Coolant Reservoir STRESS CRACKS-SWELLING ETC!

[1990Pioneer]

Hello all, I have a 1990 pioneer il6 with a closed cooling system. I purchased it about a year ago and I have done a ton of work to it since then. One problem I had last year is when the coolant reservoir blew up. It was obviously old and the plastic was cracked and probably brittle etc. I installed a new OEM replacement from Napa. I went up into the hills on a day trip last weekend and had a look under the hood just to make sure all is was well and I noticed that on top of the 8 month old coolant reservoir there is what looks like cracks in two spots from it expanding etc. WTH? The cooling system works great, I've replaced everything. It's obvious that this reservoir is a weak link in the system. Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

 

[DansGreyMj]

A lot of the replacement bottles are Chinese, and they are junk. I don't really know of a good source of quality replacements. I have not dealt with the closed cooling system in a few years since I converted my MJ.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

every auto parts store sells the same one, it's made by dorman and it's a piece of crap. go to the dealer and get a real OEM one and a new cap while you're at it.

 

[pokeyxj]

I've seen aluminum resevoirs for replacements. Don't remember the site now. The best is probably to convert over to the open system from a 91 or newer XJ. Back when I had my 88 I bought a dealer bottle and cap, the cap did not fit the bottle. This caused over heating. Had to reuse the old cap(original 88 cap). The dealer bottle was the same as the NAPA bottle.

 

[toates89]

install a T shaped radiator cap adapter that can be installed on the upper rad hose and install a resivoir bottle and be done with it like i did.

so much nicer not having to constantly look under the hood hopeing its not leaking

looks like this
http://www.1aauto.com/1A/RadiatorHo...opping&utm_source=google_base&utm_content=EEK

 

[cherokeex2]

I made one out of stainless steel when my second reservoir cracked.

There are only 2 drawbacks: You cant see the level and you cant touch it after when the engine has been running for 5 minutes.
here is how it looks:

It looks smaller than the original but it holds the same amount of coolant.

 

[akelts]

Macsradiator.com sells the aluminum ones. Installed one a couple weeks ago...wish I the skills to build my own like cherokeex2....looks nice!

 

[MNgopher]

Never did find a bottle that lasted more than a year without starting to show signs of cracking. I messed around with our '88 for 9 years and I don't know how many bottles. Converted it to the open system along with a working fan switch and never had an issue after that.

 

[Rags]

Yep, know how you feel on the expansion bottle replacement.... Alot on my 1990 and I worked at the dealer and used factory stuff and the bottles still cracked and leaked........Finally this week I converted to open system since radiator needed to come out and be rodded, I kept my brass OE towing closed system radiator and added a durango filler neck in upper hose and other stuff to make an open system.... I posted up on what I did to my 1990 cooling system in another thread...........

.....

Never did find a bottle that lasted more than a year without starting to show signs of cracking. I messed around with our '88 for 9 years and I don't know how many bottles. Converted it to the open system along with a working fan switch and never had an issue after that.

 

[Hypoid]

I went to the junkyard, got a Volvo reservoir, went to the hardware and the auto parts, got adapters to neck down the top hose to the reservoir.

I'm out $20, it works.

 

[1990Pioneer]

Thank you all for the response! I appreciate it as always. I picked up the same pos bottle at Napa yesterday, it has a lifetime warranty, THANK GOD, IT NEEDS IT! I would like to change it to a open cooling system, probably this winter. I would love to hear about how some of you guys converted your closed systems to open ones! The cap that comes with it is suppose to relieve pressure at 15 psi. I have a Volvo cap that fits, I wonder if that would help at all?

 

[WB9YZU]

You must replace the cap with the bottle.

This may be a closed look system, but the cap is still a pressure cap.
This is the same system that Renault used. The pressure relief cap is at the top of the reservoir. If it clogs or sticks, the bottle will crack.

 

[cruiser54]

The Volvo cap fits much better than the common chinese replacements. 703-1396 at Napa.

 

[Ecomike]

I went to the junkyard, got a Volvo reservoir, went to the hardware and the auto parts, got adapters to neck down the top hose to the reservoir.

I'm out $20, it works.

Most of the newer cars used closed systems like Renix did, and their bottles hold up for years with no problems.

The Renix bottles are not designed to handle more than about 210-220 F peak, with out having problems, they depend on everything else in the engine and cooling system being near peak performance. The after market caps have two problems, they spead when hot and lose their grip on the bottle threads, and the seal goes. They are also too tall, and the hood hits them mashing the bottle, and the mashing causes the stress crack failures in the bottles. Using a volvo bottle cap solves the problem, it holds the seal and does not hit the hood. The volvo cap is stock at NAPA and Autozone and others. Runs about $7.

My cheap China bottles have held up for over 3 years now. BUT, they needed one more fix. The bottom 1/2 nipple does not like worm gear clamps, deforms and eventually leaks, and the fix there is to insert (thread it in) a 2" long by 3/8" brass nipple inside the 1/2" plastic nipple, just like they already did to the smaller side nipple!!!!

That is all it takes to get years out of the cheap China bottle. I have been running two Renix with those fixes for 3-4 years now. Other option is to JY hunt for a new era bottle from the newer cars. They use a better grade plastic that can handle 220-230 F all day long for years. The Volvo, Saturn, and Ford Taurus are just a few that hold up quiet well for years.

 

[Ecomike]

Here are the two studies I did on how to fix this:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=952147&highlight=renix+bottle

And this hose mod makes filing the radiator and getting all the air out of Renix closed systems a breeze.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1000460&highlight=renix+bottle

 

[1990Pioneer]

As always, thank you all for the input! I will defiantly go back to using the Volvo cap that I have. I did notice that the cap that comes with the bottle does hit the hood!