radiator leakage?

[r0adie4950]

i recently had a new radiator installed by the dealer and after several weeks i opened up the hood and i noticed that the reservoir was empty and the radiator itself had to be topped off, there is a small hose coming off the radiator that had come loose and i pushed it back on and filled the radiator/reservoir but when i went to check the radiator the next day the radiator had to be topped off again.

i took the car back to the dealer and had them try to find out the problem, so they said they did a pressure check and nothing was leaking but also installed a small clamp to the small hose (I'm pretty sure there was no clamp there before), i checked the radiator later tonight and i see that the radiator is not as full as this morning when i topped it off, any hints as to what is going on?

 

[Myrithel]

well, I'm no auto pro (*cough* no DL even lol) but it sounds like when you got the rad installed, the dealership forgot to connect the reservoir hose. They likely just installed the radiator, filled it up, and filled up the (they didn't know unhooked) reservoir which leaked out everything they poured in it (the reservoir).

When you top off the radiator the first time, there is still a lot of trapped air in it. Once you run it for a couple minutes the air floats to the top of the radiator, where the reservoir will continuously top it off (via the tube) until it's completely topped. In your case, the reservoir tube was never put on, so the air was never replaced by coolant. That explains why your car swallowed all the coolant in the reservoir when you connected the tube and filled the res (ALL the air in the loop accumulated to the top of your radiator over a period of several weeks).
The way that I understand the radiator's reservoir nipple works is that there is some sort of valve that only allows the flow of water from res to rad. So coolant from your radiator couldn't have leaked out through that nipple (where that disconnected hose goes).

There is no way the reservoir hose fell off by itself, mine doesn't have a clamp on it and it's pretty snug. Either they forgot to put it on (it can happen) or they loosely put it on. If your car temperatures remained in the middle gauge level, everything should be fine. Worst case scenario is that your water pump got a bit of wear&tear from all that air in the loop (I'd guess unlikely though since car water pumps are rated for high heat, a tiny bit of dry running probably didn't hurt anything).

Don't think too much about it, but check your reservoir levels every day for the next 2-3 days. And you should make a habit about checking all the other reservoirs+oil every 1-2 weeks

 

[r0adie4950]

thanks for the info!

 

[hornsfan10609]

Check for leaks, it is either leaking or burning coolant and that means a bad head gasket.

 

[rit14623]

i recently had a new radiator installed by the dealer and after several weeks i opened up the hood and i noticed that the reservoir was empty and the radiator itself had to be topped off, there is a small hose coming off the radiator that had come loose and i pushed it back on and filled the radiator/reservoir but when i went to check the radiator the next day the radiator had to be topped off again.

i took the car back to the dealer and had them try to find out the problem, so they said they did a pressure check and nothing was leaking but also installed a small clamp to the small hose (I'm pretty sure there was no clamp there before), i checked the radiator later tonight and i see that the radiator is not as full as this morning when i topped it off, any hints as to what is going on?

Just to double check, you want a hose clamp on both ends of each radiator hose. That's four clamps total.

If your engine has overheated at any time, I would suggest you change the oil (don't have to necessarily change the filter) due to loss of viscosity.

 

[r0adie4950]

since i had the clamp put on the end of the small hose from the radiator to the reservoir i have no more leaks like before and i checked the head gasket problem with some tips online, no smoke or residue on my oil cap but i keep my eye on the temp and the level of the reservoir.

 

[P-Funk!]

^yeah, if the coolant bubbles in the overflow tank after a hard drive - you have a cracked head/bad head gasket.

If it doesn't - you are fine.

 

[RensoreK]

^yeah, if the coolant bubbles in the overflow tank after a hard drive - you have a cracked head/bad head gasket.

If it doesn't - you are fine.

This is the correct short answer. Check hoses for damage, and check the top of the radiator (which is made of plastic), i've seen a few radiators crack oh-so-slightly through there and cause problems. But overall:

CHECK FOR BUBBLES IN OVERFLOW TANK (iagree)

 

[Hon2bmw]

Check the passenger side of the block and the oil pan for coolant residue, your water pump could be leaking as well.