Reservoir Tank Overflowing

[240nessx]

Hey, when i shut my car off it pushes a bunch of coolant out of the reservoir tank, and every couple weeks i have to refill my radiator cause it starts to get too low. I replaced the thermostat and the radiator cap, and its still doing it. What would be the next thing to check?

I also have no heat in my car and I've bled the coolant system about 4-5 times trying to get heat. Could this mean i have a blown head gasket?

[OutToWinPAHC]

Well you need to fix it before you do.

It can mean headgasket, or just air in the system. You should rent a cooling pressure tester, tighten all clamps, test at 1.3 bar for 30 minutes and look for external leaks, repair as needed, replace rad cap, and properly bleed the coolant.

[240nessx]

i already replaced the cap, and i pressure tested the new one and its fine, at the same time i pressure tested the radiator (not as extensive as 30min) but there was no visible leaks.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Your here for help? It better hold pressure for atleast 30 min.

take a jack lift the front slightly.
take radiator cap out.
take bleed screw off
take a 2 liter pepsi bottle cut it in half
take some black electrical tape and wrap the bottle neck a little
flip it around and place the bottle neck were the radiator cap was at.
have somebody start the car
turn on the heater
now start filling it with coolant
close bleed screw after you get a nice even stream of coolant
add antifreeze until you over fill the rad by a quart
let the engine run after 3 minutes the thermostat will open and suck in the exess antifreeze
fill it again but with about a half of quart.
let it run until no more bubbles come out.
replace cap and enjoy

[240nessx]

im not trying to be an a**. i know how to bleed the coolant system, but ive done that 4-5 times and ive let it idle for about 30mins to 1hr to get air out of the lines. and im not enjoying...

[bersh240]

no heat as in you removed it? or no heat as in its not blowing hot air? heater core clogged?

[OutToWinPAHC]

Is the T-Stat facing the right way? Is the hole on the up side?, Is the heater core bypassed?

[240nessx]

no heat as in you removed it? or no heat as in its not blowing hot air? heater core clogged?

I have a heater core, its just blowing cold air. It could either be clogged or the heater control valve is stuck closed. I was never able to find out where the valve was so I gave up on it. I blew air and water and it went through fine, I'm gonna try and make it flow the opposite way like a tech told me.

Is the T-Stat facing the right way? Is the hole on the up side?, Is the heater core bypassed?

The heater core is not bypassed its just either clogged or the control valve is stuck closed. My thermostat is in the right way, and the hole is at the top.


So if any of you know where the heater control valve is located, like exact position, it would be greatly appreciated because I'm completely stumped. Thanks

[eds13]

had the same problem when i had my CA in my car. never figured out what it was either....

[jeremy242]

Your here for help? It better hold pressure for atleast 30 min.

take a jack lift the front slightly.
take radiator cap out.
take bleed screw off
take a 2 liter pepsi bottle cut it in half
take some black electrical tape and wrap the bottle neck a little
flip it around and place the bottle neck were the radiator cap was at.
have somebody start the car
turn on the heater
now start filling it with coolant
close bleed screw after you get a nice even stream of coolant
add antifreeze until you over fill the rad by a quart
let the engine run after 3 minutes the thermostat will open and suck in the exess antifreeze
fill it again but with about a half of quart.
let it run until no more bubbles come out.
replace cap and enjoy

i do this but usually have the front end up really high. Sometimes it takes a while to get it all out. Try pumping the hoses with you hand to make sure there is no air in them.

[240nessx]

I've been hearing a clacking noise intermittently and today i heard it, pulled off to the side of the road and it was my reservoir tank making the noise, while it was filling up, i shut the car off, and it all sucked back into the radiator, but my upper radiator hose suctioned itself together like i was pinching it closed, but i wasn't even touching it. After all the coolant went back into the radiator the hose un-suctioned and there was coolant all in it. Are radiator hoses suppose to be really squishy or should they be hard?, my upper rad hose is really squishy and that's why I'm thinking i was able to pinch itself closed. Also when it sucked all the coolant back into the radiator from the reservoir tank, it kept sucking and it sounded like it was pulling in air. If i add more coolant to prevent this, it just dumps it out through the reservoir tank next time its driven.

[murderrsirenss]

The heater core is not bypassed its just either clogged or the control valve is stuck closed. My thermostat is in the right way, and the hole is at the top.


So if any of you know where the heater control valve is located, like exact position, it would be greatly appreciated because I'm completely stumped. Thanks

Do you have a clutch fan, if so, is it running all the time? If so you should prob replace it. My old s13 would rarely heat up and then I put a piece of cardboard about 3 inches short on top and on the sides to still let some air in and then drove it and my car heated up normally. So I replaced the fan and everything was fine.

p.s. I had the same issue, minus the overflow tank, but I bled my system countless times and it would never heat up unless I was beating on it constantly while out sliding or something.

[NismoRTuneS13]

sounds like a clog to me. I had the same thing happen to me, my overflow would spill all the time at idle. Once i took off my radiator hoses, i had what looked like big pieces of salt spill out. Then a week later a blown headgasket. I love KA's.

[240nessx]

were ur hoses really soft?...i was thinking of replacing the hoses