NMC_EXP
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2021
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 51
- Location
- Raton, NM
- Vehicle Year
- 1997
- Make / Model
- Ford Ranger
- Transmission
- Manual
My DD is a '97 Ranger with a 4.0L V6, 5 spd. It has 109K miles on it.
Couple of years ago it started dribbling coolant on the driveway - leave a 6" dia spot every time I parked it. Deal is I'm 73 YOA and crippled up so I cannot crawl under it to eyeball the cause. My local mechanic replaced the heater control valve and some heater hoses but he was not convinced that was the fix - it was not.
The spot on the driveway is under the right side of the engine about half way between the front of the block and the firewall. I know that a leak can run down and drip places not directly under where they came from.
Anyhow the deal is 10 days ago the overflow tank was empty but cold the radiator was full up to the cap. I refilled the overflow tank. Couple of days ago just driving aroung town the temp gage came up to normal but then would drop down to the bottom of the normal range, after a while go back to normal. This makes me think I have an air pocket in the cooling circuit even though the radiator was full to the top when cold. This is the third time this has happened.
Question:
(1) I know the overflow tank was intended to catch radiator overflow if it was overfilled or overheated then boiled over. My question is if the radiator is low can it siphon coolant back from the overflow tank to the radiator? If not I think maybe the overflow tank is leaking but I just can't see it.
Remembering back when I used to work on my own vehicles I recall you could check a radiator cold and it was full. With the cap off let the engine warm fully up and at first if would puke some coolant out over the top then then I suppose when the thermostat opened up the air pocket would hit the radiator and coolant level would drop out of sight - then you would fill the radiator to the top and put the cap on. Am I thinking right on that?
I hate to replace the coolant recovery tank based on just a wild guess. I should add no sign of a blown head gasket.
Thanks in advance.
Jim
Couple of years ago it started dribbling coolant on the driveway - leave a 6" dia spot every time I parked it. Deal is I'm 73 YOA and crippled up so I cannot crawl under it to eyeball the cause. My local mechanic replaced the heater control valve and some heater hoses but he was not convinced that was the fix - it was not.
The spot on the driveway is under the right side of the engine about half way between the front of the block and the firewall. I know that a leak can run down and drip places not directly under where they came from.
Anyhow the deal is 10 days ago the overflow tank was empty but cold the radiator was full up to the cap. I refilled the overflow tank. Couple of days ago just driving aroung town the temp gage came up to normal but then would drop down to the bottom of the normal range, after a while go back to normal. This makes me think I have an air pocket in the cooling circuit even though the radiator was full to the top when cold. This is the third time this has happened.
Question:
(1) I know the overflow tank was intended to catch radiator overflow if it was overfilled or overheated then boiled over. My question is if the radiator is low can it siphon coolant back from the overflow tank to the radiator? If not I think maybe the overflow tank is leaking but I just can't see it.
Remembering back when I used to work on my own vehicles I recall you could check a radiator cold and it was full. With the cap off let the engine warm fully up and at first if would puke some coolant out over the top then then I suppose when the thermostat opened up the air pocket would hit the radiator and coolant level would drop out of sight - then you would fill the radiator to the top and put the cap on. Am I thinking right on that?
I hate to replace the coolant recovery tank based on just a wild guess. I should add no sign of a blown head gasket.
Thanks in advance.
Jim