Coolant reservoir
10-26-2005, 10:35 AM
#2
The reservoir holds coolant overflown from the radiator cap when the coolant gets hot & builds pressure. The radiator cap has a spring loaded plunger that gets compressed when pressure builds. The pressure moves the plunger up so that the small line running to the overflow is exposed to the coolant. This gives the coolant a place to go so that too much pressure doesn't build up in the system. Yes, it gets recirculated through the cooling system. It is importsnt to initialy have a little coolant/water in the reservoir (cold fill line) in case the radiator needs some coolant initially. When the radiator cools down, the overflown coolant is sucked back through the line into the radiator.
10-26-2005, 01:10 PM
#4
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Every time i've checked the coolant reservoir dipstick, I've seen some grainy stuff on the stick similar to what you saw, I think. Even after getting the system completely flushed out, there's still some grainy/sandy looking stuff on the stick. 
10-26-2005, 01:13 PM
#5
Well, for right now, I'm planning on draining the whole system this weekend, flushing it with a few gallons of distilled water, and filling everything back up. I'll also remove the overflow tank and clean it out as best I can (but I don't know how easy that will be to do).
10-26-2005, 01:25 PM
#7
Okay...that makes me feel a little better...I'll have to see what the stuff in the radiator looks like when I drain it.
The ECT stays right between 190-200, even when it is 90+ degrees here. I was just extremely surprised when I found that crap on the stick yesterday...that was the first time I had ever taken it off. That's the last time I'll make that mistake.
The ECT stays right between 190-200, even when it is 90+ degrees here. I was just extremely surprised when I found that crap on the stick yesterday...that was the first time I had ever taken it off. That's the last time I'll make that mistake.
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10-27-2005, 07:52 AM
#9
Well, that certainly wasn't the case here...I just let it run low. Back in the day, one of the first mods I did was the TB coolant bypass. Apparently, I lost more coolant doing that than I though. The coolant in the radiator actually still looks good, so I'll just do a good flush this weekend, and call it a day. The cooling system is working great, so I'm not having any problems...yet.
10-27-2005, 09:47 PM
#11
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Originally Posted by LS1-450
Don't worry, just clean it up as best you can & flush. Maybe flush a few times. That stuff is gonna build up over time.
10-27-2005, 09:58 PM
#12
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just curious, do you guys that have found that brown googy stuff also have a power steering cooler encased in the upper rad hose? I also had this problem, and it turned out the cooler was leaking power steering fuild into the coolant, causing the brown stuff. I removed the cooler and put a full lenght hose back and no more problem. This is after I had it back to the dealer twice (under warrenty) and they told me it is a special sealer the factory puts in to stop leaks, well I called BS on that one, but they refused to do anything but flush and refill the system. Since I fixed it myself, no more problem
