Damages that may occur if the reservoir for the antifreeze?

Tiny
GCHRIST
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 FORD TAURUS
  • 3.0L
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 67,000 MILES
What are the disadvantages or damages that may occur if the reservoir for the antifreeze was filled ALL the way till the top cover of the reservoir. Why you should never over fill the reservoir for the antifreeze all the way up till the cover cap of the reservoir tank especially in cold freezing weather? What are the disadvantages or damages that may occur to the car (Ford 1998) if the reservoir for the antifreeze was over COMPLETELY filled : ALL the way till the top cap cover of the reservoir tank?
Monday, November 17th, 2014 AT 12:28 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
JOHNNYT73
  • MECHANIC
  • 924 POSTS
Nothing will happen, other than it will just drain out of the overflow tube onto the ground.
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Monday, November 17th, 2014 AT 1:32 PM
Tiny
GCHRIST
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Reply to your answer: as you said that "nothing will happen. It just drain out from the "overflow tub"!
But there is no overflow tub or any thing else to let it drain out. There is only a close reservoir with sealed cover with opening cap on the top!
Moreover, I do believe that, in a very down temperature of cold freezing weather, the antifreeze will be frozen and expend (as any other liquid expends in freezing down temperature) and that is enough to cause the reservoir to crack and be destroyed!
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Monday, November 17th, 2014 AT 2:40 PM
Tiny
JOHNNYT73
  • MECHANIC
  • 924 POSTS
Ok. If your coolant reservoir is filled with ANTI-FREEZE, then how would it freeze? Thats why it is called antifreeze. Typically safe at -20 degrees or greater depending on your mix percentage. SO, unless your live DEEP in the arctic circle then like I had stated before you should have no issues. On a side note liquids like many materials expand when heated and contract when cooled. The exception is when water freezes due to the intermolecular bonds in the water molecules, and since ice is less dense than water, it floats. Now these models are known to really have rust issues, which can lead to electrolysis in the cooling system that then leads to it eating your heater core. The rust can also clog the passages at the coolant recovery tank.
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Monday, November 17th, 2014 AT 5:28 PM

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