Aftermarket coolant reservoir

[ChadCy75]

I'm having trouble with my '99 almost overheating, and I suspect the main problem is that the threads on the coolant reservoir aren't letting the cap seal properly. So, before I wind up blowing either the Lower intake Manifold or the head gasket, does anyone have ideas for either an aftermarket coolant reservoir, or even one from another car that I could rig in to replace the one that's in there now? I'm sure my problem isn't either of the gaskets, yet, because it doesn't have the symptoms for it. It was running fine until a few days ago, when I blew another reservoir cap, and it seemed to get MUCH worse after I changed the spark plugs yesterday. The electrodes on the old spark plugs looked like the tip of a very sharp pencil. I have only had this car since May, and I'm slowly getting it back into some kind of decent shape, because the previous owner definitely neglected this car. The spark plugs aren't my only evidence, as it took two oil changes to get oil that still looks clean after three days, and the interior will have to be replaced at some point, unless I can't get this over-heating problem worked out. Any ideas you guys have will be greatly appreciated, because after three years of driving a beat to death '89 VW Jetta, this Alero is so sweet, and I don't want to lose it! Also, any ideas you give me will almost certainly help others who start having the same trouble, hopefully before they blow a gasket, because I would almost bet the farm that a lot of the gasket trouble with these cars started with the coolant reservoir tank cap not seating or sealing correctly!

[Redog]

I'm having trouble with my '99 almost overheating, and I suspect the main problem is that the threads on the coolant reservoir aren't letting the cap seal properly. So, before I wind up blowing either the Lower intake Manifold or the head gasket, does anyone have ideas for either an aftermarket coolant reservoir, or even one from another car that I could rig in to replace the one that's in there now? I'm sure my problem isn't either of the gaskets, yet, because it doesn't have the symptoms for it. It was running fine until a few days ago, when I blew another reservoir cap, and it seemed to get MUCH worse after I changed the spark plugs yesterday. The electrodes on the old spark plugs looked like the tip of a very sharp pencil. I have only had this car since May, and I'm slowly getting it back into some kind of decent shape, because the previous owner definitely neglected this car. The spark plugs aren't my only evidence, as it took two oil changes to get oil that still looks clean after three days, and the interior will have to be replaced at some point, unless I can't get this over-heating problem worked out. Any ideas you guys have will be greatly appreciated, because after three years of driving a beat to death '89 VW Jetta, this Alero is so sweet, and I don't want to lose it! Also, any ideas you give me will almost certainly help others who start having the same trouble, hopefully before they blow a gasket, because I would almost bet the farm that a lot of the gasket trouble with these cars started with the coolant reservoir tank cap not seating or sealing correctly!


If your convinced that's the problem, then I'm sure you can just pull one from a junkyard car.

Alero, Grand Am, and Malibu are all the same car ;)

[[ion] C2]

You're blowing the coolant overflow reservoir's cap off?

Also the threads aren't what seals it, the cap seals via two rubber o-rings.

[Nate's Alero]

if its not seating properly, it would leak, sounds like someone put dex and green together, forming gel...

get a coolant flush man

[[ion] C2]

Considering your evidence from the spark plugs and the oil being constantly dirty, it sounds like you already have a gasket leak and it's mixing oil and coolant.

Or you just have a clog that is overpressurizing the system and blowing the cap off the reservoir...

[Nate's Alero]

C2;480116']It sounds like you have a clog that is overpressurizing the system.

what i said? lol

[ChadCy75]

No, it's not blowing the cap off, but it's popping the center of the cap. Also, while the two o-rings seal the cap, you still have screw it down, and for some reason, mine is always just a hare-bit crossthreaded, because it never seems to be flush all the way around, which is why I was wondering if anybody has ever used a reservoir from a different car to get away from this problem. The reason the oil was so dirty was because the last guy who had the car didn't take care of it. I bought the car back in May, and since I had to get it inspected anyway, I had the oil changed at the same time. Well, the next day, I figured I would check the oil to make sure it was still full, because I had just bought the car, and I noticed that while you could tell it had been changed, it looked dirtier than it should have. This past Saturday, I had it changed it again, and yesterday, it still looked like brand new oil, so it's taking more than one shot to get things straightened out. It doesn't have a mixture of Dex-Cool and regular green coolant, because for the first two weeks after I got the car, I was having the same overheating problem, but that time, it was the cap. Instead of putting coolant into it, I was putting water in it, because it didn't make sense to go through fifty dollars a week in coolant, so for over a month, I was running plain, ordinary water in it. Ever since I got this car, I've had to constantly check the coolant level, which is no big deal, but having that temperature needle hang around the 3/4 mark makes me nervous, which is why I just want to switch to a totally different reservoir. It has only been doing that since yesterday, but even so....... The first time around, I was able to switch out the cap, and it pretty much solved the problem, but now that the reservoir is starting to blow that pop-up device in the center of the cap, and it's done that to two different reservoir caps, the last of which it didn't even take a whole day to blow, I just want to switch to a different reservoir altogether, mostly so I don't have to worry about whether the cap is seated properly or not, because with this particular car, it always takes at least five tries to get it right, and sometimes it takes thirty minutes and it still isn't right. What I'm dealing with here is a design flaw, and I'm hoping somebody else has dealt with this in the same way already. Or if anybody knows of a good after market reservoir?

[Gr1m]

the pump runs off of the belt but you shouldnt be getting that much pressure in the system unless the pump is not circulating correctly or you have a blown gasket somewhere, next time you go to park your car after driving it for a while, pop the hood and look at the upper tstat hose (on the 3400) and squeeze the line to feel the tension see how much pressure is in the line

[ChadCy75]

Also, I consider myself VERY lucky so far that I haven't blown either gasket, and I want to get this problem straightened out before things get to that point. I really like this car, because while it has it's differences, it reminds me so much of the 1980 Ford Fairmont Futura I used to have, and that was a great car! The Alero has that potential, once I get this problem fixed, because when it's running right, it is an absolute dream to drive, especially when compared to the car I had right before it, which was a 1989 VW Jetta that I bought from an auction for $175. Man, that thing was beat to hell before I bought it, and it not only looked rough, but it was an endless money pit. I was replacing something on that VW at least once a month, and so far with this Alero, it has only been a tire, two reservoir caps, and spark plugs. With that VW, I had to replace both of the half-shafts twice in the 2 and a half years I had it, plus the inner and outer bearings were constantly going bad, and it was just one thing after another, which is why this Alero is a major improvement. Even if I have to end up having the gaskets replaced, it's not going to be an endless stream of problems like the VW was, and I want to get it straightend out before I end up having to do major repairs to it.

[ChadCy75]

How will I know if it's the pump as compared to the gasket?

[JLw7123]

i had the same problem with my car almost over heating and the problem was the fan s were not turning on so I got a new thremostat and it work great no problems

[zzyzzx]

I think you are trying to treat the symptom instead of the actual problem. The reserviors and reservior caps that come with these car are just fine. They are just not what you are used to.

[Gr1m]

^ very well put, you could get someone to test the compression in each chamber to see if any gaskets are bad, if not it could very well be the pump

[[ion] C2]

So yeah, you have a clog which is overpressurizing the coolant reservoir.

i had the same problem with my car almost over heating and the problem was the fan s were not turning on so I got a new thremostat and it work great no problems
Haha, what?

The thermostat was your problem, it's what opens and allows coolant that's been in the radiator to circulate. Not the fans. You don't fix the fans not turning on by changing the thermostat. :lol:

[Blktrax]

I'd bet somebody put something like BARS Radiator Stop leak in it and now your thromstat is only partialy opening, or that itself may be the cause.

[Gr1m]

C2;480190']So yeah, you have a clog which is overpressurizing the coolant reservoir.


Haha, what?

The thermostat was your problem, it's what opens and allows coolant that's been in the radiator to circulate. Not the fans. You don't fix the fans not turning on by changing the thermostat. :lol:

actually i believe the tstat would tell the fans what temperature to turn on and if he had a sticky tstat it would cause the coolant to read a lower temp then what it was actually at causing the fans to never turn on, correct me if im wrong but i think thats how the cooling system works in our cars? lol

[Nate's Alero]

actually i believe the tstat would tell the fans what temperature to turn on and if he had a sticky tstat it would cause the coolant to read a lower temp then what it was actually at causing the fans to never turn on, correct me if im wrong but i think thats how the cooling system works in our cars? lol
yeah, the CTS is AFTER the Thermo... so g1im is correct

[Psyfox]

Speaking of coolant and flushes and thermostats. I replaced my thermostat and did a flush today on my own...don't do it...I wanted to kill something by the time I was done.

Right now it's sitting after being run, I get to dump the system out, run some water through it, and put coolant in it tomorrow...THEN I can drive it again. :D

Sorry, kinda off topic, had to vent.

[Nate's Alero]

Speaking of coolant and flushes and thermostats. I replaced my thermostat and did a flush today on my own...don't do it...I wanted to kill something by the time I was done.

Right now it's sitting after being run, I get to dump the system out, run some water through it, and put coolant in it tomorrow...THEN I can drive it again. :D

Sorry, kinda off topic, had to vent.

quit B****ing....... its easy

[Psyfox]

quit B****ing....... its easy

Not on the 3400. I need tiny Japanese hands to work around that battery and under the throttle body.

[kwhauck]

thats why i just pull the whole UIM and TB assembly, much easier that way!!!

[Psyfox]

thats why i just pull the whole UIM and TB assembly, much easier that way!!!

Yeah, that's what I ended up doing. Ruined a shirt and basically showered in coolant in the process...couldn't move my crawler fast enough on the rough concrete street to avoid the drain.

[Redog]

^^ Did you do it after the car was driven? Did you drain the coolant first?

The fan switch is between the upper raditior hose and the engine. If it's broken, the temp gauge won't work either. I doubt that's the case since the car is "almost" overheating. w/o a temp gauge, he'd overheat it pretty quick ;)

I can't see that much pressure building up. Typical cooling systems only build 15 PSI, you'd blow a hose before blowing a cap.

The STOP LEAK thing seems reasonable. Could have been done, assuming you have the 3400 engine which is proned to the LIMG leak. Mixing of coolant doesn't make sense with the problems your having, but you never know.

What color is coolant? green, black, red, pink?

[Gr1m]

if he has upgraded clamps on his hoses, its possible for the top to come off before the hose.

[[ion] C2]

actually i believe the tstat would tell the fans what temperature to turn on and if he had a sticky tstat it would cause the coolant to read a lower temp then what it was actually at causing the fans to never turn on, correct me if im wrong but i think thats how the cooling system works in our cars? lol
The ECT sensor at least on the LD9 is on the water outlet assembly. It sees the coolant that's in the engine. It reads accurate as long as it's not a faulty sensor. The thermostat has nothing to do with it.

[ChadCy75]

Yeah, it's the 3400, but it doesn't have any symptoms of a a blown gasket. The way I'm losing water is from the thing boiling over. But, just to be sure, I'm calling around to schedule a pressure test, because I figure if it's one of the gaskets, I want to find out as soon as possible, because if that's what it is, and I just keep avoiding it, I'm going to either mess up the heads or crack the block, and I don't want to do that!! Right now, it has mostly water in it for coolant, but there is still some green coolant mixed in with the water from what was already in the system after I thought I had it straightened out a few weeks ago.
Also, do you think changing out the spark plugs had something to do with it? I know that after doing certain procedures on these computerized cars, it takes about fifty miles of driving before the computer straightens back out, in a manner of speaking. Really though, before I do anything else, I'm going to wait and see what happens with the pressure test, because I don't know how that's going to pan out. If everything checks out ok with it, though, I still have the timing to check, getting a coolant flush, changing out the thermostat, having the serpentine belt and tensioners checked, and let's not forget the water pump! Anyway, thank you guys for your help so far, and I'll keep you all posted!

[ChadCy75]

Forgot to mention that the temperature gauge is working fine, because as soon as it gets up to the 3/4 mark, I start looking for a place to pull over and shut the car off. Again, it's not blowing the cap off, it's popping the center of the reservoir cap, so that there is a bubble right in the center of it, like when you open a bottle of Lipton's Iced tea, or a Starbuck's Frappaccino in a bottle, only with this reservoir cap, the center sticks up a LOT more! Anyway, I need to get back to these calls, so thanks guys, and I'll keep you posted.

[Nate's Alero]

pics?

[ChadCy75]

No pics yet. I still have a lot of ducks to line up before I do that, because after I get this near over-heating thing straightened out, I have a few other things to do to it, because while the previous owner didn't take care of it, the body isn't really in that bad a shape. The biggest complaint with the body would be the hailstone dents in a few places, but I think they are all on the doors, for some reason. That will just be a matter of buying two doors for it, but then sometime down the line, I'm going to have to deal with the interior. The driver's seat is the only one with any rips or tears in it, but the passenger seat, the back seat, and pretty much the rest of the interior has stains that aren't going to come out, and will have to either be replaced or covered up. Funnily enough though, the floors are pretty much spotless! And of course the dash has that famous rippling effect! Other than the hailstone dents, it has a few missing paint chips here and there, mostly on the hood, but all of this cosmetic stuff will have to be dealt with somewhere down the line, if I deal with it at all. But, I need to get back on these calls to schedule a pressure test! Catch you later, and thanks for the help!

[ChadCy75]

Hey Nate, what is that cone thing on the end of your air filter?

[Nate's Alero]

Hey Nate, what is that cone thing on the end of your air filter?

the air filter?

[ChadCy75]

Well fellas, it's not good. I need a LIM gasket, a water pump, AND the serpentine belt! Drat!! The gasket and the water pump both have a leak, and the belt is just old as hell, but hey, after dealing with the oil and the spark plugs, it doesn't surprise me. I'm not going to say that it is the original belt, but I would be willing to bet that it is. Oh well, like I figured, I'm going to have to get these few little problems worked out, and I'll have a champ that's going to last for a long, long time. I'll keep you all updated on my progress.

[Gr1m]

hehe i was right, good luck with it