a4rontran

iTrader: (16)

I notice, after driving the car; the coolant level rise in the reservoir tank. Is this normal or bad?

Thanks

rmorr79

iTrader: (5)

depending how much fluid is going in there could be signs of a bad headgasket.

a4rontran

iTrader: (16)

i would say about 3 inch above the full mark.

barneyb

Water expands about 5% when heated to engine temperature. So, about an ounce should be coming over to the reservoir. I do not think that is enough to raise the level in the reservoir 3 inches.

a4rontran

iTrader: (16)

so it means the car has a bad head gasket? It's been like this for awhile; and there's no mixture of oil and coolant in the engine.

rmorr79

iTrader: (5)

It's not a definite but its a possibility, have you done a compression test lately? I think that the radiator cap or thermostat could also cause this. I'd start with a compression test and go from there.

barneyb

Ahhh, brain fart. Five percent of the coolant capacity is more like 10 ounces. My car's reservoir was filled to the full line and I added 10 ounces of coolant. This raised the level 1.75 inches. However, the reservoir is narrower towards the bottom. Adding coolant to a nearly empty reservoir would make a bigger change in the level.

a4rontran

iTrader: (16)

Hmm. If it's about 2 inch of rise in level, maybe I don't have a problem at all. LOL. I did compression test last year. The car was good. I noticed when i change to a new stock radiator cap; there is a leak of coolant on the transmission area. I maybe I need to replace all the lines and thermostat?

barneyb

I changed all the coolant hoses on my car at 60K and was surprised how sorta half rotten some of them were. The two big hoses were probably a waste of money. Radiator caps are usually shot after about 30K but that varies quite a bit (I have a tester). I've encountered old ones that still held pressure and new ones that didn't.