can someone help me with a cooling system question?

[cutlassguy]

any ideas why my upper rad hose would be collapsed when the motors running? the other day i ran the motor with the cap off and kept topping it up until the termostat opened and it went down about 2 inches, topped her up again including the overflow and its still collapsing the hose. it has awsome heat and doesnt ever over-heat. could it be a head gasket problem? water pump issue? or something else? if the car sits over night theres a little oil smoke in the exhaust but i dont see any white smoke from anit-freeze. i fillled it up about a month ago so i guess over a month about an inch from the top of the rad dissapeared. its a 87 cutlass 305 thanx!

 

[79olds]

Have you checked your engine oil color and what temp thermostat you running I would perform a cooling system pressure test too

 

[Bowiemontecarlo86]

Could be a faulty radiator cap bad hose or maybe your cooling system is clogged causing vacuum.

 

[bill]

Check:
Radiator cap, if old replace.
Coolant mixture....should be 50/50 or more depending on average temp of area you live in...the lower the average temp, the more coolant/less water
check therm o stat....should open up and u should see coolant moving through the system
Check for leaks from hoses, radiator, water pump, floor board on passengerside..etc.
check coolant level and for blocked hose on overflow tank. This tank catches coolant when you shut off a hot engine and allows pressure to fluctuate without letting air back into the system. An empty tank means the system is pulling fluid and air in...bad news.

 

[cutlassguy]

the oil and anti-freeze dont seem to be mixxing, theres no white slug anywhere. the anti-freeze stays clean but when i let it warm up and the thermostat opened, the level went down an inch so im assuming its working properly. i also didnt see any movement tho before or after it opened. i tested the anti-freeze and it was good until -37 so whatever the ratio is, its not on either of the far ends. as for the rad cap, wouldnt that only increase the pressure if it wasnt working right? im kinda leaning towards it might be a blockage and cant flow quick enough on one side of the pump. ive never removed the thermostat yet cuz ive only owned the car for a few months but during the summer it ran just below 100 and in the winter maybe like 85-90 so i didnt bother switching it seeing that the cars always parked in a heated garage and never left out overnight. i dont see any leaks anywhere and theres nothing under the car after its parked for a few days so it must be being burnt thro the motor somewhere. any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[bill]

the oil and anti-freeze dont seem to be mixxing, theres no white slug anywhere. the anti-freeze stays clean but when i let it warm up and the thermostat opened, the level went down an inch so im assuming its working properly. i also didnt see any movement tho before or after it opened. i tested the anti-freeze and it was good until -37 so whatever the ratio is, its not on either of the far ends. as for the rad cap, wouldnt that only increase the pressure if it wasnt working right? im kinda leaning towards it might be a blockage and cant flow quick enough on one side of the pump. ive never removed the thermostat yet cuz ive only owned the car for a few months but during the summer it ran just below 100 and in the winter maybe like 85-90 so i didnt bother switching it seeing that the cars always parked in a heated garage and never left out overnight. i dont see any leaks anywhere and theres nothing under the car after its parked for a few days so it must be being burnt thro the motor somewhere. any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Bad radiator caps will just not function properly. Usually, when they go bad, they wont hold enough pressure, which helps keep the system from overheating, since water under pressure has a higher boiling point than normal. Is your radiator completely full? Coolant tank up to min level? You say its getting up to 85-90 degrees? thats way low...should be at least double that at normal temps, unless you mean 90 Celsius....which is good. Are you getting heat from the heater core? I would try flushing the system with a radiator flush and replacing the coolant with a good green coolant and distilled water, from the grocery store. You may also want to remove the radiator and see if its partly full of sediment, which can cause flow issues as well. And, I would replace the cap. :wink:

 

[cutlassguy]

yep its celcius. i have crazy good heat! burn your face heat in the winter with the same thermostat as i had in the summer. i'll grab a new rad cap and try an do a flush in the next week. think it could be a weak water pump?

 

[bill]

yep its celcius. i have crazy good heat! burn your face heat in the winter with the same thermostat as i had in the summer. i'll grab a new rad cap and try an do a flush in the next week. think it could be a weak water pump?

Could be a weak water pump or a loose belt! usually, a weak pump/loose belt will cause the engine to overheat....

 

[cutlass79]

u dont fill ur over flow tank thats for when it over heats the hot water has some where to go and dont just spay in ur engine bay my buddy ues to keep is full till the cap blew off and had burns all over his face in arms

 

[bill]

u dont fill ur over flow tank thats for when it over heats the hot water has some where to go and dont just spay in ur engine bay my buddy ues to keep is full till the cap blew off and had burns all over his face in arms

When I said fill...I meant to the FULL mark...lol