Upper hose is collapsing!
When I drive the car & then park it, the next morning the upper hose is collapsed in on itself. If I pop the rad cap, it breaks the vacuum & the hose goes back to form. It is a new radiator, new thermostat, new water pump, new 13 lb rad cap & the car is not over heating although the engine compartment seems hotter than it should be. The air cleaner is almost too hot to touch once the car has been driven a little. I think I may have a circulation problem but I wanted to see if anyone else had seen an upper hose being sucked in. Thanks.
Here is some information I found on a website called Auto Upkeep. One Q & A pertains to overheating, but could be the cause of your car seeming to be too hot under the hood. Hope it helps.
Radiator Cap Function
Q: What are the symptoms of a bad radiator cap?
A: A radiator cap has several functions. (1) It keeps the cooling system sealed from outside contaminants. (2) By keeping pressure on the cooling system, it raises the boiling point. (3) The radiator cap allows coolant to go to the expansion recovery tank when coolant gets hot, expands, and pressures increase. (4) As the system cools down, it allows coolant to return to the engine from the expansion recovery tank. A bad radiator cap can cause the engine to overheat at lower temperatures. This will cause the coolant to boil over to the expansion tank. A radiator cap that is faulty could also prevent coolant from returning to the engine. This would create a vacuum and cause the radiator hoses to collapse.
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Radiator Cap Pressure
Q: My car was overheating so I changed the thermostat. It is still overheating. The electric fan seems to be engaging and the antifreeze is full. What else should I check?
A: A bad radiator pressure cap could be causing the car to overheat. By keeping pressure on the cooling system, the pressure cap increases the boiling point of the antifreeze. If the pressure cap is not working properly, the engine could overheat.
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Radiator Hose Collapse
Q: What would make a radiator hose to collapse?
A: Radiator hoses commonly have a reinforcing spring inside that helps prevent radiator hoses from collapsing. If this reinforcing spring is faulty or missing, the hose may collapse when there is a vacuum in the cooling system. Another cause could be a faulty radiator cap. A radiator cap works to maintain a constant pressure in the cooling system. As the antifreeze mixture begins to cool after engine shutdown, a vacuum is created. If the pressure cap doesn't equalize this pressure, a radiator hose can collapse. The small vacuum valve in the radiator cap may not be working properly.
