Quote:
Originally Posted by 86-300sdl
Heck, drive with the cap loose a notch if we're worried about blowing up the cooling system. (LOL here come the flames). About every other year I think I should be having a cracked head problem...because so many say so...been that way for a decade & a half...so I leave the cap loose for a while. No cooling difference seen at the gauge (80 to 85)...Cap has been back tight for the last year.
After reading all these posts I suppose I should loosen the cap again.
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No flame just science.
Put a pot of water on a stove and start heating it. You will see bubbles start to form on the bottom of the pan but not make the way to the top. This is what happens in the cylinder head when cooling system pressure is low.
In order to raise the boiling point of coolant, pressure is needed.
The cars temp gauge won't show high temps with a loose cap, but the cylinder head metal temp will be high in some spots. This leads to cavitation, steam pockets , burning of coolant ( as in exceeding the coolants temp limit ) and thermal stress in low flow areas of the cylinder head. Like between valves / exhaust ports.
Sure, you can get away with it for a while but at higher loads / temps there will be problems.