anti-freeze evrywhere please help!

[rzide]

I replaced the thermostat on my AMC 304 a couple months ago and it has been working fine. Gets to operating temp and stays consistent. After the jeep sat outside for a month or two I go out to drive it and check all fluids and find out it is low on anti-freeze, so I top it up. I let it idle for a while when all the sudden the anti-freeze starts flowing out of the overflow tube at an alarming rate! I shut it down and see there is also anti-freeze on top of the intake manifold but no visible areas of where it leaked from around the thermostat? Sorry for the long winded post but any info would be of great assistance
Thanks!

 

[NorthwestCJer]

Hard to tell you were its coming from. Do you have a "burp" tank. My CJ7 draws in and extracts about a 1/2 cup regularly.
Did your temp get hot at any point?
I would try up the intake, add a burp tank if you don't have one, and then restart and watch it very closely. Double check hose clamps and maybe double clamp the top hose just incase.

Good luck

 

[rzide]

I dont think I have a burp tank. The only thing I have is a small line (looks like a fuel line) that comes out of the side of the tube on the top of the radiator where the cap goes. The anti freeze was basically draining out of the overflow line at a constant rapid pace. Do you feel like this is normal if if I would of had a burp tank?

 

[tarry99]

I dont think I have a burp tank. The only thing I have is a small line (looks like a fuel line) that comes out of the side of the tube on the top of the radiator where the cap goes. The anti freeze was basically draining out of the overflow line at a constant rapid pace. Do you feel like this is normal if if I would of had a burp tank?

Sounds like a stuck thermostat.........Not opening and while running the water pump is still pumping water and pressurizing the system. Pull it and drop it in a pot of water as your heating it.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

I’m a little confused about the “overflow” line. There should be a line out at the top of the radiator at the filler and cap that goes to the overflow tank; that’s it. So is the antifreeze leaking out of the hose that goes to the tank from the radiator? If needed clamp it. The other question I have, is the cap bad and not sealing properly or is the spring weak and letting the hot antifreeze blow out? Is the antifreeze leaking out of the weep hole in the water pump?

 

[73CJ]

Check the rad cap. I had the same issue with my AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . Mine never had a catch tank, only the tube you describe.

 

[PaRenegade]

Sounds like a stuck thermostat.........Not opening and while running the water pump is still pumping water and pressurizing the system. Pull it and drop it in a pot of water as your heating it.

That's what I'm thinking too, because it sounds like it happened quickly, when it should have opened up to circulate instead. Maybe the block has a lot of gunk in it and something left loose creating blockage in a smaller hose, limiting circulation.

 

[rzide]

I am sorry for the confusion but you are correct, the line runs from the top of the radiator to just below the cap down the side of the radiator. I have no catch tank or anything of the sort. I will be testing the thermostat and replacing the cap for good measure on Friday and will report back with the results. Thanks for the quick responses!

 

[mtnwhlr]

You should have a over flow tank because you have a reservoir cooling system on a '84 this is how it works.
When the engine is started and begins to warm up, the coolant expands. As it expands, it is forced out through the pressure valve of the cap, through the overflow tube and into the reservoir.
When the engine is turned off and begines to cool down, a partial vacuum is created in the radiator by contracting coolant. The upper sealing gasket in the cap then allows this vacuum to draw coolant back into the radiator from the reservoir through the overflow tube.
Because of this back and forth movement of coolant, practically all the air is eliminated from the system. This guarantees that the engine block, heater and radiator are always completely full of coolant, thereby increasing the efficiency of the system.
Generally on closed systems, coolant is added as needed only to the reservoir tank, instead of through the radiator filler neck. Beacause of this, car manufacturers have recommended that the rediator cap not be routinely removed.
I hope this helps explains why you should have a overflow and are getting coolant all over.

 

[Bowbender]

Would it be a good idea to add an overflow on an older model like my'67?

 

[mtnwhlr]

Yes they went to the pressurized cooling system in the late '50s so everything from then on should have a overflow tank to work right.

 

[Bowbender]

I guess I'll add it to "the list". Prob'ly start a new thread.