Antifreeze coming out of overflow hose

I have the exact same problem.
Took the car to two dealers and neither could figure it out. They replaced the cap and did a pressure check and all came back fine. I am looking for new ideas myself.
Getting tired of getting the RR sooted in with coolant after every ride.

Kai

 

Check your radiator cap. The rubber seal on my mine was worn and was losing water from the overflow hose after every run.

That was 2 years ago. I replaced the radiator cap with a new one from Ricambi and it fixed my problem.

 

Got a new cap already...

That did not fix it.

 

I do not own a 348, so I don't know much about them, but on the 308 it's quite normal for coolant to come out of the overflow line after a drive, it's when it leaks elsewhere that it's a problem. Not sure if it's the same for the 348 or not. Mine will usually leak a few drops after a drive in hot weather (ie. summer).

 

Have you tried bleeding air out of the cooling system?

Or.....worst case senario. Where the radiator cap seals on the header tank, it could be disformed not allowing the cap to seal.
I doubt it, but I have seen it before on other cars.

Try bleed it 1st, if you havent already.

 

Have someone check for exhaust gas in the header tank.

Because the combustion pressure is much greater than the water pressure combustion gases will sometimes leak past the head gasket into the water jacket causing excessive pressure in the cooling system and blowing coolant out the overflow tube.

While there may be no sign externally of a leaking head gasket that may be your problem.

Its an easy test, anyone with an exhaust analyzer can do it.

 

Is it possible that you are overfilling the expansion tank? The diagram in the handbook shows that the proper coolant level is 6cm below full (that would be between 2 1/4" and 2 1/2" below full).

 

nope, it's below the "crease".

 

Where are the bleeder valves?

 

On the same side as the coolant tank on the firewall.
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awesome, thanks for the pic.


Ok, another stupid question since I have not done this before: warm the car up, turn off, open valves? Or keep it running? (I assume not because the circulating coolant would come it, right?)

Kai

 

Too easy mate.

The best way to bleed them is have the engine running at operating temp, then open the bleed nipples. Stand clear and be careful as there will be hot coolant spraying out of there under realitively high pressure. Be VERY careful!! Crack both bleed nipples and see if any air comes out.

 

Just a note that the heater should be turned on while doing this, so you are sure that there is coolant flowing up to the front and you shouldn't have an air pocket in the heater tubes or core after bleeding the system.

 

Thanks mate, I forgot to mention that.

 

I will post results after the weekend...

 

Not sure if it's the same for your 348 but my 355 did that when my fan motor fuse blew. What did the temp gauge say.

 

Fans are coming on when tempereature climbs past the midpoint marker in traffic, ususally right around the time when the needle hits the "5" in the 195 and then climbs to the end of the "5" but never past the number.
During driving the temperature is ususally between the "1" and "9".

Kai

 

Big thanks to Ricambi for sending me a new coolant cap so quickly.

Now I just have to go after the dealer that sold me a "new" cap last fall...


Yup, it was the reservoir cap. I have driven 180 miles since Saturday and not a drop of coolant out of the overflow.

During my first 30k service last March the cap was replaced "new". The leaking started as soon as I got the car back. I was assured that it was NOT the cap (pressure tested, allegedly) and that it must be something else. They estimated several hours to diagnose at $160 to me, even though IT WAS NOT LEAKING BEFORE THE 30K SERVICE!!

Obviously I will never use that dealer again.

Thanks for all the tips, my 348 now runs clean as a whistle without shedding any more green coolant through the overflow.

 

I thought so.

Now, go have some kind words with those twits at the dealership who obviously did not check/replace the radiator cap.

 

Yet another successful do-it-yourself fix by the Brotherhood.

 

I love happy endings...
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