Fox Coolant reservoir just blew up, what to do now?

[James V]

Hi again. I have a 93 notch. It was originally a 4 cylinder car someone put a 5.0 in. I was letting the car run in the driveway for about 25 minutes and then all of a sudden a pop sound and smoke everywhere. I opened the hood after I didnt hear anymore hissing and saw a big hole in the coolant reservoir and coolant everywhere. There was pressure in the radiator hose as smoke was still coming out of the reservoir, dont know if that means anything. Someone put a cheapo Ebay radiator and fans in the car that I realize now I should have changed. When I put the car back into the on position i saw the temp read high, but i dont know if that was before or after the incident now. And also the fans didnt kick on even with the temp reading high. What do I do now? Buy a new reservoir + radiator + fans? And what could have caused this?

 

[Mustang5L5]

My guess is that there isn't a vent on that bottle so as the car warmed up, the coolant expanded and built up pressure until boom!

For now, you can stuff a 2-liter bottle in the fender and run the hose into the bottle. Will get you driving.

But you can purchase an overflow from pretty much anywhere. You want a recirculating bottle and not a puke can. Recirc bottle feed onto the bottom so when the coolant cools, the radiator will draw coolant back in it. Make sure it has a vent on top too. Small tiny hole is all you need

 

[James V]

My guess is that there isn't a vent on that bottle so as the car warmed up, the coolant expanded and built up pressure until boom!

For now, you can stuff a 2-liter bottle in the fender and run the hose into the bottle. Will get you driving.

But you can purchase an overflow from pretty much anywhere. You want a recirculating bottle and not a puke can. Recirc bottle feed onto the bottom so when the coolant cools, the radiator will draw coolant back in it. Make sure it has a vent on top too. Small tiny hole is all you need

Thanks! Yeah I dont think it was vented.

 

[DSB88GT]

I don't have a coolant reservoir and haven't had an issue in over 2 years.

 

[James V]

I don't have a coolant reservoir and haven't had an issue in over 2 years.

How do I get rid of the reservoir than, is that safe?

 

[James V]

My guess is that there isn't a vent on that bottle so as the car warmed up, the coolant expanded and built up pressure until boom!

For now, you can stuff a 2-liter bottle in the fender and run the hose into the bottle. Will get you driving.

But you can purchase an overflow from pretty much anywhere. You want a recirculating bottle and not a puke can. Recirc bottle feed onto the bottom so when the coolant cools, the radiator will draw coolant back in it. Make sure it has a vent on top too. Small tiny hole is all you need

Just had another question, why didnt the coolant tank blow up any other time? I've taken it for long drives and idled it before and it blew up while just sitting in the driveway.

 

[DSB88GT]

How do I get rid of the reservoir than, is that safe?

I've driven the car in temps from the 20's to mid 90's and have had no issues.

 

[General karthief]

My tires were on my car for years and one day BOOM flat tire!
What I am saying is problems happen, some small, like a leaky valve stem, some take time to develop, like too many smokey burnouts! Your puke tanks failure to hold pressure could be as small as the wrong type tank, or the wrong type tank over pressurized by a bad head gasket. If it were me I would have that radiator checked, install a new thermostat and correct puke tank.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Just had another question, why didnt the coolant tank blow up any other time? I've taken it for long drives and idled it before and it blew up while just sitting in the driveway.

It's plastic so over time it probsbly got brittle until it finally failed. Numerous heat/pressure cycles over the years took its toll on it