"Deal Killer - Powered by Focus" (dealkiller-ii)
08/25/2014 at 23:01 • Filed to: None
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"Deal Killer - Powered by Focus" (dealkiller-ii)
08/25/2014 at 23:01 • Filed to: None | 0
| 10 |
I turn to the great hive mind of Oppo to try and figure out if my wife's T&C is on its way to being well & truly fubar'd or if this is an easily fixable issue. Earlier this month, the van started to leak coolant beneath the radiator, not much, but maybe a quart - 1/2 gallon every 7 - 10 days or so. I put the van up on stands and took a peak, and didn't see any obvious cracks in the radiator itself, but couldn't immediately trace the leak to anything specific. A few weeks ago, she drove it to her parents house, where her dad, noticing the leak, put some of that wondrous "Stop Leak" into the radiator. Well, it stopped the leak, all right, but the radiator is still losing fluid, but I don't see any steam from the radiator nor fluid on the ground when she parks it after driving it. The temp gauge, by the way, stays perfectly in the middle after warming up, never overheating. The reservoir tank was staying full, even though the radiator itself was very low on fluid, as I'd pop the cap and check every few days, and have to top the radiator up. I pulled the tube from the radiator itself to the reservoir tank tonight, and it was plugged with that stupid stop leak crap, so I blew it out with some compressed air. I also noticed that the top radiator hose was compressed from vacuum before I opened the radiator cap. That can't be good. My next move is to undo the top & bottom hoses and see if they are sincerely plugged up. After that, probably a new radiator. Any ideas? Much appreciated. Here's a pic of the drop dead sexy T & C. (not the actual car, but a dead ringer for it).
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/25/2014 at 23:03 |
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Check your oil for a milky color.
deekster_caddy
> Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/25/2014 at 23:05 |
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well now that it has some plug-all in it you will be enjoying the new radiator and heater core so you might as well start there! The radiator cap is the biggest "leak" so you'll probably want to replace that too. Ugh.
Otherwise you could put a flouresent dye in it and look for it the next day.
Textured Soy Protein
> Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/25/2014 at 23:08 |
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Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
> Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
08/25/2014 at 23:08 |
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My thought as well. Oil looks OK on the dip stick. No white smoke out the back either.
JGrabowMSt
> Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/25/2014 at 23:19 |
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Is it definitely coming from the bottom of the radiator? I've seen radiators crack where the plastic is bonded together, and it can be hard to spot if the hole is tiny enough, you wouldn't necessarily see any steam, but it would be foaming a little around the crack.
The stop leak is likely causing more trouble than it's solving. If you can, I would do a complete coolant flush. Also, clean up as much as you can under the car, and look for spots that get dirty.
If you need to find a persistent leak, park the car on cardboard overnight. A few drops can go away, but not a stain on cardboard.
But the biggest most important thing is that the radiator hose should never be compressed. If it is, you need a new one. They should never collapse, it means there's a clog somewhere, and you're starving the water pump. If the overflow tank is in it's safe level, you should be fine. That level is supposed to be for the entire coolant system (why it's called the overflow tank) so regardless of what's in the radiator, if the level is fine, the level is fine. The coolant expands a lot under pressure from heat (why there's a pressure cap), so don't overfill the coolant, it'll just make a mess as it escapes through the vent on the overflow tank.
1) check the oil color for any discoloration. Signs of a blown head gasket. Big big trouble.
2) flush the coolant after replacing the radiator hoses. There should be no vacuum pressure in the coolant system. Indications of a clog somewhere, and that's really really bad. Check your thermostat as well.
3) Never ever ever let the in laws touch Stop Leak.
Frank Grimes
> Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/25/2014 at 23:25 |
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Put uv dye in. stuff is very bright and should be able to easily see the leak. I have used it twice and it works really well. they try to sell a flash light and uv goggle things but really I dont see the need just get the dye.
ClassicDatsunDebate
> Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/25/2014 at 23:30 |
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If the reservoir is full and the rad is empty, odds are that you have air in the system. The leaking is probably your reservoir overflowing because the air prevents the vacuum to form and suck the coolant back into the rad when it cools down. I'd refill the system and do a proper "burp" to remove as much air as possible...youtube it. A faulty rad cap can cause this too.
DoYouEvenShift
> Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/26/2014 at 00:04 |
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The collapsed hose is probably caused by the stop leak blocking the over flow, either at the radiator cap or the hose that leads from the radiator to the reservoir. As the the engine cools, the pressure in the system decreases and pulls whatever coolant overflowed into the reservoir, back into the radiator. If that path is blocked, the system goes into sort of a vacuum. I hope that makes sense, Im not very good at explaining things. I know its common on those vans to leak from the water pump, which would be obvious.
Take it to a shop and have them pressure test the system. That should pin point the leak. Good luck
Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/26/2014 at 00:49 |
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+1 on the dye testing kit. Also heard you should avoid stopleak in many modern radiators, but YMMV?
Figuring out how you're losing coolant is so frustrating... No backstory necessary, but I eventually discovered a tiny tiny tiny crack in my radiator right on the lip where the cap tightens! Couldn't even see the damned thing...
Old-Busted-Hotness
> Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/26/2014 at 07:41 |
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The hose collapsed because the overflow/vent line was plugged. In fact, a plugged overflow line would explain just about everything here.