My radiator is low like about 1" under the cap, but my overflow tank is filled up past the hot mark even when cold? whats causing this, the car is running cool, i thought at first I had a blown head gasket but do not have any signs to back that theory up, the gaskets are brand new, and i have no white smoke, no overheat issues, fans work, and i checked the system with pressure checker and it held pressure at 18lbs for a very long time.

I just need to know why the overflow tank is so high, and the radiator is a little low, and if you guys think it could be a possible head gasket problem, and how common it is for head gaskets to fail after 1 hour of total run time.

Thanks in advance.

 

You could have a bad radiator cap or hose going from the radiator to the tank. Either will keep coolant from being able to flow back and forth like it is supposed to.

 

yea i was thinking that, i didnt really look at the hose to well, ill try and new cap and see what happens.

 

anyone else

 

Shoebox gave you the most likely answer. Did you check the hose and the cap? What were the results?

When the radiator cools the volume of coolant shrinks, and the system relies on the vacuum created by the reduced volume to pull water out of the reservoir, through the hose, through the vacuum relief valve in the cap. If the hose has a hole in it, the vacuum can't pull anything through it. If the vacuum relief valve in the cap is not working, it can't pull anything through it. That's the only way the radiator is kept full, as the increasing temperature forces the coolant out of the radiator, and decreasing temperature pulls it back in. Since you ruled out leaks in the radiator and circulation hoses with a pressure test, there's not much else that could cause the problem.

Make sure the hose has no holes or cracks in it, and that the pickup point in the reservior is at the bottom.

 

yea i got a new cap but have not been able to drive the car due to the weather. I was good with a pressure test, but i will still always be a little low, but my overflow is up wayyy past the hot mark even when its cold?? i thought at first it was a headgasket but the gaskets are brand new 1074's with 0 miles on them so i do not know how that could be.