99 here today. Expecting 100 F tomorrow. We are right at 100 year old high records here this week, and it is not even August yet!

:flame:
 
I used a coolant res out of a 96 Intrepid with a small over flow tank and a 14lb cap. Had to make sure the over flow line fed/sucks into the bottom of the overflow bottle. Has ran great on 100 degree days. The coolant level will vary in the over flow depending on temp. I think a bigger over flow bottle is needed.
 
While getting my 89 Renix XJ inspected yesterday, I noticed a small, new coolant leak at the bottom hose under the reservoir bottle. Bottle was only 12 months old, and still looked new. It was a Crown bottle. I tried to tighten the hose clamp and the leak got worse.

My inspection found that the bottom plastic nipple has gotten deformed under the worm gear clamp pressure in the center of the nipple, and now has a weak flat spot. Installed a new hose, two clamps, one above the other this time, with the worm gear screw/flat areas 120 degrees off from each other.

And I ordered 3 more POS Renix bottles for $22 each delivered from stevewhitemotors.com
as my 87 Bottle is showing stress from being crushed between the hood and shelf again (another roundtoit project, I still need to lower the shelf bracket).

Must admit, alternatives are starting to be considered with this latest issue. The bottom plastic nipple does not have a metal sleeve inside like the smaller side nipple does.
 
I'm on my third Dorman bottle in a year now, from Carquest. Fortunately it's lifetime warranty. The caps loosen up, bottle swells up like a balloon, coolant seeps around the stud under the strap. Junk.
 
Ecomike said:
While getting my 89 Renix XJ inspected yesterday, I noticed a small, new coolant leak at the bottom hose under the reservoir bottle. Bottle was only 12 months old, and still looked new. It was a Crown bottle. I tried to tighten the hose clamp and the leak got worse.

My inspection found that the bottom plastic nipple has gotten deformed under the worm gear clamp pressure in the center of the nipple, and now has a weak flat spot. Installed a new hose, two clamps, one above the other this time, with the worm gear screw/flat areas 120 degrees off from each other.

And I ordered 3 more POS Renix bottles for $22 each delivered from stevewhitemotors.com
as my 87 Bottle is showing stress from being crushed between the hood and shelf again (another roundtoit project, I still need to lower the shelf bracket).

Must admit, alternatives are starting to be considered with this latest issue. The bottom plastic nipple does not have a metal sleeve inside like the smaller side nipple does.
Click to expand...


Damn for $60 dollars more you could have just got the Macs bottle.
 
xjboy said:
Damn for $60 dollars more you could have just got the Macs bottle.
Click to expand...

I have two Renix jeeps running right now, so the math would be for two.

Muad'Dib,

If you find the right brass insert let us know the specs and source. Also think about using a better, rounder clamp, there is an interesting clamp style debate thread active right now in the OEM forum. I am thinking two clamps at each end, or one at the upper side, or even lower side, may be better than one in the middle. My mistake may have been clamping in the middle where there is less structural strength to the nipple. It is much stronger, thicker at the ends.

I pulled the 4 year old radiator today. Copper fins, aluminum 2 row tubes, plastic end tanks. The small 1-1/4" inlet plastic nipple has the same deformed shape issue, after 4 years of service, from the worm gear clamp flat. In fact instead of being round it has a triangle shape now. Another plastic deformed casualty, almost.

I already have a 3 row CFS, all copper/brass Rad ready to go in. I also installed an inline filler neck in the upper hose, that takes a standard radiator cap. I have not scraped the Renix bottle, yet. I did install an inline filler neck/cap for pressure testing access, and for bleeding air in the upper hose and upper radiator. I still need to deal with the return vacuum seal issue in the standard cap, but the inline filler has a threaded nipple on the side for overflow that can be swapped for a threaded plug.

I have noticed, due to the pressure tests I ran that the Renix system pressure rises much slower during initial heat up to operating temperature, compared to the open system, as the trapped air in the coolant bottle is very compressible, and the open system is not!!!!! I had to pump 15 times as much air into the renix system, as my open system on my Diesel in recent tests just to get to 15 lbs on the system for the leak tests!!!! It was a stark contrast!:idea:

JJacobs,

Yours is getting hotter than mine so far. I have never had trouble with the stud under the strap, and the clamp on the cap has worked flawlessly for me.
 
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Objective observation says that if you need to replace the radiator on a closed system, you may as well convert to the open system. The open system seems to be more forgiving. I agree that the closed system is more high tech and is still used by BMW and Mercedes. Question is, on an old vehicle, why bother?
 
Ecomike said:
I
JJacobs,

Yours is getting hotter than mine so far. I have never had trouble with the stud under the strap, and the clamp on the cap has worked flawlessly for me.
Click to expand...

How would you know that? Mine runs 180. Apparently we're not using the same parts, as this batch of Dorman tanks is clearly junk.

If you have to run a hose clamp on the cap you're not doing much better.
 
JJacobs said:
How would you know that? Mine runs 180. Apparently we're not using the same parts, as this batch of Dorman tanks is clearly junk.

If you have to run a hose clamp on the cap you're not doing much better.
Click to expand...

I assumed yours was running hot based on my experience and that of others posting here for the last 3 years. None of mine (5 so far) have ever swollen up until it reached at least 230 F! And I have verified my temps with 3 separate systems, 2 IR gauges, and a type J thermocouple.

The caps are junk for sure (and yes the bottles are not much better), but the WG clamp DOES solve the weak junk POS cap problem. Yours can not be swelling the bottle up and running at 180 F (unless *, see * for my disclaimer, LOL:laugh3:). Either your 180 F number is way off (defective gauge, sensor or tester), or you have a head gasket leak (*) pumping air in their or (2, my other disclaimer;))! I ran mine for 3 years at 180 F with no bottle swelling ever. Only reason it failed was the hood and bottle shelf crushed it! Mine has to get up to at least 230 F to swell the bottle excessively, as in blow it up.

The pressure is no where near high enough to swell even the cheapest POS Renix bottles (that I have seen) at 180 F, unless their is something like lots of air getting in there from a HG leak, or they are really selling a major POS bottle to you, or you are buying ballons instead of Renix bottles :laugh3:. I have tried 3 vendors, and found them all selling the same POS bottle.

I recently had an unusual air build up problem (2) on my diesel jeep. Turned out the water pump was sucking in air (WP gasket and mechanical seal were bad) and blowing coolant out the overflow bottle, it is an open system.

That said, if you are right (and I am wrong,.... I thought I was wrong once, but it turned out I was wrong, LOL), and the bottles you are buying are even worse crap than the rest of us have seen and bought, please pass on the warning to us again. Just let us know that your are sure it is not something else I listed above adding to your problem.
 
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