Rad leaks coolant at the top

[Keith303]

My radiator has a leak about 3" fromt the top of the cap. If I put any in the resivior it will drain out till it reaches the 3" point inwhich it will no longer leak.

my temp needle is always alot below half. is it ok to keep it like that?

 

[jimbo74]

sure... but you should have the radiator replaced or repaied... under pressure it could spew out coolant to unsafe levels

 

[Maniak]

If it leaks, it isn't holding pressure. If your not holding pressure your boiling point of the coolant will be 212F or so.. (depending on how much anti-freeze you have)... As the pressure increases so does the boiling point. If I remember correctly, every 1 PSI is 3 degrees.
Anyway.. If it can't hold pressure, when you need the extra cooling, you won't have it and you will boil away the water.

~Mark

 

[Keith303]

my rad stays 99% full, and colant temp stays pretty low always, so I should be ok right?, the previos owner said it was like that for awhile with no problems

 

[Maniak]

IMHO it is not ok. You are running coolant (you have water etc ) but you aren't holding pressure. If you only deal with mild temperatures, then you might get away with it.. but it isn't ok.. If for some reason your vehicle needs the normal cooling capacity but can't get it you will hurt the truck.. Which includes cracking the heads (very common when you overhead.. which you may not see if you don't have water for it to measure).

~Mark

 

[ryf]

definitely get it fixed, cheap at the price, repair/replace rad, or new motor/heads... cut corners on something else. you may not have alot of money now, but you will be way worse off if the heads crack/warp.

 

[Tony H]

It's not an emergency repair but like anything, if it's fixed it's good. Just keep an eye on the Fluid level all the time so you don't cook the motor.

Even after you get it fixed. IN MY OPINION, I would get a 7 lb radiator cap and toss the stock 13lb one in the garbage. If your Coolant bubbles over with a 7lb cap you have issues already. with the 7lb cap you are much less likely to pop an Intake manifold or Head gasket.

 

[Maniak]

I disagree with using a 7lb cap. In the desert you actualy get better performance with a 16lbs cap. When you park the truck a 13lbs cap can allow it to boil over (with heat soak) and if enough boils over, you will loose it out of the overflow. With a 16lbs cap you don't have the issue (I still get it with heat soak when its over 110F outside).

The stock radiator etc should be able to handle 19lbs in stock form but if you have weak hoses etc you can blow them, but the higher pressure didn't cause the issue, the bad part (hose) did.

Having the extra cooling capacity (temperature before the coolant boils) can help in extreme circumstances (hills/towing etc).

~Mark

 

[Keith303]

thx for the help, I will get it fixed asap. Basically the rad is always full, but the overflow always is empty. temp is always below half