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Coolant overflow issue

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Old 03-31-2007 | 12:40 AM
  #26  
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NPG-R is also very costly/time consuming to replace your fluid; it cannot be mixed with water so you have to drain your entire system and then flush/evaporate the remaining water.
Old 03-31-2007 | 02:49 PM
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50/50 ethylene glycol (EG) coolant boils at 269 degF at 15 psig system pressure

100% NPG-R propylene glycol (PG) boils at 400 degF at 7 psig system pressure

as noted by Polak, the system has to be cleared of any water-based coolant and water cannot be added afterward or it will lower the effectiveness of the Evans coolant. It is a bit expensive to start, but everything performance related has it's price. The issues in general are having more around when it's needed and keeping some idiot from pouring regular coolant or water in it. They supply stickers stating not to add water or regular coolant to the system. You can add water or EG coolant in an emergency, you'll just have to start over again flushing it out afterward.

Flushing the system completely is not so bad now that we know where the low-point drain bolt that's not listed in the service manual is located. You'll drain the old EG/water coolant, fill with Sierra PG coolant (about $10-$11/gal from Ace Hardware, can order online and they deliver free to the local store), run the car up to operating temp and let cool, then drain the Sierra PG coolant from the system, then fill the system with the Evans NPG-R coolant. The Evans NPG-R costs around $33/gallon. The Sierra coolant step helps dilute/remove any water that was still in the system from the first drain. It's a lower temp PG coolant that is compatible with the Evans.
Old 04-01-2007 | 09:46 PM
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If your only loosing very little coolant....... I still think it's the nut.
Old 04-02-2007 | 01:19 AM
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you're the nut .....


Sorry Razz but but please tell me how the lack of a nut making the overflow tank rattle a round a tiny bit can cause it to leak .
Old 04-02-2007 | 04:54 AM
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it's a pressure cap, it's not going to allow fluid to get out unless the pressure is great enough to overcome the cap spring, not even if you hold it upside down ... so the bottle moving around is irrelevant
Old 04-02-2007 | 07:19 AM
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Originally Posted by TeamRX8
it's a pressure cap, it's not going to allow fluid to get out unless the pressure is great enough to overcome the cap spring, not even if you hold it upside down ... so the bottle moving around is irrelevant
I might try a new cap. I think that some of what I am getting is coming from the cap. I spent some time looking at it this weekend, and I think that it is leaking just a tiny bit from the cap more than anything. But if that does not work, I will have to try something else.

Thanks for all of the input. I appreciate it.
Old 04-02-2007 | 12:18 PM
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I did that, no difference for me
Old 04-02-2007 | 12:27 PM
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any idea what made it just start to happen though? and why is it not more of a common problem? It just stumps me.
Old 04-02-2007 | 12:39 PM
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no, a number of autox cars have the problem since two years ago, including both of ours, the red car is now slinging coolant all over the engine covers

you can try the cap, it won't hurt, just didn't change anything for me, you may want to try the higher pressure cap even
Old 04-02-2007 | 12:47 PM
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How old are your two cars that have the issue? I wonder if it gets worse with time. I am now at almost 60K miles. I autocrossed for the better part of a whole season, have done multiple track days, and gone round in circles on a skidpad quite a bit, and never had coolant end up all over the place, until recently. I guess I just need to have the cooling system checked out, to make sure there are not other problems with the car.
Old 04-02-2007 | 01:10 PM
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does the cap actually increase pressure in the system? If so, wouldn't that mean that the temperture would go up as well? (pv=nrt?)
Old 04-02-2007 | 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by PoLaK
does the cap actually increase pressure in the system? If so, wouldn't that mean that the temperture would go up as well? (pv=nrt?)
Boyle's Law applies to gasses. The point of the cap is to hopefully keep your coolant in a liquid state

If you mean, does it raise the boiling point -- yes.
Old 04-02-2007 | 09:53 PM
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it started happening during my 1st autox with the white 2005 car; 1600 miles then, under 5000 now

the red 2004 car has 22,000 miles on it, I haven't been around it but the last 3000 miles or so

I've seen 16psig and a 19-21 psig mini caps available from most performance places
Old 04-02-2007 | 10:05 PM
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Once you switch to Evans how often should you change your coolant in really hot temps (Texas heat and lots of driving)? Thanks.
Old 04-02-2007 | 10:21 PM
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As I understand it, you don't change your coolant after the switch since there is no water involved.
Evans indicates a 1/2 million miles as the change interval.
Old 04-02-2007 | 10:53 PM
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Although NPG-R is safe for all metals and contains no water, an annual coolant change is suggested for racing vehicles. For maximum corrosion protection, high performance street driven vehicles running NPG-R should change coolant every other year.
.
Old 04-02-2007 | 11:28 PM
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Sometimes, what works on racing cars is not the best for street cars... If you simply change the 50/50 coolant to pure propylene glycol (i.e., Evans), you will run a hotter engine (because water has a much larger heat capacity than either ethylene or propylene glycols, hence it removes the engine heat more efficiently). On a racing car, you replace the radiator to prevent increased temps (due to its higher surface or better materials used), plus the engine is not meant to last 100,000 miles without a rebuilt.
Just my $0.02
Old 06-04-2007 | 03:54 PM
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so a forum member very near & dear to me reported this issue to the dealer and they replaced the overflow tank saying it was faulty, I had already put on a known good cap, no change ...
Old 06-04-2007 | 06:42 PM
  #44  
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Yeah, I've got a new tank coming.
The level switch has failed. This is apparently common here in Phoenix.
Old 06-05-2007 | 06:50 AM
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and I have done nothing to it, just left it, and as far as I can tell, it has stopped. I am wondering if the dealer overfilled the reservoir a little.
Old 06-05-2007 | 01:28 PM
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Nah. Its intermittent.
The sensor in the bottle is flaky.
Old 06-05-2007 | 01:31 PM
  #47  
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well, glad I did not go out and spend any money on the issue, if it is gonna just happen again.
Old 06-05-2007 | 01:45 PM
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Ever since I changed my Radiator (to Koyo), I have lots of overflowing issues. When I open my hood every other day, I can see trails of coolant squirt all over the place. Never had a chance to go to the home depot to get a hose, so I can redirect it to somewhere like what MM did.

What kind of cap you guys got anyway? I have a feeling that the stock cap is not good enough for the job. Im looking for something like 1.3 bar.

For those who have Koyo Radiator, how many gallons of coolant you added ?
Old 06-08-2007 | 02:17 AM
  #49  
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Well with the temps in vegas rising I started to notice a little build up on the side of the tank and filter cover. After our last autox in hawthorne and drive home back to vegas i checked the oil and noticed that there was enough coolant loss to spater the engine cover and part of the battery cover. doesn't look like the coolant level has moved down at all though

I took a pic before cleaning everything to see if maybe it was just overfilled and started to do this because of the recent heat. can't get the pic off my phone but was thinking of taking to the dealer to have them look at it

Last edited by WRXtoRX8; 06-08-2007 at 02:22 AM.
Old 06-09-2007 | 01:24 AM
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here is the pic I took
Attached Thumbnails Coolant overflow issue-engine.jpg  


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