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98 expedition 4.6, Is my radiator bad if when I shut off motor the water overflows out of the resevoir tank. it does not over heat. It seem that the pressure builds up when hot and flow is restricted. I took out the therm. and water pump is only a year old.
Could be a cracked head or blown head gasket. Need to get the cooling system pressure tester (loaned from advance or autozone) to see if you have coolant going into the engine or not holding pressure. You can check the radiator cap with the same tool.
The heads and gaskets are new, everything is new but radiator that is the last piece of the puzzzle. I just need a 2nd or 3rd opinion that a clogged radiator can cause the pressure to come back out the resivior tank. money is tight and don't want to do more trial and error than needed.
When the engine is up to full temp, feel the upper radiator hose (using a rag so you don't get burnt) and give it a squeeze. If it feels real hard the radiator is likely clogged. The pump could be keeping the coolant pressurized between the pump and radiator. Then when the engine is turned off, the pressure reverses the flow back through the now still water pump. This reverse rush is too much for the overflow to contain.
The other test is again when up to full temp, feel all over the front of the radiator to see if it's consistently hot, or if there are sections where it's significantly cooler. Cool sections indicate blockage because the hot coolant isn't passing through those areas.