radiator question

[Tuff Gong]

Looking for a little help. I went for a nice drive the other day. When I got home, I left it running in the driveway to open the garage and take care of a few other things before I parked it for the night. That’s when I noticed that my coolant was leaking out of my overflow tube on the radiator. I popped the cap when it cooled down and it was about ¼ low. Any ideas as to why this would happen? The truck never really got hot, it least the gauges didn’t show. Should I be worried? Thanks.

[Shyguy]

You may need a new radiator cap. When you say 1/4 down do you mean 1/4 down in the radiator.

I usually keep the level a couple of inches down from the top of the filler neck. After a while it will leak out of the over-flow tube until the levels gets down about that level.

Some people have gone with over-flow tanks and relief/recovery caps because they don't like antifreeze getting onto the ground.

[todd99]

I went with an over flow tank because as the truck cools down it should pull the coolant back into the radiator.

[dmack91]

Originally Posted by todd99

I went with an over flow tank because as the truck cools down it should pull the coolant back into the radiator.

Same here. I got one at NAPA for $7.50 that fit between the battery and firewall. Works great.

[cdowns]

Originally Posted by todd99

I went with an over flow tank because as the truck cools down it should pull the coolant back into the radiator.

wont work properly with the original radiator cap// you need new style for closed system

loads of coolant is lost because people just dont know the proper way to fill a radiator on and old vehicle

[Tuff Gong]

Originally Posted by Shyguy

You may need a new radiator cap. When you say 1/4 down do you mean 1/4 down in the radiator.

I usually keep the level a couple of inches down from the top of the filler neck. After a while it will leak out of the over-flow tube until the levels gets down about that level.

Some people have gone with over-flow tanks and relief/recovery caps because they don't like antifreeze getting onto the ground.

I may have over stated on the 1/4 way down in the radiator. Its more like an inch or two. I topped off the coolant a few days agos to the tippy top. After reading your response, I believe that it is just leaking out the overfloow tube until it gets to the right level it wants to be at, just like you said. Thanks for the help.

[DANTIP]

I agree, if the radiator cap spring gets weak it will open at a lower pressure and spill coolant when it shouldn't. By the way, the cap can be tested (some auto parts houses will do it for free).

[Longhorn Man]

As implied, this is normal, and the rad is supposed to be filled to an inch or so below the filler neck.

[68gmsee]

Get a new cap and overflow tube or container. I'm using one on my old 68 GMC and did wonders to keep the coolant in the radiator and also helped keep it cooler. For some reason, it never did like being even a couple of inches low on coolant.

Here's my homemade one. (I've gone thru the rad support since this pic)