Coolant drained from overflow tank, radiator still full but has went down a bit

ANSWER : This leak is most likely coming from the water pump. When the system starts too leak the overflow bottle keeps the radiator full. You will need to have the cooling system pressure tested to confirm that this is the actual source of the leak. If you would like, a certified technician from YourMechanic can come to your home or office, perform a diagnostic inspection of the leak, and let you know what repairs will be necessary.

ANSWER : Hi there. For the coolant light to go out, you would need to have the coolant between the low line and the full line for the light to go out. If the coolant is low and keeps on being low, then look for any signs of coolant leaks. You may have to use a coolant pressure tester to pressurize the reservoir to allow the leak to be found.

If you need further assistance with the coolant being low and the warning light being on, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.

ANSWER : Hi and thanks for contacting YourMechanic. Check the coolant strength to see what the protection is. A good protection will read 164 degrees Fahrenheit. Check the radiator cap to see if the seal is torn or if the release valve inside the cap has failed or is sticking open. A radiator cap can cause the system to boil and spit out all of the coolant.

If you have good coolant and the radiator cap is new, then the thermostat could be sticking causing your coolant to heat up too much which in turn causes the system to boil. To check if the thermostat is working, start up the vehicle when it is cold and watch the coolant temperature gauge. When the thermostat opens, the gauge will drop a little.

If the gauge does not show this, then, when the upper radiator hose gets hot, right after the thermostat opens, the coolant flows through the hose and you would be able to feel this. Plus, the hose will begin to get cooler as the coolant travels through the hose. If the thermostat was replaced and you still have a boiling issue, then the head gasket has burned on the engine.

If you need assistance, then seek out a professional mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, to help determine why the car is overheating and why the coolant is boiling out.

ANSWER : Hey there:

It’s common for many mechanics to make the mistake of mis-diagnosing the cause of an overheating situation; especially when they assume it’s a thermostat issue. The problem could be caused by a blockage in the coolant tubes running from the radiator to the overflow tank and back to the radiator. However, it also may be due to air trapped in the coolant lines. I think a good idea would be to contact a different ASE certified mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, and have them complete a coolant flush, which should remove any blockages in the coolant tubes and may solve your problem.

ANSWER : Hi there. First check the reservoir cap and make sure that it can hold the pressure that it says on it. If the cap can hold the pressure, then either the water pump is not working or the engine has a blown head gasket. To check the head gasket, get a block tester from a local parts store and put it together with the blue chemical in it. Remove the radiator / reservoir cap and start the engine. When the water is getting warm, there will be steam coming out of the neck. Take the block tester and use it to suck up the steam vapors only. If the blue fluid turns green or yellow, then combustion gasses are getting into the cooling system. This would indicate a blown head gasket, cracked cylinder head, or a cracked block. If you need further assistance with your engine overheating, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.

ANSWER : Hi there. It’s quite possible that you have one of two things causing the drain to the battery. First, you have a bad ground somewhere in the main relay or fuse box or an exposed wire somewhere that is not allowing the circuit to complete from the alternator to the battery. This can cause a battery draining issue as you’re describing, but it could also be one of multiple other electrical problems. The best way to pinpoint the exact source is to have a professional mobile mechanic come to your location and complete a battery will not hold a charge inspection.

ANSWER : Hi there. i have forwarded your request to our service and sales department, which should be contacting you shortly with specifics to the questions you’ve asked. In general however, a proper radiator flush would include removing coolant from the lower hose connection (not the petcock) and the block. Our mobile mechanics always bring more than enough coolant than what is required, and will use the recommended type of coolant with the correct 50 / 50 ratio of coolant to distilled water. The brands are pretty much all identical in formulation. The critical thing is making sure to correctly bleed the system afterwards, which is something all of our professional mobile mechanics will do after completing this service.

ANSWER : The heater not working in some cases may be related to the overheating problem you are also having. This may be due to a faulty heater blower motor or potentially a bad heater core. As you may know, the heater core is a small radiator like unit that circulates the hot coolant from the engine through the heater core which then uses this warm coolant to heat the inside of the car with the help of the blower motor that blows the warm air through the vents inside the car. When the cooling system is not properly circulating coolant through the motor, this results in the warm coolant not being pumped through the heater core properly in order to warm the inside of the vehicle.

Engine overheating can be caused by a number of things such as low coolant levels, a faulty thermostat, or a failing coolant fan switch. As you may know the coolant fan switch helps to maintain the proper coolant temperature by turning on and off at specific temperature thresholds. When this switch is not working properly, this can cause the fans to come on intermittently, all the time or sometimes not at all. When this happens you will notice a temperature spike and drop occasionally as the fan comes on and off. When your thermostat is not working properly or is stuck closed, this will not allow the coolant to properly circulate through the engine, which may cause the engine temperature to fluctuate erratically or in some cases just remain hot. As mentioned above, this also restricts the warm coolant from flowing through the heater core which uses this to blow warm air into the cab of the vehicle. I would suggest having an expert from Your Mechanic come to your home to diagnose your cooling system.