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New Renix Coolant Bottle and Cap problems

Muad'Dib said:
As an update to mine, the Volvo cap has been holding up fine, but i have been struggling with bottle quality now. Seems each brand i get starts to crack at around 6-10 months of use.
Click to expand...

Where is it cracking? You also have been having a lean problem right?

You may be running hotter than I am. I use a 180 F T-stat and keep my peak absolute temps down to about 205-210, with an average of 185-200 winter to summer. Both radiators are pretty new, same for clutch and water pumps.

I noticed the last time I had an overheating issue, the bottles seemed to look bloated at about 220 F. My sons 96 ford, and daughters 2001 Saturn run at 210-220 all year, cycled by the PCM-Temp sensor-E-fan.

I also run my e-fans all the time. Except on a cold winter morning. I stopped trusting the E-fan temp switches.
 
You could always add a hole in the hood, LOL!
 
Muad'Dib said:
Ok, today i made it down to the hardware store (Happens to be an Ace Hardware) and found something perfect for the bottom nipple for the tank.

Its a 3/8" x 2-1/2" brass nipple. It was highway robbery @ 5.99 .. but it does work. You will probably find it cheaper somewhere else.

It threads into the bottom nipple fairly tightly... but it does go:

2ajwdqa.jpg


2-1/2" length works great. After you get it as far as you can into the bottom nipple, you just about have the threaded section left over. Its also the perfect amount of material for your pipe wrench or vise grips like what i used:

345hr2u.jpg


Now at this point you may be able to get away with leaving the excess alone unless you purchased a larger brass nipple. However, i wanted the excess cut off so i just busted out my dremel and cut off the excess. Afterwards i cleaned up the cut end's edge just by "shaving" over it with the dremel again (the cutting blade perpendicular to the pipe). This helped even up the cut and make it fairly smooth so it wouldnt cut through anything (it probably wont ever touch hose anyway.. just safe insurance).

2r4tm5e.jpg


i404uc.jpg


sxp574.jpg


There you have it... no more collapsing bottom nipple!
Click to expand...

This mod of yours (above), in combo with the Volvo bottle cap, has held up on two of my Renix jeeps now for 4 years!!!!
 
Getting close to 5 years with no more problems using this Renix bottle fix!!!!:party:
 
That Mod Looks Interesting, Gonna Have To Do Something Like That For The Side Nipple, Thats What Broke On My Factory one
 
The cheap China bottles have a steel metal reinforcement in the side nipple. That is where the idea came from for the bottom nipple.

sandsgg said:
That Mod Looks Interesting, Gonna Have To Do Something Like That For The Side Nipple, Thats What Broke On My Factory one
Click to expand...
 
X2 for the Mac's Radiator aluminium surge tank. I've had mine for a little while now, with no problems whatsoever. Not only is it beefy, but it spruces-up the engine compartment beautifully. :D Solve your problem permanently, & you'll save money in the long run.
 
sandsgg said:
The One I Got From The Jy Is I Believe An Intact Original... Could Be Wrong, But It Doesnt Look To Be Too Shoddy.
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The 89 white 4x4 Renix I bought last year has an intact OEM, now yellow bottle on it that is still leak free. Must be at least 10-15 years old from the looks of it.
 
I have been through this entire thread. Is there any hard data for system pressure when the vehicle is in use?

I went with the Volvo bottle and cap, twice. The first go-round, I picked a junkyard bottle with a green cap. After two years of thermal cycles, the bottle deformed enough to leak. This time, I incorporated the steel bracket used to mount the Volvo bottles. With the black cap, everything "looks" OK. With the green cap, the bottle looks bloated at the ends.

The reason for asking is that the black and green caps are rated approximately 11 PSI and 22 PSI respectively. I was told the RENIX cap relieves pressure at 14 PSI (Can anyone confirm this?).

More than anything else, I am concerned about over pressuring my heater core.

My bastardized mounting system.

STUFF006.jpg
 
12-15psi according to my 88 FSM. Confirmed.

I have a Volvo bottle and black cap I've never used (also a jy find). My bottle from Quadratec with an OEM cap has worked quite well for a few years now. You can see when back in Post #9 of this thread.
 
Last edited:
I seriously doubt any of the plastic bottle caps or bottles are rated for more than 16 PSIG pressure.

I measured the system pressure on my renix and it ran at 8-10 psi at 20-210 F IIRC.

My 87 is still running the same bottle I posted about here years ago, but the 89 finally developed a weak spot on the front side and I replaced it about 4 weeks ago. It had been overheated last year once and got so hot the bottle was weakened. The T-Stat went bad, or the radiator plastic tank blew first, then the other last year (or 2 years ago?), and it got hot enough to damage the bottle wall (it got real thin in a stress spot), but still lasted another 12 (or was it 24?) months.
 
The China bottle caps are no good.
 
Ecomike said:
The China bottle caps are no good.
Click to expand...

Found that out myself. When the OEM one blew it made one hell of a steam cloud as it was -5F out. The Quadratech chinese piece of crap kept popping the cap off and causing boil overs. Figuring a marginal radiator was part of the problem, I replaced it with a nice all-metal one for the newer "open" setup and got rid of the pressure bottle altogether.

As for pressures, I recall seeing the service manual said 6 psi but I think that was a misprint and it should have said 16-psi.
 
Ecomike said:
I seriously doubt any of the plastic bottle caps or bottles are rated for more than 16 PSIG pressure.

I measured the system pressure on my renix and it ran at 8-10 psi at 20-210 F IIRC.
Click to expand...
The green Volvo cap is rated at 150 kPa, a bit more than 16lbs. As luck would have it, I did save at least one of the old caps. It fits perfectly. :)
 
As I hate to admit it, I ended up switching to an Aluminum bottle from MAC's Radiator (they are local to me).

I didn't have an issue with caps anymore once I switched to the Volvo, but bottles started giving me headaches. I was buying new ones once a year it seemed. Because of the expansion and contraction of the bottle, they seem to develop cracks easily. I tried all different brands (besides MOPAR OEM) and all seemed to have the same issue. It may be issues because of where I live as seasons are well defined. (100 degree summers and snowy 25 degree winters)
 
I gave up on the "replacement" bottles. Dealer, NAPA, and everybody else showed me something identical to the $20, Crown replacement.

In my mind, that is a waste of perfectly good coolant.
 
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