Coolant System Pressure
Coolant System Pressure
I drive a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid 1.3L with a manual transmission.
It has about 126.6K miles on it.
On Fri, I left work to pick up my younger brother so we could go to scouts.
For some reason, enough pressure built up in the coolant system to caused a rupture in the coolant reserve tank.
Fortunately, I carry extra everything with me,
So I used zip ties on the small hose between the radiator and the reserve tank in order to isolate the leak,
And refilled the radiator with fresh coolant.
I then picked up my younger brother and headed off to scout camp for the weekend.
Roughly a 150 mile trip there, 300mi back (All on 3/4 of a tank, yay hybrids!)
Somewhere on the way down,
The pressure built up enough to blow the hose off the radiator and sprayed out most of the coolant.
So I put the hose back on, used a zip tie to secure it, refilled the coolant, and carried on.
The engine temperature fluctuated from normal to dangerously close to the red line for the rest of the trip.
I assumed the coolant merely needed to be "burped" (is there a technical term for that?).
We arrived without further incident.
On Sunday as we were packing up camp I went to check the cars vitals.
I was surprised to find that the radiator was positively pressurized when I took the cap off nearly 36 hours later.
It sounded like opening a can of coke (pop/soda/whatever. I'm in Texas, remember?).
The coolant was low as I suspected, so I topped it off and we headed home.
The engine temperature continued to fluctuate from normal to dangerously close to the red line as it did on the way there.
Any ideas what could cause this?
I had something similar last year,
I ended up replacing the radiator and head gasket before i found out the problem was a bad thermostat.
So it has a new head gasket.
Any thoughts on what else might cause a build up of pressure in the coolant system?
It has about 126.6K miles on it.
On Fri, I left work to pick up my younger brother so we could go to scouts.
For some reason, enough pressure built up in the coolant system to caused a rupture in the coolant reserve tank.
Fortunately, I carry extra everything with me,
So I used zip ties on the small hose between the radiator and the reserve tank in order to isolate the leak,
And refilled the radiator with fresh coolant.
I then picked up my younger brother and headed off to scout camp for the weekend.
Roughly a 150 mile trip there, 300mi back (All on 3/4 of a tank, yay hybrids!)
Somewhere on the way down,
The pressure built up enough to blow the hose off the radiator and sprayed out most of the coolant.
So I put the hose back on, used a zip tie to secure it, refilled the coolant, and carried on.
The engine temperature fluctuated from normal to dangerously close to the red line for the rest of the trip.
I assumed the coolant merely needed to be "burped" (is there a technical term for that?).
We arrived without further incident.
On Sunday as we were packing up camp I went to check the cars vitals.
I was surprised to find that the radiator was positively pressurized when I took the cap off nearly 36 hours later.
It sounded like opening a can of coke (pop/soda/whatever. I'm in Texas, remember?).
The coolant was low as I suspected, so I topped it off and we headed home.
The engine temperature continued to fluctuate from normal to dangerously close to the red line as it did on the way there.
Any ideas what could cause this?
I had something similar last year,
I ended up replacing the radiator and head gasket before i found out the problem was a bad thermostat.
So it has a new head gasket.
Any thoughts on what else might cause a build up of pressure in the coolant system?
Re: Coolant System Pressure
Sounds like the radiator cap isn't letting pressure off into the degas bottle. It definitely should have overflowed before it blew the hose off! Put a new cap on it..
Thread
Thread Starter
Honda Civic Forum
Replies
Last Post
thana
Overheating or loss of coolant, heater blowing cold
11
Jun 15, 2020 07:05 PM
lilrob1213
Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum
37
Jun 29, 2015 06:45 PM
rayman7
Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum
4
Jun 20, 2015 09:48 PM
Jro773
Fuel, Oil, Cleaners & Other Maintenance
5
Jun 9, 2015 06:38 PM
jbander
Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum
3
Jun 4, 2015 05:56 PM






