[Sjacka]

I just returned home from a holiday to Nice (France). The Forester did great.
No oil consumption, temperature remained steady. But about one thing I have a question. I saw that the level in the coolant reservoir stood very high and even overflowed a bit. I smelled it a few times.
There is no oil / sludge in the coolant. When I use the forester home in the Netherlands the level is neatly between the upper and lower levels in the reservoir.
My question is do I have a cooling problem? Or can this happen during a 1300km trip with speed and mountains.
Its a 1998 ej20 automatic with 240.000km

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

Assuming you haven't added any coolant. Where is the coolant level when it's cold, in reference to marking on the side of the overflow/expansion tank?

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

 

[Sjacka]

when its cold its on minimum

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

I fill mine to the full mark when cold & it rises between the full mark & the top, but no more.

When the coolant overflowed the overflow/expansion tank, was the temperature gauge reading in the normal range? Does the coolant in the overflow/expansion tank look normal, like freshly added coolant? Any bubbles when your engine is at the normal running temperature?

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

 

[Wormguy]

You may be at the beginning stages of a head gasket problem. The increased heat from climbing mountains and a long trip may have resulted in leakage of exhaust gases into the cooling system. This causes the coolant to be pushed out of the radiator into the reservoir. If your coolant levels are holding steady now, I would keep an eye on it, and the temperature gauge when driving.

If this hypothesis is right, you should start losing coolant when the leak has gotten worse. A larger volume of introduced gases will push coolant all the way out of the reservoir and onto the street. If that starts to happen you need to get the gaskets replaced right away. Running very low on coolant could lead to overheating, warping of the heads and cracking of the block, all of which add cost to the repair.

If the hypothesis is wrong, then you should not see any coolant level changes unless you have a leak somewhere.