Coolant overflow question

[KolaKube]

Hi all

I have noticed that the coolant overflow bottle is between Low and Full but it doesn’t rise if the engine is hot

Also I had the car running for around 35 mins and the cooling fan didn’t kick in, the fan comes on when I put the A/C on but then turns off and back on within seconds

Also when I rev the car quite hard I get white smoke from the exhaust, there is no signs around the oil filler cap or dipstick that the head gasket is leaking

Any ideas ?

[GreenV8S]

KolaKube said:

Any ideas ?

Can you clarify what problem you think you're trying to solve?

[Mikey G]

Make and model of car would help. A lot of Japanese cars run a coolant overflow which unless you have a problem hardly ever move unless you have recently topped up the main radiator from cold.

[E-bmw]

KolaKube said:

I have noticed that the coolant overflow bottle is between Low and Full but it doesn’t rise if the engine is hot

So what is the problem?

KolaKube said:

Also I had the car running for around 35 mins and the cooling fan didn’t kick in, the fan comes on when I put the A/C on but then turns off and back on within seconds

So what is the problem?

KolaKube said:

Also when I rev the car quite hard I get white smoke from the exhaust, there is no signs around the oil filler cap or dipstick that the head gasket is leaking

It is called steam, it is a bi-product of burning a hydrocarbon.

NEXT!

[KolaKube]

Thanks for the replies guys 😀

The car is a 2009 Suzuki Alto

I have been told that when the car is cold the coolant in the overflow bottle will drop to Low, however when the engine is hot the coolant will rise to Full, mine don’t move at all

The car was running for around 35 mins and my coolant fan didn’t come on, it comes on and off when I put the A/C on

The white smoke I have again been told that coolant is leaking somewhere and it’s burning off, I’ve checked the oil filler cap no white residue nor on the dipstick

[Mikey G]

KolaKube said:

Thanks for the replies guys ??

The car is a 2009 Suzuki Alto

I have been told that when the car is cold the coolant in the overflow bottle will drop to Low, however when the engine is hot the coolant will rise to Full, mine don’t move at all

The car was running for around 35 mins and my coolant fan didn’t come on, it comes on and off when I put the A/C on

The white smoke I have again been told that coolant is leaking somewhere and it’s burning off, I’ve checked the oil filler cap no white residue nor on the dipstick

Do you have a seperate radiator cap to the expansion bottle? Not sure on the Suzuki but as I mentioned earlier some Japanese cars run an unpressurised overflow bottle connectedd to a radiator cap. Any excess in the radiator gets pushed out into this bottle when hot and when it cools normally sucks back into the system via a 2 way radiator cap. You need to check the radiator level when cold by removing the cap. If its not loosing coolant then you may have a different issue with regards to the cooling fan.

[KolaKube]

Thanks Mikey

I do have a separate radiator cap to the expansion bottle, and the rad is full

[Mikey G]

Sounds like steam may be a red herring and there is nothing wrong, may just be condensation in the exhaust. Your not loosing coolant and the system isnt over pressurising during running which is another symptom of a gasket failure into a waterway or a porous or cracked head etc.. And cooling fan could be a temperature switch or sensor, does the temp come up to normal quickly and stay there during the 35 minutes of running or take its time?

[KolaKube]

Thanks again Mikey

A pain in the @Rse but my car don’t have a temp gauge, only the red warning light on dash if it overheats which didn’t come on, but a slight bit of steam was coming from the radiator cap

[Krikkit]

Get an OBD adapter and check the temperatures that way - you can get a bluetooth one for a few quid, and use something like Torque Pro or CarScanner to see the data on a mobile device.

If the radiator's full and the expansion tank isn't emptying itself you don't have an issue imho.

[paintman]

KolaKube said:

The white smoke I have again been told that coolant is leaking somewhere and it’s burning off, I’ve checked the oil filler cap no white residue nor on the dipstick

If you are not losing any coolant then you don't have a coolant leak.

As already said, burning a gallon of petrol or diesel produces amongst other things a great deal of water.
This is what you see dripping out of your tailpipe and as steam in cold weather as it condenses.
It is NOT the surefire indicator of head gasket failure that many claim it to be & I wonder how many have had their trousers pulled down for unnecessary work by the unscrupulous.

White mayo in the oil filler cap is also not a surefire indicator. The water produced by the combustion process will condense inside a cold engine & as the engine heats up will boil off.

The water also condenses inside the cold exhaust system & cars only used for short journeys will never get it hot enough to boil off & will go through exhausts quicker than those used for long journeys.

The colder the weather the more noticable it will be.

[KolaKube]

Thanks Kirkkit I’ll have a look into getting an obd scanner 👍

[KolaKube]

Thanks paintman appreciate the reply