Considering adding an overflow reservoir to my '71 with AC, Not a lot of room in there to add anything more than a coke bottle. Right now its a closed system, so any lost coolant goes to the ground. If I made an open system I would need a different cap and a tank to return the fluid. Anyone have pics or ideas?
You only need a spot to put the tank, it doesn't need to be right at the radiator. Jeep Cherokees from '92 on had the bottle on the right side, and the radiator cap was on the left side, some five feet of hose away from each other.
Huevos, these don't take up much room; only 2" diameter: https://azproperformance.com/products/billet-specialties-2-aluminum-overflow-tank-1
I can't give a model, but there are combined washer fluid/rad catch tanks. Might be able to find something at the Pick and Pull that would fit in the washer tank space.
I have used this kit on a couple of vehicles and it works well. Just run the hose from the radiator overflow to the bottom of the overflow tank. You might have to get longer hose if you have to mount the tank remotely from the overflow side of the radiator. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...Vsh-tBh2VxA8AEAQYAiABEgIPb_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
We have that as a temp bottle in Landyacht's Comanche pickup, until such time as we can redo the underhood wiring to accommodate the taller, bigger, factory bottle.
I have one very similar to the ones BB suggested. Works well and looks good but there is a fair amount of room in my 66. Denis.
The dual reservoir style is from a 85 to 92 Mustang. I installed one on my Daughter's 63 Falcon, works great. Have been considering doing the same for the Ranchero, since an owner before removed the wiper fluid tank to install a over the counter coolant tank, just does not look right. There is one from the Ford Ranger, but is too big if you have a/c.
I just bought this one from Advance Auto....only $18, nice and compact, will put it in soon..... Thanks Jeff!
If your radiator has a dual seal cap on it, the overflow hose should go into the bottom of the overflow reservoir, leaving the top hole open to act as an overflow drain exit, that way you never have to "top off" your radiator, and it eliminates any air pockets left in the system.
I'm using it as a puke tank to catch any possible overflow vs. the old style hose that dumps on the ground. If I set it up like you're saying, do I add some coolant to the tank? Wouldn't leaving the top hole open just puke coolant if it got that high?
You should have about 1/8 - 1/4 of the tank with coolant in it when cold. When it is hot, the level should be no more than 2/3 - 3/4 full, so unless there's an issue with overheating, you should not have anything come out of the tank. The old style radiator/hose configuration always left air in the top of radiator tank and will boil earlier than when full of coolant, pushing out more often, and always needing topping off. The current way (with a connected tank) keeps the air out and eliminates having to remove the cap to check coolant level. Kinda helpful when you might think it's hotter than normal.
I’ve used this bottle on 2 or 3 vehicles that didn’t come with factory overflow bottles. I normally put the coolant level at between 1/4 and 1/3 of the bottle and mark it to monitor any change. You might consider running a hose down to the bottom of the radiator support from the outlet on top in the unlikely event there is overflow from the bottle. According to my radiator guy using an overflow tank will extend the life of the radiator by allowing it to be filled to the top and staying filled. This eliminates the inch or two of air gap at the top of the radiator, which is where oxidation begins and leads to radiator leaks. FWIW.
Thanks for the info Jeff. I always have an inch or two air gap in the radiator, so you're saying I can fill it to the top now? I may run an overflow tube from the top, after I see how this works after a few heat cycles. I really don't want to be poisoning animals with coolant though.
Fill ‘er up to the top and let the bottle catch the expansion. You’ll see the level rise in the bottle when hot (an inch or so in my experience) then go back down as the engine cools and coolant is pulled back into the radiator. Pretty slick.
Keeping in mind that you need the correct radiator cap —I had to change mine when I fitted one of those Denis.
