Help me order a degas bottle

[RigsLS]

I swear if you get your package before I get mine, I'm gonna really loose it.

LOL - I'll have to put the straightjacket back on.

 

[jjcool00]

I just ordered a Degas bottle a few days ago as well, from the dealership... get this. I havent drove the LS in a long time (maybe 30-60 days) except 5 min drives here and there (due to reallllly ****ty tires that are being replaced saturday) but the last time I drove it was to the car wash - I take it in, it comes out, antifreeze all over the ground. Leaking right under the wheel well... I've had this happen once when I first bought the car and know its the Degas. I go online and buy one. I take the part and the car to my mechanic - a family friend. He asks me to show him where its leaking. I start the car, we sit around for 30 mins no leak. I turn the heat on full blast and drive it down a major highway about 10-15 miles going 70-80 mph, no leak. The guy thinks im crazy! I've been off and on starting it and it hasn't ever leaked since the car wash day about a month ago. WTF!?!? He thinks I'm an idiot and it was just overflow from me filling up with too much coolant but I haven't touched the coolant at all in about 5-6 months. Anyone ever have this happen? Should I just replace the degas again?

 

[joegr]

Sometimes you have to hit just the right combination of temperature and pressure for it to leak enough to drip down.

 

[jjcool00]

Sometimes you have to hit just the right combination of temperature and pressure for it to leak enough to drip down.

In your opinion it definitely has a crack then? It wouldn't just randomly spit out overflow right? I'm going to replace it then.

 

[joegr]

In your opinion it definitely has a crack then? It wouldn't just randomly spit out overflow right? I'm going to replace it then.

How old is the degas bottle?
It wouldn't randomly spit out coolant, but it could do so for a reason.

Some possible reasons:
Coolant grossly overfilled.
System not correctly bled.
Engine overheat for some reason.
Leak(s) elsewhere in the cooling system letting air in.

 

[BlackLS06]

The bottle on this car is not an overflow bottle, its an expansion tank. It helps regulate pressure. Over time, it starts to leak air due to small hairline cracks. They get bigger over time until the bottle ruptures. Almost every LS needs the bottle replaced at some point.

Southern cars tend to suffer this the most, i guess due to higher temperatures. Its better to replace it for peace of mind. If the original bottle lasted this long, a new bottle should last about as long or maybe longer.

 

[jjcool00]

How old is the degas bottle?
It wouldn't randomly spit out coolant, but it could do so for a reason.

Some possible reasons:
Coolant grossly overfilled.
System not correctly bled.
Engine overheat for some reason.
Leak(s) elsewhere in the cooling system letting air in.

EXACTLY one year old. Here's exactly what happened - I got in the car, drove it to the car wash (10 mins away) got a car wash - saw a lot of green fluid on the ground - maybe a cups worth - didn't think it was mine - drove it home (another 10 mins) and when I parked I saw it dripping, consistently. Turned the car off and didn't drive it until I got the new degas and drove it to the mechanic (1 weeks time passed)... I didn't drive it aggressively, it was all local roads - it was really cold out, freezing. I also did not touch the coolant probably since replacing the degas last year. No one has touched it, I do my own oil changes. There was no overheating.

 

[jjcool00]

The bottle on this car is not an overflow bottle, its an expansion tank. It helps regulate pressure. Over time, it starts to leak air due to small hairline cracks. They get bigger over time until the bottle ruptures. Almost every LS needs the bottle replaced at some point.

Southern cars tend to suffer this the most, i guess due to higher temperatures. Its better to replace it for peace of mind. If the original bottle lasted this long, a new bottle should last about as long or maybe longer.

I replaced it a year ago, from that situation you're speaking of. Hairline cracks formed spread and it was spitting coolant out like crazy - noticeably.

 

[joegr]

How about the other plastic cooling system parts in the car? When were they last replaced? What is the coolant level now?

 

[jjcool00]

How about the other plastic cooling system parts in the car? When were they last replaced? What is the coolant level now?

The hoses that come with the degas bottle were replaced. The cap was also replaced (from autozone - probably not the best idea but they actually had it in stock dont ask me lol). The coolant was maybe an inch below the LOW level line and I put a little back in to bring it back up to that level. The mechanic told me not to put more in. But it was dripping exactly where it was before when the degas bottle had failed .. right behind the driver side front wheel.

 

[joegr]

So you haven't replaced the plastic cooling system parts at the front of the engine? I'd bet that's where your problem is now. (And yes, a small crack there could let air in, forcing coolant out through the pressure relief on the degas bottle cap.)

 

[jjcool00]

So you haven't replaced the plastic cooling system parts at the front of the engine? I'd bet that's where your problem is now. (And yes, a small crack there could let air in, forcing coolant out through the pressure relief on the degas bottle cap.)

I have replaced the thermostat and it's housing, but nothing else towards the front. I will check all the lines and housing again to see if theres any defects or cracks up there. I'm going to drive the car about 4 hours in total on Saturday and I'll bring an extra jug or two of antifreeze with me, so if I don't see anything by Saturday, that'll be the true test if it was a fluke or not.

 

[joegr]

Look for traces of white coolant residue. I've had parts where if you looked really hard you could see the coolant residue, but you couldn't see the cracks from the exterior of the part.

Prime suspects are the tube that runs from the top of the engine to the thermostat housing and the upper and lower radiator hoses (plastic sections).

 

[RigsLS]

The bottle on this car is not an overflow bottle, its an expansion tank...

It is rather messed up,

- 2001 OM calls it a "Engine Coolant Reservoir"

- Dealer/Part resellers refer to it as the "Tank Assy - Radiator Overflow"

- Workshop Manuals call it a "degas bottle"


http://www.worldpartsinfo.com/Ford/...Cooling+-+Radiator/Coolant+Overflow+Container

In diagrams is located by "Radiator/Coolant Overflow Container"


yet it's the same P/N 8A080

~ someone make up their minds.

 

[jjcool00]

Look for traces of white coolant residue. I've had parts where if you looked really hard you could see the coolant residue, but you couldn't see the cracks from the exterior of the part.

Prime suspects are the tube that runs from the top of the engine to the thermostat housing and the upper and lower radiator hoses (plastic sections).

Will do! Thanks Joe.

 

[joegr]

I agree it's messed up, but it's far from the only item. We have coil-over-shocks, but most everywhere calls them struts. (struts are different.)

Anyway, it's a pressurized reservoir with a degas function. It is not an overflow bottle/tank/container.

 

[RigsLS]

Well, whatever they want to call it Joe, I have the old one out and it matches up with the
new expensive Canadian #8A080 Tank Assy - Radiator Overflow. Pheww!

gonna have to work on the rest tomorrow, watching Hockey at the moment,
I lost focus on the whole degas thing, soon as the old lady yelled; "Games'on" into the garage.

 

[RigsLS]

Damn Degas ...

This thing had more holes in it then a block of Swiss cheese!

The wife, she's such a sweetheart, "can't you just glue it?"

~ No, honey, that's only your car that gets the glue and duct tape!