In a message dated 9/9/2005 9:26:37 AM Central Standard Time, Dave1massey
writes:
> In a message dated 9/8/2005 6:28:00 PM Central Standard Time,
> Acekraut11@aol.com writes:
> >> Does this sound possible? Coolant is full but the level drops because
>> some is leaving via the heater valve. At some point the level of the
>> coolant lowers enough so that the pressure builds up when it is hot and
>> vents out steam through the fill tube, exactly where the radiator cap
>> is supposed to vent. At this point the major steam event gets my
>> attention and I think I have a problem all of the sudden when in
>> reality it has been slowly building to this venting due to coolant loss
>> through the heater valve(hopefully) or a leak in the head gasket.(hope
>> not).
>>
> The way the cooling system is designed is the pump pulls coolant from the
> radiator and pumps it to the engine block. Any deficit in the fill will show
> up in the level at the radiator but the engine block will stay full. Once
>the
> level in the radiator is low enough the cooling capacity of the radiator
> will diminish and the engine temp will rise and this will be indicated on the
> gauge. If you are blowing steam but the temp gauge is staying in the normal
> range then either the gauge is not working right or you have another source
>of
> coolant loss.
>
> One way to test for a leaky head gasket is to have someone with emissions
> test equipment sniff the radiator.
>
> But since you need a new valve anyway maybe you should replace that first.
>
> Dave
Return-path: <Dave1massey@cs.com>
From: Dave1massey@cs.com
Full-name: Dave1massey
Message-ID: <66.5ed17668.3052f59d@cs.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 10:26:37 EDT
Subject: Re: Cooling System Pressure
To: Acekraut11@aol.com
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In a message dated 9/8/2005 6:28:00 PM Central Standard Time,
Acekraut11@aol.com writes:
> Does this sound possible? Coolant is full but the level drops because
> some is leaving via the heater valve. At some point the level of the
> coolant lowers enough so that the pressure builds up when it is hot and
> vents out steam through the fill tube, exactly where the radiator cap
> is supposed to vent. At this point the major steam event gets my
> attention and I think I have a problem all of the sudden when in
> reality it has been slowly building to this venting due to coolant loss
> through the heater valve(hopefully) or a leak in the head gasket.(hope
> not).
>
The way the cooling system is designed is the pump pulls coolant from the
radiator and pumps it to the engine block. Any deficit in the fill will show
up
in the level at the radiator but the engine block will stay full. Once the
level in the radiator is low enough the cooling capacity of the radiator will
diminish and the engine temp will rise and this will be indicated on the gauge.
If you are blowing steam but the temp gauge is staying in the normal range
then either the gauge is not working right or you have another source of
coolant
loss.
One way to test for a leaky head gasket is to have someone with emissions
test equipment sniff the radiator.
But since you need a new valve anyway maybe you should replace that first.
Dave
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