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Date:         Fri, 12 Sep 2003 08:28:21 -0700
Reply-To:     Malcolm Stebbins <mwstebbins@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Malcolm Stebbins <mwstebbins@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: disappearing coolant??
In-Reply-To:  <3F614117.9010400@gull.us>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

> It's not true that it's (coolant overflow tank) not > used in normal driving, or that it only gets > coolant in it in an overheating situation.

It is my understanding that as the coolant warms, pressure is created in the system. The coolant system is designed to operate under pressure as pressure increases the boiling point of liquid & helps reduce coolant boiling. I have driven my van in both sub zero & over 50 degrees C weather and when the van is moving (read: great amounts of air moving over the radiator) this keeps the coolant at a temp that the reservoir cap does not open. Only when I slow to a stop on a hot day with a very hot engine and the heat begins to build, does the radiator cap get enough pressure to open. At least this is my experience and understanding. Correct me if I'm wrong. I would guess that if, at normal operating temps, there is flow to the overflow tank, then maybe the reservoir cap is not holding pressure.

This is not a difficult experiment. note/mark the coolant level in the overflow tank and the drive in Arizona/Texas in the summer (Egypt anyone???), drive hard up hill on a hot day and then stop, run back and look at the coolant level in the overflow tank. Keep watching as the engine idles, soon the cap will let go and the level in the overflow tank will rise. Once, on a hot day, my water pump belt jumped its track and the engine overheated so badly, and the coolant expanded so much, that it was shooting out of the top of the overflow tank's 3 little holes.

Anyway, I've been wrong before, but I have had my cooling system fail and I keep a real good eye on it, and this is my experience. Malcolm

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