Coolant overflow is a 76?

I am going to set the record for "Most number of moronic questions ever asked by a newbie". Is there an award for that?


My Jeep ( 76 258 ) doesnt have an overflow bottle for the coolant - should it?

When it gets really hot the coolant just comes out a tube in the top of the radiator and onto the ground..aside from the environmental harm, when it cools back down it wont be able to reclaim the lost fluid...doesnt seem to make sense to me.

Man I wish there was someone close to me with a restored CJ5 with a 258.....

 

Just a guess, but you could have a radiator cap that goes with an overflow bottle. A regular cap will release coolant at around 14 lbs. The caps to be used with an overflow release at a lower pressure, It has a one way valve that opens to let the coolant flow back from the bottle as the engine cools and creates a vacuum. If yours is dumping coolant at a normally hot engine temp. you might check the cap as either being defective or is the overflow bottle type. My cj is a 73 so someone else will have to tell you if you should have the overflow bottle or not. I would think that you should have one.

 

Didn't mean to run on about radiator caps. I read your question again and came to the conclusion that I could have been more to the point.

 

74 cj5 here w/ 258. Same problem when I purchased mine. Just a hose that attaches right below the cap and dumps on the ground when real hot. Picked up one from a wreck yard from I think a newer grand cherokee that was tall and slender. Bolted it to my fender well and hooked it up.

Mine would only happen after the coolant was topped off and for a day or so.

 

The 74 had no overflow bottle AFAIK. Mine (also a 74) has no bottle & no evidence of ever having one. I very seldom ever have evidence of coolant on the pavement. I believe that the earlier post that said you may have a later model cap is correct. That being said, I believe an overflow bottle is a good upgrade & is inexpensive as well as environmentally friendly.

As far as someone close by to compare original equipment, we are only about 1/6 of the continent away from each other. Next time you plan a trip to Wally World or the beach in FLA, drop by for a looksee & a cold adult beverage . I may be a crotchety old crumudgeon in some of our members eyes, but I am always a generous & gracious host .

 

I put one on my 76 CJ5 also. It keeps me from having to refill the radiator all the time.

Were is Sharon Oh.? I live near Kent.

 

oh yea i freaked out when johnny puked all over the side of the road on a road trip so i cut a hole in the top of a gatorade bottle and pulled the tube out of the frame cut it a little and shoved it in the hole then zip tied it some where. put the tube all the way down to the bottom of the bottle and it all works as it should the radiator sucks fluid back when it needs it . i just left it because it's a great conversation starter i'll get you a pic tomorrow

 

I know that 74's and I am guessing any 72-75 and possibly up into the later 70's did not have coolant overflow bottles UNLESS the Jeep had the heavy duty cooling system option. Which I believe came with a clutch fan and maybe a bigger rad and an overlow.

Std cooling the overflow just spilled onto the ground. Although if the radiator is fiilled to the proper level and cooling system is fully functional coolant should not overflow except on the rare occasion. With the standard system, when coolant is replaced, I believe that with the engine running the coolant level should be 2 inches below the top of the radiator filler neck. Be advised this only applies to the 6 cylinders with stock cooling systems not sure about V8's.

If you want to add an overflow it is easy enough and everything is available at FLAPS. Just buy the bottle and hose and hook it up to the nipple on the side of the filler neck. BUT you will also need to get a new radiator cap that has a different preassure rating for the system to operate properly and suck coolant back into the radiator when it cools.

 

Sharon is just on the other side of Akron, near Fairlawn, about 25 minutes from Kent. I graduated from Kent State...

 

Well I thank you for the invite! Never know, I might just take you up on that....

 

FWIW my 72 with a 304 started puking water not long after I got it, I did a good flush of the system and pulled the radiator out and back flushed it several times and it took care of the problem. I am thinking that part of the issue on mine was that when I put a new water pump on it was moving more coolant than the radiator could handle with many years of gunk built up in it. It was a stock replacement pump too not a high flow one. It also WASN'T overheating when it puked the water out, it was more dependent on the engine RPM than the temp. I would guess that if the radiator is clogged enough it could happen even with an older pump.

 

If you look closely in this picture you will see my coolant overflow bottle. It would be the one disguised as a brake fluid bottle. I have hopes of running across one hanging on a junk fender one day.

 

Nope. '76 didn't have one...just the tube running down the side of the radiator. Once the coolant expands (if you've topped it off) and runs out the tube, you should be ok and it shouldn't happen again unless you top it off again or overheat. I think it's only a pint or so that comes out. If you want you can install the factory overflow for the later CJs but the overflow bottle is on the driver's side fender near the firewall and the outlet for the tube exits the passenger side of the radiator neck! You end up with a big loop. I thought about something like this... http://www.macsradiator.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=29