Hi Guys,
I drove around 600km today and the gauge stayed under halfway the whole time.
However the overflow bottle from the radiator did fill up quite a lot but never overfilled like it used to.
I have attached a photo showing how high it got. I have marke dthe Low and High mark on the bottle and the red arrow at the top shows the height of the water.
Is it normal for the bottle to fill that high?
I drove around 600km today and the gauge stayed under halfway the whole time.
However the overflow bottle from the radiator did fill up quite a lot but never overfilled like it used to.
I have attached a photo showing how high it got. I have marke dthe Low and High mark on the bottle and the red arrow at the top shows the height of the water.
Is it normal for the bottle to fill that high?
Attachments:
Affiliate Member
was it like that right after you drove?
It should come down as the engine cools.
as long as it stays constant after the engine has cooled.
It should come down as the engine cools.
as long as it stays constant after the engine has cooled.
hi Marius
Yes was like that when i stopped. It seemed to go up gradually over the course of the day (I stopped and checked a couple of times).
Before putting in the new radiator it would actually overflow and the bottle and when the problem became worse in december the temp gauge started showing the vehicle was actually overheating.
This time it rose that high but didn't overflow at all.
Is it normal for there to be such a large rise in the level in the bottle? As you can see it is far above the "full" mark. Does that "full" mark relate to when the engine is cold?
Yes was like that when i stopped. It seemed to go up gradually over the course of the day (I stopped and checked a couple of times).
Before putting in the new radiator it would actually overflow and the bottle and when the problem became worse in december the temp gauge started showing the vehicle was actually overheating.
This time it rose that high but didn't overflow at all.
Is it normal for there to be such a large rise in the level in the bottle? As you can see it is far above the "full" mark. Does that "full" mark relate to when the engine is cold?
That bottle is also known as an "expansion" tank. As the water heats up in the motor it "expands" and pushes past the radiator cap into the bottle. If the system is functioning correctly, the level in the expansion tank will rise as the motor heats up and eventually the level will stabilise. After the trip the motor starts to cool down, the water will "contract" and be sucked from the expansion tank through the return valve in the cap back into the radiator.
That is why the max mark is so low on the bottle - to allow room for the expanding water without losing any past the overflow on the bottle.
That is why the max mark is so low on the bottle - to allow room for the expanding water without losing any past the overflow on the bottle.
ok thanks roelf..so lekker to drive a car that no longer overheats. went up some long hills and in temp around 30degrees and needle stayed below halfway
the temp gauge still hasn't gone ove rhalf and I have driven around 1 200km ove rthe last 3 days and over many fairly large hills.
The overflow/expansion bottle did get quite full today (see attached pic) but it still didn't overfill like it used to. I am holding thumbs that all is sorted out...does seem to be...
Does anybody think that there may be an iarlock in the cooling system afetr fitting the new radiator or is this amount of expansion normal?
The overflow/expansion bottle did get quite full today (see attached pic) but it still didn't overfill like it used to. I am holding thumbs that all is sorted out...does seem to be...
Does anybody think that there may be an iarlock in the cooling system afetr fitting the new radiator or is this amount of expansion normal?
Attachments:
TC,
I'm sure the more clever guys are going to help us out soon now. But if it was my car, I'd be a little worried about the almost full tank.
That space in the bottle is more for emergency than regular use.
Just think back to the "old days" before expansion tanks. The radiator had a overflow pipe from the cap to the ground. When the water gets too hot in the radiator and it expands beyond the pressure capability of the pressure cap. It would have discharged to the ground and be lost and you would have needed to top-up the radiator. Topping up every day was manageable, but we all knew that it is an indication of a less than perfect cooling system. In your case you would have needed to top-up your radiator every time the water pushed up in the expansion tank (because in the old days it would have been lost).
TC, I truly hope that I'm wrong. But I believe your car is still running on the limit of it's cooling capability. Either the pressure cap is releasing the water at too low a pressure, or the water is still getting too hot.
Locking the fan clutch had helped, sticking in a nice new radiator had also helped, but something isn't quite perfect in there.
Please 4E clan - chip in here and show me that my logic is seriously flawed.
I'm sure the more clever guys are going to help us out soon now. But if it was my car, I'd be a little worried about the almost full tank.
That space in the bottle is more for emergency than regular use.
Just think back to the "old days" before expansion tanks. The radiator had a overflow pipe from the cap to the ground. When the water gets too hot in the radiator and it expands beyond the pressure capability of the pressure cap. It would have discharged to the ground and be lost and you would have needed to top-up the radiator. Topping up every day was manageable, but we all knew that it is an indication of a less than perfect cooling system. In your case you would have needed to top-up your radiator every time the water pushed up in the expansion tank (because in the old days it would have been lost).
TC, I truly hope that I'm wrong. But I believe your car is still running on the limit of it's cooling capability. Either the pressure cap is releasing the water at too low a pressure, or the water is still getting too hot.
Locking the fan clutch had helped, sticking in a nice new radiator had also helped, but something isn't quite perfect in there.
Please 4E clan - chip in here and show me that my logic is seriously flawed.