Tip: Most newer cars have labeled radiator caps and these caps usually have a more oval shape compared to others in the engine bay. The radiator cap is a pressurized cap near the top of the radiator at the front of the engine bay. Prop the hood up on the metal rod under the hood if it does not stay up on its own. Once the engine has cooled, pull the hood release lever inside the car, then reach under the front of the hood and lift the hood up completely. In cold areas, this may take only a few minutes. If the car has been running recently and is still hot, then let it sit for about half an hour. Tip: You can check if the car is ready by touching your hand to the hood of the car.The engine should be cool or very close to cool before attempting to remove the cap from the radiator. Before checking the radiator fluid, the car should be turned off and allowed to sit until the radiator is cool to the touch. To ensure this, you must check and add coolant periodically in order to maintain an adequate radiator fluid level. The radiator needs water and coolant (antifreeze) to function properly. The radiator cools your engine and without it, the engine may overheat and stop working. This system directs radiator fluid or coolant around the engine’s cylinder heads and valves to absorb their heat and dissipate it safely using cooling fans. Make sure it is correctly closed and replace the cap if that’s where you suspect coolant is escaping from.The radiator is at the heart of your car’s cooling system. The overflow tank cap is often the cause of the leak. To confirm, you need to actually check the coolant level to make sure you have a leak. Usually, people who don’t realize they have a leak may discover that it is a small leak which is barely noticeable on the outside. If you check your coolant levels in the radiator coolant overflow tank and they are low, then you either have slowly evaporating or leaking coolant. See Also: 8 Bad Coolant Temperature Sensor Symptoms 5) Low Level of Coolant This will be indicated on the engine temperature gauge located on the dashboard. Since the coolant’s job is to cool the engine when it is overworked, a leak (or a collapsed radiator hose) may mean that your engine is not getting enough coolant circulating through the engine to adequately cool it down.Īs a result, you can expect the temperature of your engine to rise and become overheated. So if you smell this warning sign, check the condition of the overflow tank and replace asap. While not the worst smell in the world (it’s slightly sweet), it’s not something you want to smell for long periods. If it gets bad enough then it may even circulate throughout the cabin of your vehicle. In addition to the coolant leak, there will be an apparent coolant smell coming from the front of your vehicle. There have been many cases of dogs and cats getting very sick or even dying because they ingested engine coolant. If you notice a coolant leak on the ground, get it cleaned up right away so you family pet doesn’t clean it up for you. Note: Coolant is very harmful to dogs and cats. See Also: Best Radiator Stop Leak Products You should notice small puddles or drops of coolant on your garage floor or in your driveway. Sometimes cracks will form on the overflow tank if it is too old and worn out. If the radiator coolant overflow tank is damaged or cracked, then you can expect coolant fluid to leak out of it. Here are four of the most common signs of a bad radiator overflow tank. Top 4 Bad Coolant Expansion Tank Symptoms This is kind of like a vacuum effect where the pressure decrease allows the excess coolant in the overflow tank to flow back out of it, so it can return to the radiator. The coolant will then contract instead of expand resulting in the volume of the coolant decreasing. Once the driver parks the vehicle and turns off the engine, the heat dissipates which causes the coolant to not be as hot anymore. The excess fluid flows into the overflow tube and goes into the overflow tank. So, the radiator coolant overflow tank functions to serve this exact purpose. As the pressure causes the coolant to get higher than the radiator pressure cap, the excess coolant needs to be captured somewhere in order to prevent leakage.
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