Radiator fluid keeps emptying into my reservoir and overflowing

Tiny
DOVERTON
  • MEMBER
  • 1993 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 275,000 MILES
New water pump, new thermostat, new radiator cap, checked the hoses they seem to be hot and has pressure when car is on. I checked the oil that is not milky or sludgy but my radiator fluid keeps emptying into my reservoir and overflowing. Temperature gauge does not say that it is overheating.
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019 AT 12:39 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
D6SPAN
  • MECHANIC
  • 58 POSTS
It sounds to me like you might have a blown head gasket. It won't always manifest by pushing coolant into the oil.

If it is a blown head gasket, there would be a constant bubbling out of the tube in the overflow bottle. it could be fast or slow, it just depends on how big of a leak there is in the head gasket. Something is pushing coolant out of your radiator into the overflow tank. This means a force is getting into the coolant system and displacing the coolant in the radiator. that requires something with a pressure greater than that of the coolant system that can interface with the coolant system if a failure occurs.

What to do? Tests! Always have tests done before a repair to verify. I would get a compression test done to make sure you aren't losing compression into the coolant. You can rent a compression test from most US part houses (example; O'Reilly Auto parts). Some places may even help you test your vehicle in the parking lot.

There is also this article on head gasket tests.
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

Let us know what you find! Good luck!
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Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019 AT 4:52 PM
Tiny
DOVERTON
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Ok, I will try that. Thank you!
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Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019 AT 6:15 PM
Tiny
D6SPAN
  • MECHANIC
  • 58 POSTS
You're welcome!
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Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019 AT 7:57 AM

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