In a message dated 11/17/2006 7:16:07 AM Central Standard Time,
aldwyn@sylvancircle.org writes:
> Yes, or the seal at the bottle itself... 30 year old seal, after all!
>
> BTW.. should I be doing this after refilling the radiator, or before? I
> assume before, but since I am un-edumacated on these matters, I figured I
> would ask.
>
That raises a good point. There is no seal at the bottle but the tube must
extend below the water line in the bottle. The way it works is as the engine
cools down and the coolant volume decreases it will cause the vacuum relief in
the cap to open and whatever is at the cap will be drawn in. If it is air it
will be drawn in. If it is coolant that will be drawn in.
The cap and the filler neck are configured with a gasket seal so it will draw
via the tube connected there. If the tube is in good shape and if the end of
the tube is below the waterline in the bottle the contents of the bottle will
be taken in. If the end of the tube is in air the system will suck air (so
to speak).
To determine if you have a leak or just a failure of the recovery system to
replenish fluid to the cooling system you can run this test.
1) Fill the radiator. Drive the car until it is fully warm. Shut it down.
2) With the engine still cold before the next time you drive it check and
note the radiator level. Do not top up. The radiator cap will expel any
coolant
that doesn't fit in the cooling system when it is warm.
3) Each time you drive it check the coolant level before starting when the
engine is cold. If the level remains the same then the recover system is not
working and you can function just fine without it.
Having a functioning recovery system is a convenient thing. You can look at
the level in the recovery bottle without opening anything. If it is mostly
full then odds are the cooling system is fine, too. If it is low you know it
is
time to check the radiator.
Cheers
Dave
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