I have a 97 ford escort and it over headed the other day (the water pump went out) but when i checked the water the radiator had almost none but the reservior was still completely full. What could be causing the reservior to not kick in and put water in the radiator?
2007-09-28 16:52:25 · 7 answers · asked by KG 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
if you did not bleed all of the air out of the cooling system with the engine running after you replaced the water pump, the radiator cap cannot work. the air will compress in the radiator instead of building pressure against the cap to open it. it has to build pressure to open the cap, and then when it cools it creates a vacuum in the cooling system, and draws out of the bottle. make sure you don't have any more leaks, start the car with the radiator cap off, and let it warm. you will see the thermostat open and it will draw in more coolant. top it off again, and you may see the thermostat open again in a couple miutes, then it should stay open. once the top hose it good and hot and you are not getting any more bubbles cap the radiator, fill the bottle and go drive it. use a new cap. after you park it and it cools, recheck your levels. do not remove the radiator cap until it cools or you'll lose your vacuum. if you go to a good parts store or know a mechanic, or have access to a tool dealer, there is a funnel that you can get that attaches to the radiator for this procedure.
2007-09-29 08:32:13 · answer #1 · answered by sprinkles 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
First, take the radiator cap off, start it up and wait till you see the anti-freeze moving thru the radiator. If it boils over before it starts flowing, it's probably a stuck thermostat. Make sure the water pump is spinning as fast as it should. Put your hand behind the exhaust pipe; if very little exhaust is coming out, you have a clogged exhaust.
2016-05-21 02:26:25 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one ever tells you to replace the radiator cap. Oil change shops need to start pressure testing the cap. If the rubber seal on the radiator cap is bad it'll suck air in & that may have burned up you're water pump. Antifreeze has whats known as "water pump lubricant" in it. Also you may have a head gasket problem causing coolant to be sucked into the engine & out the tailpipe. So definetely have a pressure test done on the cooling system.
2007-09-28 17:44:06 · answer #3 · answered by Willis C 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
the radiator cap may be bad,but this system works on a vacuum deal if the system is good and tight and has no leaks in it then it will pull from the reservoir,there evidently was a leak in the system,and that caused it to over heat,you,ll need to have a pressure check done on it to determine if it has any other problems or leaks in the system,the water pump may have made it push all the coolant it could to the reservoir,but when the water pump went out it lost its ability to pull from the reservoir,their may be more damage to it now,so have it checked to be sure,good luck with it.
2007-09-28 17:02:03 · answer #4 · answered by dodge man 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If the water pump was bad, it may have been leaking air into the system and not having a vacuum to suck the coolant in. You could also have a leaking radiator cap. Have it checked and the cooling system pressure checked.
good luck.
2007-09-28 16:57:55 · answer #5 · answered by Fordman 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Blew the pump and the system lost vacuum, vacuum is what pulls coolant from the reservoir. You can check the radiator cap and if it looks rusty were it goes into the radiator replace it. Check thermostat and belts, overheating and steam can damage them.
2007-09-29 15:00:40 · answer #6 · answered by sidecar0 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Replace the rad cap. This is of course , assuming you repaired the water pump problem. If you didn`t, then forget the rad cap and fix the pump.
2007-09-28 16:57:18 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋