![]() If you notice coolant bleed out when you pinch a hose, that’s the one you need to replace.Ĭoolant hoses are cheap and easy to replace yourself. To locate the source of a leak, wait until the engine has cooled then pinch hoses in the vicinity of the suspected leak. Since the system is under pressure, you may notice a leak spraying from a coolant hose into the engine bay, or even straight up into the air! Sometimes these leaks will only manifest at operating temperature or after driving for a while. Since different vehicles use different types of coolant, it can be either bright green, orange, red, yellow, or blue. You can determine where the leak is by warming up the vehicle to pressurize the system and then carefully looking for leaks under the hood. The leak may be at the cap itself, gaskets, hoses, water pump, or the actual radiator. Since substances naturally take the path of least resistance, the weakest point will leak coolant if the system is overpressurized. ![]() This could also happen if the radiator cap fails to allow excess pressure to bleed into the coolant reservoir when the system reaches the target pressure. If you attempt to use a radiator cap that holds more pressure than the system was designed for, you may introduce a leak, especially if it causes an old coolant hose to fail. See Also: 5 Symptoms of a Faulty Radiator Fan #1 – Coolant Leak If you suspect you have an issue with your head gasket(s), it’s not a bad idea to replace the radiator cap first since it’s so quick, cheap, and easy, before throwing more time and money at a potentially expensive problem. Many symptoms of a faulty radiator cap can also be signs of another problem, such as the much dreaded head gasket failure. If they are hot, wait longer (or overnight to be safe) before opening to avoid a scalding geyser of coolant in the face. If you’re unsure, carefully feel the hoses. If you attempt to remove the radiator cap while the engine is warm, the coolant (likely as hot as boiling water) would shoot out and could seriously injure you third degree burns are a very real possibility. Please note: since the cooling system is hot and under pressure when the vehicle has been running, it is very important that you never open the radiator cap until the vehicle has cooled completely. Under lower pressure, the cap draws the coolant back into the cooling system. To avoid overpressurizing, which can damage components of the system, a spring-loaded valve on the radiator cap vents excess coolant into the expansion tank (also known as reservoir). The water absorbs the heat from the engine and the antifreeze further raises the boiling point of the coolant.Įvaporation of coolant is undesirable because gaseous coolant will either leave the system entirely through a leak or will take up more space than it should which causes overpressurization. If the coolant in the engine were to boil, it would not effectively cool the engine since a gas will not remove heat from the system nearly as well as a liquid will.Ī cooling system at optimal pressure enables the engine to run more efficiently and protects it from damage.Ĭoolant is usually made up of water and antifreeze in a one-to-one ratio. Most engines have a normal operating temperature right around the boiling point of water (212° F). This enables the liquid to hold more heat before evaporating. Pressurizing the cooling system is necessary to increase the boiling point of the coolant. It is important to buy a radiator cap that matches the factory specification. Different cooling systems call for different pressures. ![]() Click Here to chat online with a verified mechanic who will answer your questions.Įach radiator cap is rated for a certain amount of pressure it can hold (e.g.
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