No pressure in cooling system. Bad rad cap?

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Old 11-25-2015 | 12:25 PM
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02tlnate's Avatar
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No pressure in cooling system. Bad rad cap?

So when I first got my car 30k ago within the first few weeks it would boil over the coolant resivour after driving about 20 mins. It just needed a new radiator cap which I got from oreilys. Anyway I guess I haven't gave it much mind but every time I've decided to check my coolant I do it right after driving... I squeeze the hoses and there isn't nearly as much pressure as there is in my 4cyl accord. And I've also noticed at random times I've checked the tank and there hasn't been any coolant in it, just a small little pool in the very bottom. Car hasn't overheated though.

Maybe I just bought a bad radiator cap? Not a bad head gasket, never had any water in oil nor oil in coolant, everything is clean. Have let car idle for 40 mins randomly with people sitting in it and it never overheated..
Old 11-25-2015 | 04:36 PM
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If it's not overheating then you should be good.

I've noticed that my upper coolant hose is not rigid when the engine is not running. Just keep an eye on the coolant levels for a bit is what I would do.
Old 11-26-2015 | 01:28 PM
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you mean the gauge has not indicated an overheat!! it can be fooled!!
Does dash temp indicate a stable 1-2 lines below half at all times?
the res bottle gets empty you say? then the system is leaking somewhere- possibly from water pump? or hose clamp loose?
engine is pulling vacuum to suck the fluid back into rad, Is rad full when cold and res at cold mark?
You burped the rad system per owner book, with heater on full hot and cabin fan on full blast?

ckd rad fan operation?
Old 11-26-2015 | 04:13 PM
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02tlnate's Avatar
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Fans good, car doesn't overheat, it has before maybe 20k miles ago(head gasket is good, car never got above half way and "H" on temp gauge) the bottle doesn't get bone dry just lower than min like prob 3/10 of the entire bottle but have randomly seen it come back up. Rad is always been full though.

I only felt my upper coolant with car off, I just checked with car on and it does have a more pressure just doesn't seem to be as much as my accord
Old 11-28-2015 | 12:10 AM
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borrow a pressure tester from local auto parts store and find the leak
Old 11-28-2015 | 10:00 AM
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Squeezing the hose doesnt mean its loosing pressure. When was the last time the hose was changed.
Old 11-28-2015 | 04:33 PM
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You likely have a small leak if you are losing a little coolant over time. The reserve tank shouldn't be dropping. Also, I don't trust aftermarket radiator caps. An OEM Honda one is pretty inexpensive and better
Old 11-29-2015 | 04:58 PM
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I filled it up and have checked over the past few days of traveling between Atlanta, GA and North Alabama about 3 hours each way. And it hasn't lost any noticible amount of coolant. I don't know maybe perhaps I took the resivour off one day to do something and just forgot to fill it back with water and just freaked me out since I use my car so much to travel.
My water pump is right under 20k old and hoses haven't been replaced since I've owed the car. But they look to be in good condition. Might just replace them with the thermostat when I do that eventually
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