What are the chances?

[Bryce C]

I've never seen my coolant reservoir overflow in any vehicle I have ever owned. Last night we get our first frost, and this morning at our first job I see a puddle of orange coolant coming out from underneath my van. Seems like an obvious case of a frozen/ruptured heat exchanger right?

I did run a space heater in my van last night, but I didn't get home from a friends house until 11:30pm, and it was about 36 degrees outside when I plugged it in. I know water starts expanding at 39 degrees but I figured the van is at least 1 or 2 degrees warmer inside than the outside temp, so I figured I was fine and I'll just be more diligent moving forward. But then the terrifying orange puddle this morning

But! I ran my TM and was running water out of the solution line and it just kept coming out crystal clear, and as I was running the machine I watched my coolant reservoir and despite being filled to the top, it didn't leak another drop of coolant out of the overflow tube I ran the TM for 2 hours at our first customers house and kept checking it and it didn't leak anymore coolant on the driveway. Now I'm not sure whats going on... Could it of been freaky timing for the coolant reservoir to coincidentally overflow the morning after our first frost and have nothing to do with a blown heat exchanger? Or is it more likely sneaky damage to the HX that will show more over time? If it was the former and something simple like an air pocket, that was a gift from God and a good reminder to not drop the ball on keeping my van warm! If it's the latter, well, that's seriously disheartening...

 

[hogjowl]

Yes

 

[Bryce C]

I'd be lost without you Marty.

 

[Bryce C]

Yep, next stop coolant is leaking out of the reservoir onto the driveway when I pull in. Yet when I fire up the TM it doesn't leak any onto the driveway, the leak completely stops. If the HX was ruptured from a freeze, wouldn't the pressurized fresh water flowing through it cause even more coolant to leak out of the reservoir while the TM is running???

 

[Dwain Ray]

Every time ive blown a heat exchanger. The coolant level would rise when the machine was running and stay at that level till i ran the machine again and would raise again under pressure. You might want to check your radiator cap i can be a problem as simple as that. If the coolant is expanding into the tank but the cap isn't allowing it to return to the radiator as the van cools the expansion tank can over fill. Without being there and seeing it i couldn't tell you. When you say a puddle are we talking drops,ounces, cups,quarts, or gallons?

 

[BIG WOOD]

Check the weep hole on your van’s water pump

 

[Dwain Ray]

Yep, next stop coolant is leaking out of the reservoir onto the driveway when I pull in. Yet when I fire up the TM it doesn't leak any onto the driveway, the leak completely stops. If the HX was ruptured from a freeze, wouldn't the pressurized fresh water flowing through it cause even more coolant to leak out of the reservoir while the TM is running???

When the van is cold, remove the radiator cap and look inside. Is the radiator full or low?if full and your expansion tank still overflows, you probably have a high pressure leak. If low it's probably a problem with the van. Do you own a cooling system pressure kit? If not, Perhaps you can rent/ borrow one from local auto parts store

 

[Dwain Ray]

Yep, next stop coolant is leaking out of the reservoir onto the driveway when I pull in. Yet when I fire up the TM it doesn't leak any onto the driveway, the leak completely stops. If the HX was ruptured from a freeze, wouldn't the pressurized fresh water flowing through it cause even more coolant to leak out of the reservoir while the TM is running???

Have you tested your coolant to see if it's been diluted?

 

[Bryce C]

I don't see anything leaking from the water pump, the water pump is brand new too. The thermostat housing has a small leak, yea I fixed it last weekend and yet I didn't fix it, I need thermostat rtv dangit, lesson learned! When I arrive at a house I seem to lose about a pint or more of coolant on the driveway. It seems to continue dripping from the overflow hose until I start the TM and then it stops. I'll check the radiator fluid level when I get home today. Good call Dwain-o, if the radiator is full I have a high pressure leak probably from the HX, and if it is low I have a problem somewhere on the van/engine side. I don't have a pressure kit. Maybe I'll grab one.

 

[BIG WOOD]

I don't see anything leaking from the water pump, the water pump is brand new too. The thermostat housing has a small leak, yea I fixed it last weekend and yet I didn't fix it, I need thermostat rtv dangit, lesson learned! When I arrive at a house I seem to lose about a pint or more of coolant on the driveway. It seems to continue dripping from the overflow hose until I start the TM and then it stops. I'll check the radiator fluid level when I get home today. Good call Dwain-o, if the radiator is full I have a high pressure leak probably from the HX, and if it is low I have a problem somewhere on the van/engine side. I don't have a pressure kit. Maybe I'll grab one.

Are you certain the thermostat was put on correctly and not upside down?

 

[Dwain Ray]

Youll want to wait till the engine is cold to look inside the radiator that way all the coolant has shrunk back down(for lack of better words) also note condition of hoses before removing radiator cap are they still round shaped or collapsed under vacuum? A telltale sign of a defective radiator cap

 

[Bryce C]

Are you certain the thermostat was put on correctly and not upside down?

My engine temp is steady at 210 while the van is running, and it comes up to running temp as quickly as usual in the morning. I am fairly certain the thermostat is in correctly based on my memory of putting it in and how the van is running.

I'll check more things when I get to my next job and then more at home tonight once it cools down. Hopefully she keeps enough coolant to keep from overheating, if it isn't being flooded by a busted HX.

 

[Dwain Ray]

My engine temp is steady at 210 while the van is running, and it comes up to running temp as quickly as usual in the morning. I am fairly certain the thermostat is in correctly based on my memory of putting it in and how the van is running.

I'll check more things when I get to my next job and then more at home tonight once it cools down. Hopefully she keeps enough coolant to keep from overheating, if it isn't being flooded by a busted HX.

Im leaning more twards something simple apposed to a frozen heat exchanger. Given the amount/volume of coolant and soulition in that heat exchanger you just installed i would expect to see alot more damage before that thing froze. Meaning lines to and from it and all around that machine, blown/or pressure pump problems b y pass regulator problems. Things that are smaller and would take less to freeze. Mimd you im no expert on freezing. Where i live the temp rarely goes below 40 or above 78. And all the heat exchangers ive lost were from over pressure and age on copper not freezing. But over the decades i have lost heat exchangers. And it doesn't matter how the blow the out come is the same and they troubleshoot the same

 

[Bryce C]

Im leaning more twards something simple apposed to a frozen heat exchanger. Given the amount/volume of coolant and soulition in that heat exchanger you just installed i would expect to see alot more damage before that thing froze. Meaning lines to and from it and all around that machine, blown/or pressure pump problems b y pass regulator problems. Things that are smaller and would take less to freeze. Mimd you im no expert on freezing. Where i live the temp rarely goes below 40 or above 78. And all the heat exchangers ive lost were from over pressure and age on copper not freezing. But over the decades i have lost heat exchangers. And it doesn't matter how the blow the out come is the same and they troubleshoot the same

Good insights Dwain, and it soothes my troubled mind. I don't know much, but my guess is that if the HX was bad I'd be seeing the opposite of what is happening now, the TM running would cause more coolant loss not less (actually none). What freaky timing with this.

There's certainly more to figure out later, but I am going to take it as a blessed warning flare to keep my van toasty this winter. I am a guy that is prone to anxiety. Good opportunity to practice doing my best and then living like a lilly of the field.

 

[Dwain Ray]

A few minutes of prevention is definitely worth more than several thousand dollars worth of cure.

 

[BIG WOOD]

My engine temp is steady at 210 while the van is running, and it comes up to running temp as quickly as usual in the morning. I am fairly certain the thermostat is in correctly based on my memory of putting it in and how the van is running.

I'll check more things when I get to my next job and then more at home tonight once it cools down. Hopefully she keeps enough coolant to keep from overheating, if it isn't being flooded by a busted HX.

I doubt your HX is busted. I don't know the exact plumbing on your hydra master with the coolant, but I think it's a small problem. The temperature you described wasn't low enough to bust a heat exchanger, which is why I"m looking more at the van's engine being the culprit. Did you ever install a burp valve on top of that HX? An air pocket does cause the coolant reservoir to fill to the max/overflow, so I think that's the problem. Finding that pocket of air in your system might be a hassle with that aftermarket HX

But for a future safety on freezing: Stuff a rag up in your blower's exhaust pipe to prevent any cold air from blowing in the exhaust heat exchanger. It has nothing to do with your coolant heat exchanger, just a good practice