"Prior to that time-frame, engine coolant rarely "boiled over" or "overheated" during normal operation."
What planet were you on during that time? Prior to the overflow tanks, if you saw a car on the side of the road, it was most likely to be due to overheating. Back then with the cast iron engines, overheating didn’t do the damage that it does to aluminum engines so it wasn’t a big deal.
I remember cars on trips would carry a water bag on the front bumper for when (not if) the car would overheat. Let it cool, add water and go. There used to be a water station on the Baker Grade in California because almost no cars made it to the top without overheating. Now the station is gone and if you see a car pulled over today, it is most likely a flat tire.
Also back then, it usually wasn’t a pollution issue when a car overheated because they mostly used water. An alcohol/water mix was used in winter in cold areas, even though ethylene glycol was available, it wasn’t very popular until the late 60’s.
I lived during that timeframe and I remember how it was.
I don’t want to cause any family strife but are you being held captive or is your dad an Army officer? You drive the car? You pay for the car? You must have a source of money? All you do is stop at the dealer parts department and ask for the parts. $30 later you are on your way. When you get home and the radiator cools down, you take the old cap off and put the new cap on after filling the radiator up. If you get the pre-mixed, then there is not even any issue of what to mix it with-its all done. One of the first things I do when I get a car is stop at the parts counter and get a bottle of touch up paint in the correct color, brake fluid, power steering fluid if needed, and a gallon of anti-freeze. Then you are all stocked up. Next subject, oil.
It’s not too far from that, when you get down to it. We’re working on fixing the situation, but it’s going to take a bit longer. When I leave, I want to take the Toyota with me, so I’m doing my best to make sure it’s in good working order. I’ll need to get my name on the title, of course. I’m hopeful I can make that happen soon. But one step at a time.
Keith:
Would it have been better to have read what I wrote before replying like that.
I never said cars didn’t overheat prior to the 1971 timeframe.
My point was that since then, engines operate so much hotter, and minor overheating happens all the time now. And the overheat-cooldown cycles are part of engine design - utilizing the overflow tanks.
For example, driving a loaded car at 70+ mph down a highway on a hot summer day. Then get off the exit right into stop-n-go traffic. Your coolant will likely boil over a bit in that scenario, and recover as the engine cools down. The temp gauge shows normal temps. This scenario is “designed in”.
Joe, the cooling systems on todays cars do not fluctuate anymore today than they did in “the old days”, in fact if anything, they are a little more stable now. The ECTS on most vehicles is located just before the gooseneck for the return coolant to the radiator (top radiator hose) so if there was a temperature spike, you would see it immediately.
“Prior to that time-frame, engine coolant rarely “boiled over” or “overheated” during normal operation.”
That is what you wrote. Maybe I didn’t interpret it the way you meant, but my interpretation is valid. Maybe I went a little overboard with the planet remark, I apologize for that.
The temperature range of thermostats hasn’t changed that much either. My 66 Dodge used a 192° thermostat. Many vehicles back then would use a 180° to 195° thermostat in the north and and a 160° in the south or desert regions. Because there were no emissions systems other than the PCV valve back then, the coolant temperature wasn’t that critical. Every engine that I have today uses a 180° thermostat.
I can understand the relationship. One of my son’s friends had a father that could be pretty insistent. The kid was a good kid but could be a little goofy sometimes. One afternoon they came by and he didn’t want to go home. Somehow he had managed to screw up the alignment on the front fender so he couldn’t get the door closed without a lot of noise. We spent about 5 minutes readjusting it and he was very happy he didn’t have to face the music on that one. So you just deal with it the best you can. You only get one dad.
“OK, so did the new radiator cap solve the problem?”
Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to try out that solution. I thought he was agreeable to giving it a go, but it turned out he wasn’t. Now, the official order is to just check the coolant every time I drive the car.
An added wrinkle: I mentioned that my father has been adding coolant at least once a week for the past month or so. The level in the radiator is now exactly where it should be, but the in the overflow tank, it’s two inches above the “Full” line. This concerns me.
He maintains that, for now, I just need to monitor the fluid level and that we needn’t worry about the excess coolant. Monitoring the fluid level will help to determine whether there’s a leak and is just a good idea in general; I’m in favor of that. My concern is that driving the car with excess coolant will cause an overflow of the overflow tank. I explained this concern and my father pointed out that, on top of the tank’s cap, there’s a small, open tube/valve for excess fluid to escape. Since I’m pretty sure that only happens when something has gone wrong and will result in coolant blooping out into the engine compartment, that didn’t reassure me.
That’s where we are right now. I appreciate all the help and advice and if you want to give me more, I’ll certainly take it. But since I can’t try out any solutions, we’ve kind of reached a stalemate. I expect this situation will drag on for a while before it’s resolved.
The radiator cap is weak and needs to be replaced.
The weak radiator cap is allowing coolant to be pushed into the reservoir, but when the engine cools down the coolant isn’t being drawn back into the radiator.
That’s why the level in the radiator goes down, and the level in the reservoir goes up.
Coolant overflowing is not an immediate concern to the life of the car, so don’t worry about it. Everything raises no major red flags for me except the possibility of mixing incompatible coolants.
Up until now, I was in agreement with your father, but now we have a disagreement. I agree that you need to check the coolant frequently, but thinks like this have a way of going south in a hurry and without warning. I should say without further warning as it is giving you a warning right now.
The radiator cap maybe all you need, but it might not be the source of the coolant loss. I would change it and then keep monitoring the coolant level to see if it corrected the issue, if not, then look further. Do not ignore it though.
I don’t want to start any trouble between you and your dad, but I’d suggest that you bring it up again. You are welcome to quote me too. BTW, look at the bottom side of the cap. If you can see a well worn groove in the rubber gaskets or cracks/splits in them, then be sure to show them to him. That might convince him.
What does “checking the coolant level” mean exactly? If it is just looking at the level of coolant in the overflow tank - that isn’t enough. If it means checking the level of coolant in the overflow tank AND popping off the radiator cap too to see what’s going on there - then it is an OK plan.
The reason is the overflow tank level could look OK, but there could coolant loss anyway. When you take off the radiator cap what you want to see is fluid right up to the base of the cap. If there isn’t fluid there and you have to add coolant to fill it up, then you have a problem. Of course you have to make sure the motor is cold when you take off the radiator cap, so the best time to do this check is in the morning before you start up the car for the day.