shiners780

There seem to be a lot of overheating problems being posted recently. I understand how the cooling system works in terms of heat and coolant flow. My question is what role pressure plays in the cooling system?

Why is pressure necessary, and what are the potential resulting problems if this pressure is not maintained?

Jeremy Himsel

Each psi of pressure in the system raises the boiling point of fluid. A bad cap will result in lower boiling points.

shiners780

It's as simple as that??? Well now don't I feel silly...I guess I should have taken something other than just business courses in school...

Thanks Jeremy.

RKD in OKC

The first sign of my stock head gasket going was that it started burping coolant when the engine was ran hard. The head gasket went at 90K and was deteriorated NOT blown out by too much boost.

Jeremy Himsel

Not exactly but sort of. A 15 psi cap will raise the boiling point by 40 to 50 degrees. The amount of coolant/water factors in this as well.

ehall

...AND many of the problems you are now seeing with overheating are as a result of a poorly or incompletely bled cooling system. Any trapped air causes a big overheating problem.
A Stant pressure tester was the best 40 bucks I've ever spent for this car.