[farfellow]

Hello Everyone,
Hope someone could give me some help. My radiator reservoir is always empty after some long driving. I checked the hose and connections they're all fine. My rad is new, just had it replaced almost a year... so no cracks and is always full, no problem with the cap. Top radiator hose was replaced 2 months ago. I don't see any leak coming from anywhere. My temp gauage when car is running doesn't go beyond the half line. There are no holes in the reservoir itself... so what gives? I have a 95 Honda Civic HB.

Thanks!

[TxGreaseMonkey]

Leaking head gasket or cracked head? Did the engine overheat before you replaced the radiator? Check the level on the oil dip stick.

[ma0641]

Have you filled the coolant reservoir to the cold line before starting? If you use that much coolant, you should also use up radiator capacity, over heat or see white smoke in the exhaust. If it never over heats you have a leak in the recovery system.

[farfellow]

For TxGreaseMonkey:
I had my head gasket replaced 3 years ago, Oil is fine... it doesn't have that chocolately texture.
I had the radiator replaced because the plastic near the cap was cracked.

ma0641:
When I fill the reservoir to the cold line, it would take about up to 3 days for the reservoir to be empty.
By the way Hayne's manual have no definition for Recovery System... LOL... please elaborate :) Thank you!

[ma0641]

A recovery system is the coolant reservoir you are talking about. If you note, the radiator neck has a tube that goes into the bottom of the reservoir. As the coolant expands during heatup, it flows into the reservoir and as the engine later cools, it is sucked back into the engine by negative pressure. It is a coolant recovery system, not just a reservoir.

[farfellow]

Aaaaaahhhhh gotcha!
So I took a closer look at the reservoir... the cap doesn't tighten properly.

[farfellow]

So having found out that the reservoir cap doesn't tighten properly; could it be possible that's the problem?

[ma0641]

Sorry to be late getting back, My wife and I just got back from watching the shuttle launch. Could be the reason, some jeeps actually had a radiator cap on the reservoir. Worth a try to replace and shouldn't be to many $$$. My 05 CR-V has a screw on cap.

[farfellow]

Update: The radiator cap is starting to get that carbon build-up around the rim. But the radiator itself doesn't go on empty just the reservoir (after replacement). Kept checking the oil level, still same as before; no chocolately texture nor it doesn't go low.

*sigh* I will my car can talk.