[evilmess]

Twice today I noticed that my Cougar was ejecting coolant from the overflow hose. This happened when I parked the car and shut her down. In the morning I'll check the coolant level and refill if needed.

I'm wondering if this is something to be concerned about. It was very very hot today by the way but my temp gauge never hit the danger zone.

 

[Alex]

Same thing happened to me a few weeks back. Tracked it down to a leaking heater core.

 

[TheRktmn]

Coolant Recovery

Best thing is to buy/build a coolant recovery system.
Basically it is a small "tank" (about a quart or quart and a half) that your overflow hose goes into with a couple of inches of coolant. When coolant escapes through the pressure cap it is caught in this tank. Since the end of the overflow hose is below the fluid level in the tank, the coolant is drawn back into the radiator as the engine cools and pressure decreases. All new cars have these from the factory.
These are available as kits from most auto parts dealers. There is also a tech tip telling how to build your own on TCCN.
These kits are fairly inexpensive and it will pay for itself in lost antifreeze.

 

[clevelandcougar]

homemade recovery tank

I built a home made recovery tank, using an old Folgers coffee can. I used some plastic zip ties to mount it to the drivers side of the radiatior, between the grill and the radiator. I cut a small x in the plastic lid and ran the overflow tube into it. It used to look awful with the old red and yellow can behind the grill, but I painted it flat black and now it is hardly noticeable. The only problem with this recovery system is that it is manual, I have to dump the coolant back in the raditor by hand.

 

[zhat]

Check your thermostat. My cat did the same thing and the gauge always read cool. It's a simple fix if that's the problem...

 

[TheRktmn]

I guess I should have asked for some more details before posting the earlier advice. I made a few assumtions (yes, I know what those are) since you did not say that there were any other problems other than losing some coolant through the overflow. So here we go:

Is the car running hot / overheating? If you do not have a gauge, does it smell or act like it is too hot? If it is, check your coolant level, flow, thermostat performance and cap release pressure.

How old is the pressure cap and is it the correct pressure rating? I do do not know offhand what a stock 68 SB used, but I suspect it was in the 14Lb range. A garage or some parts stores should be able to check your cap for you.

Your cooling system will create pressure as it gets hot - this is normal. The radiator cap should hold in the water to a point - then the cap should release just enough pressure to keep the system from blowing. Of course when it does you may lose some coolant, thus the need for a coolant recovery system. It is also normal for the cap to release a small amount of pressure after shutting off the engine due to the pressure created by the engine "heatsoaking".

A couple of notes if you build your own recovery system: Make sure that you use a stiff overflow hose. The soft or flat ones will collapse during the recovery phase, so the coolant cannot return to the radiator. Also, I believe that recovery systems use an 18 Lb pressure cap.

Hope this helps-

 

[CrazyCat]

cleveland,
Thats comedy. Too ghetto for me though.

evil,
dont worry about it. it's completely normal for your cat to piss on the floor after a drive on a hot day. Just get a catch can, or fab one up like cleveland did

 

[evilmess]

She hasn't spit all day
I'll keep an eye on it, especially during this heat wave.

105 degrees today and it's now 10 pm and in the high 80's