Booger Posted June 30, 2023 Report Share Posted June 30, 2023 OK its hot out. Top off radiator. If Im not mistaken p18s did not use pressure caps (?) but a full radiator is going to discharge the top off. Has any one added a coolant recovery tank? discharge tube is on the right of rad cap leaving little room to add one between rad and battery. Or just leave the coolant an the DW and live with it? Keep your dog from the stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug&Deb Posted June 30, 2023 Report Share Posted June 30, 2023 I have a 52 with a pressurized system (7lb cap) and I don’t have coolant discharge even on hot days. Is it possible your radiator is too full. I have about an inch and a half of clearance in mine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desoto1939 Posted June 30, 2023 Report Share Posted June 30, 2023 most of the non pressure systems will seek their own level of about 1 inch down from the top of the tank. If you overfill the tank the hot water/antifreeze will expand and go out the overflow tube and onto the ground. This is how the car was designed to work. So next time you can fill the rad to the top, then go for a good tour or ride. Let the and radiator burp itself to the proper level. Come home park the car in the garage and open the hood. Do not open the rad cap because of a heated water might burn you. The next morning or sometime during the day when the engine is cool and the water inthe rad is cool open the cap. Stick you finger into the opening and see how far down the water level is. It should be approx 1 inch down from the top. If it is at this level then you radiator and engine have been burped and the radiator water level is correct. Also you should be using the old original Green style antifrezze in our engines and radiator and not the extended stuff. Rich Hartung 1939 Desoto 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booger Posted June 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2023 My previous old cars had low pressure caps on the rads. I wonder it that would help? Sure about an inch or so would be the standard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Los_Control Posted June 30, 2023 Report Share Posted June 30, 2023 I think it would be easy enough to add one. Every now & then I get some ideas that ....... well lets just say they probably should stay that way .... ideas, & not carried out. I saw this bottle at a thrift store, the top is drilled for a pour spout. Would be easy to drop a metal brake line in it to connect to radiator. The bracket I made & is covered with 1/4" felt for the bottle to rest on. ...... The hose clamp idea stinks, need something better then that. I do not worry about the glass because of hot coolant, I do lots of water bath canning & put glass jars in boiling water all the time. I figure on a daily driver one year, 2 years, 3 years? ..... sooner or later that glass will break .... if driving down the road would probably drive over it & get a flat tire .... But look around you should be able to find something. ...... I'm thinking about a old Boy Scouts water canteen. They had one made of aluminum that snapped on your belt. Would be easy to polish it or paint it to hide it. I have a modern aluminum radiator now with a pressurized cap & expecting it to exchange water back & forth like a modern car. I assume @Doug&Deb has a original size radiator, where they were made bigger then actually needed. The cooling system is in good condition & working as it should. I personally feel like I want a overflow tank, fill the radiator to the top & add a bit in the overflow tank, let it find it's own level and hopefully will be no spills on the ground. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veemoney Posted June 30, 2023 Report Share Posted June 30, 2023 Piece of black PVC capped at the bottom and a clean out in the top, 1.5-3" works fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solution Sam Buchanan Posted July 1, 2023 Solution Report Share Posted July 1, 2023 Me thinks this is a solution in search of a problem.......... These old cars ran for decades without a coolant recovery system. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted July 1, 2023 Report Share Posted July 1, 2023 11 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said: These old cars ran for decades without a coolant recovery system. Thinking changes as data becomes available. You have to ask yourself why did the factory add them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted July 1, 2023 Report Share Posted July 1, 2023 recovery depends on sealed system to be able to suck the coolant back in when needed....open non pressurized systems will not use a recovery tank...but could benefit from a catch can if it did puke a bit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted July 1, 2023 Report Share Posted July 1, 2023 I keep forgetting it's an open system, my 51 isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan G Posted July 1, 2023 Report Share Posted July 1, 2023 I'd never owned a zero-pressure car before; in the couple years I've had it, I've yet to see anything come out the overflow hose. In some extreme situations I watched that temp gauge sit at 212, but never any drama nor loss of coolant. Were I to feel the need for a catch basin, I vote for what Veemoney suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Hiebert Posted July 1, 2023 Report Share Posted July 1, 2023 My Plymouth service manual calls for one inch below filler neck for coolant level from 1946 through 1954. When we lived in west Texas, our D24 regularly puked coolant after a drive, (never during), apparently a common enough malady. The coolant isn't being cooled by the car running / driving anymore and expands beyond the system's ability to contain it. My radiator was restricted a bit by damage repair, which probably didn't help much. Pep Boys had an off-the-shelf coolant catcher kit, I don't remember the brand. It wasn't very sexy looking, but it worked. I've since seen aftermarket stuff that doesn't look like it was cobbled together under a shade tree. I attached the reservoir on the passenger side, on the filler panel between the radiator support and the inner fender, trimmed the overflow tube, which runs along rear passenger side of the radiator, and attached the hose provided by the kit. Radiator still overflowed, but it was now contained. My concern was primarily with domestic critters, too. As the coolant cooled, it would get sucked back into the system. I removed the overflow tank when we installed the "new" radiator this spring, as the cooling system hasn't overflowed since we moved out of the southwest. As a side note to this, if you'uns are OCD level keen on originality, cutting an original overflow tube is not a good idea. The original tubes were not formed like modern tubes, they were actually made akin to how stovepipe is. New tubes made a la original are not available. Of course, that's one of those things someone who is really OCD, (or an antique auto radiator guru - which is how I discovered that pearl of wisdom), would notice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booger Posted July 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2023 What did we learn class? All cooling systems are not created equal. And Im trying to resist saying "okay, cool" . thanks for the input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDeSoto Posted July 4, 2023 Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 Turned out to be a hot topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.