Quick story, then an overheating question...

Tommy VanNess · Sep 1, 2009

Hey All,

So, I am driving to work this morning on the freeway. I hear on the radio that a few miles ahead there is a roll-over accident and the right 3 lanes are blocked. So, I move to the left knowing that I am about to enter a parking lot. Sure enough, another mile or two down the way, traffic backs up bad and stops. So, I am sitting in the gridlock, barely moving and I look down at the instrument cluster and see the "check guage" light is on. After looking at oil and gas, I then see that the temperature guage is about to hit red. I immediately freak and worry that I am about to overheat in the middle of a really bad backup. After what seemed to be a really long time, traffic started moving again and the temp came down to normal after passing the accident. I kept an eye on it until I got closer to work.

Anyway, story over. I went to Napa and got some coolant thinking the reservoir was low. I opened the reservoir and it was bone dry. I filled it to the line and prayed that this would be the end of it. My question is, should this fix it or am I in for some more serious problems down the road? (no pun intended) I have had it dry before and never had an overheating problem. Also, does this mean there are bubbles in the coolant system?

Thanks for any info, hope the story and description wasn't too long.

Tommy

Steven D · Sep 1, 2009

I just went through the missing coolant problem myself. A tidbit of knowledge for you, our trucks hold almost one container of coolant between the hoses, the resovoir and the radiator. That being said, when you start your car its going to suck out the coolant you just put in and it will be in the radiator and the hoses, so you need to keep filling up your resovoir to the fill line for the next couple of days until you notice the level of coolant remaining the same.

I had lost all my coolant, I guess just from use, who knows. I check the T-stat, no issue, checked for leaks, no issue and since refilling my resovoir a couple three or 4 times, its back to normal level now and I haven't had to add any additional fluid.

Todd Z · Sep 1, 2009

You can fill the coolant in the radiator when the engine is cold to speed up the process and then watch the overflow bottle......

It sounds like your fan clutch is going bad, But check the obvious, you may have a coolant leak at the t-stat housing, or something else..

Todd Z

Tommy VanNess · Sep 1, 2009

Thanks for the quick responses guys.

@Steven - Thanks for the tidbit. I also have no idea where the coolant goes when the reservoir goes dry. I have had it happen before, but the only thing affected was the that the air conditioning didn't get cold. I have a little more than 1/2 the bottle I bought at napa this morning left and will check the reservoir daily to double check. Thanks.

@Toddz - I will definitely keep an eye on the overflow bottle. Any idea how long it takes for the coolant to naturally be used up. Also, because it pulls from there, when it empties, does it put air pockets into the collant system? I hope that filling the reservoir will fix it because I can't afford car problems right now. The clutch fan going bad worries me a little. Just curious, how expensive and difficult would that be to replace? But I will definitely check the t-stat housing and lines the next chance I get. Thanks for the heads up.

Appreciate the response guys. I will keep an eye on it on my lunch break. I have an hour drive home later today so hopefully it will be ok.

Ron Dacher · Sep 1, 2009

I recently had a similar issue when I noticed that the reservoir was dry. Filled it up and a few days later it was low. Took it in for a pressure test and there was a leak in the heater core. Luckily it was caught before it leaked in the cabin. If you continue to lose fluid in the reservoir you shoud consider a pressure test.