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radiator overflow


koppenhaver

Active Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
43
City
Jacksonville Fl
Vehicle Year
1983
Transmission
Automatic
okay so my ranger was running good temp gauge was fine then i stopped and it started dumping out raidiator fluid, and the upper raidiator hose had expanded greatly, so for saftey i got a new hose on. what could be the cause for this? very stumped at this point.
 
Bad radiator cap?

Rad cap does two things, it allows pressure to build up in the system as coolant expands, this extra pressure raises the boiling point of the coolant inside.
Above this preset pressure the cap allows coolant to expand out of the system and into the overflow tank, most cooling systems run 13-18psi of pressure.
After engine is off the cap has a second valve that allows coolant in the overflow tank to return to the cooling system as coolant contracts as it cools.


Do you have a coolant leak?
A leak does two things, it leaks coolant of course, but after engine is shut off and pressure goes down it can suck air into the system.
Air in the cooling system can form a pocket that will restrict flow, as coolant gets super hot if will vaporize, which raise the pressure much higher and very quickly so fast overflow.

With engine cold and rad cap off start engine, coolant level in rad should be full and no coolant should overflow while engine is cold, if you see a lot of bubbles and coolant starts to come out you may have a bad head gasket.
Let engine run for a minute or two if level in rad drops add more coolant, you had an air bubble, it is out now, well most of it :)
Rad coolant should start to warm up within 5 minutes, warm rad coolant means thermostat has opened, if rad starts to overflow after 3 to 5min. it could mean the thermostat is stuck closed.
 
okay so i sealed up the leaks i thought i had and pulled the thermostat just for now, and it still boils over i did find a crack in the radiator ...so what to do from there,like replace the radiator is the obvisous thing right??
 
If the radiator is cracked, I'd pull it and get another...not too many shops around anymore that fix them...good luck. Wonder what caused it to crack?
 

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