high-speed coolant flush, or...

[shobikes]

THANK GOD FOR THE LOW COOLANT LIGHT!!

So I was cruising along after running thru the gears 6500 rpm or so, back down to 55-60 mph, when I spy the yellow COOLANT LOW idiot light in the corner of my instrument panel. I think, "Oh - that's happened before - I'll check that Monday." A few seconds later, I smell that particular sickly-sweet green smell pervading the cockpit. Pulling over a few more seconds later, pop the hood, and there's coolant EVERYWHERE! I shut it down, and find the source of my immediate headache - a 5/8" u-shaped piece of hose adjacent to the oil filter housing has exploded - I was going to post a photo, but left it in my gf's car.

The upshot of all this was two 60-mile round trips, 'cause I estimated 1/2" on the phone to the gf, and that was too small, so we left the car overnite, I found a piece of molded hose to match this a.m., and installed & filled the system - it took 2.5 gallons, so apparently this was a great way to evacuate one's cooling system!

 

[projectSHO89]

Unfortunately...

The LOW COOLANT lite does not monitor the cooling system, only the overflow bottle.

Hope your engine survives with no harm.

Steve

 

[Machspeed]

Im sure its fine. My upper hose decided to go when i got to work one day 30 miles from my house. At the end of a hard day, i had to walk to the nearest kragen get coolant and a hose and walk back and change it in the parking lot.

 

[shobikes]

Seems to be OK - drove it home, no weird noises or symptoms. Whew! I'm sure it wasn't running more than 2 minutes after the hose went, and at fairly low revs.

Re: the LOW COOLANT sensor in the overflow bottle - doesn't the overflow bottle act as a surge tank, making up for losses as well as storing "overflow" when the system heats up? Wouldn't a void in the system caused by a coolant leak this size be made up by the bottle until there was no coolant left in the overflow, triggering the light in short order?

LMK if I'm not understanding this correctly.

 

[shojuan]

shobikes:
Seems to be OK - drove it home, no weird noises or symptoms. Whew! I'm sure it wasn't running more than 2 minutes after the hose went, and at fairly low revs.

I lost a cylinder head in my truck from the equivalent hose bursting. Took less than two minutes and unfortunately the temperature sensor doesn't work when there's no coolant in the system! You were lucky[/quote]<strong>Re: the LOW COOLANT sensor in the overflow bottle - doesn't the overflow bottle act as a surge tank, making up for losses as well as storing "overflow" when the system heats up? Wouldn't a void in the system caused by a coolant leak this size be made up by the bottle until there was no coolant left in the overflow, triggering the light in short order? </strong>[/QUOTE]No. When the car is running and the engine is warm the cooling system is under pressure. When you shut off the car and the cooling system cools down it will eventually create a vacuum pulling coolant back from the overflow bottle into the radiator.

 

[shobikes]

shojuan:
I lost a cylinder head in my truck from the equivalent hose bursting.

What does that hose do, anyway? Seems they could've hard-piped that...

When the car is running and the engine is warm the cooling system is under pressure. When you shut off the car and the cooling system cools down it will eventually create a vacuum pulling coolant back from the overflow bottle into the radiator.

Except when there's no pressure in the system from a burst 5/8" hose, and the water pump is pulling a negative pressure on the inlet side from the rapid evacuation...?no?...if no, then why my overflow bottle empty so rapido?