WAY too much coolant!

hillview

Original poster
Member
May 8, 2016
1
Louisville, KY
A couple of months ago I installed a new radiator, thermostat/housing, water pump, and upper & lower radiator hoses. I used AC Delco parts. A few days before I did the work I flushed the system with distilled water until it was running clear.

I believe most of the coolant was removed while I had the pump and thermostat out. After I installed new parts I filled the radiator with 50/50 mixture of distilled water and DEX-COOL and then filled the recovery reservoir to the "Fill Cold" line.

Over the course of the next several weeks I have noticed that the reservoir level rises to the point of overflowing. Each time it does this I siphon out enough to bring it back down to the "Fill Cold" line. Thus far I have removed approximately 8 quarts of coolant! Each time I siphon fluid from the reservoir I check to ensure that the radiator is still full.

Alldata specifies that the coolant capacity for this vehicle is 13.9 quarts. I am perplexed at how I could have removed this much coolant from the system. I have not had any issues with vehicle performance. I have put about 1500 miles on it since doing the maintenance and engine temperature is always stable at about 210 (as indicated on dash gauge). Heater and A/C are functioning correctly.

What the heck is going on?

2005 Trailblazer LS (4.2L)
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
That is very bizarre. How does the radiator cap look? Does it hold pressure?

Any oil in the coolant? How does the oil look? What about the transmission fluid? (there have been instances of the in-radiator tranny cooler leaking)
 

AzTruckGuy

Member
Dec 1, 2015
501
scottsdale, az
So I have a question about this when I redid my radiator hoses and all that good stuff...I only poured 2 gallons into the system and the reservoir is currently empty. I have not experienced any overheat issues or the needle moving above the 210 mark
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
So I have a question about this when I redid my radiator hoses and all that good stuff...I only poured 2 gallons into the system and the reservoir is currently empty. I have not experienced any overheat issues or the needle moving above the 210 mark

:confused: And your question was what exactly? :confused:
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
The rest is in your heater core behind the firewall/dash for the HVAC system, and the lines back to the engine. :twocents:
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
And the lower back of the engine. You can never get it all out unless you remove the plugs.
 

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