In other words, the coolant bottle HOT line needs to be higher than the radiator overflow tube outlet? Does the cap on the overflow bottle need to be tight to maintain pressure or is it suppose to release pressure.
Other than needing to check the overflow bottle level often and the water coming out when hot (see previous question) it shouldn't effect any other operations?
I know I sound really retarded with this but I like where my overflow tank is I just need it to function properly. Thanks for the help.
The cap needs to be on, but it isn't under pressure. The SC overflow tank doesn't hold pressure.
You need to think of this like a bubble level. The radiator and the recovery tank are on two ends of a line and gravity works to keep the fluid level across the two.
The pressure cap on the radiator maintains a set pressure in the cooling system. As the coolant expands, pressure rises, which the cap bleeds off, along with excess coolant. This coolant leaves the radiator at a pressure higher than ambient, which pushes the coolant into the recovery tank, allowing the tank to go above the balance level. The radiator cap works as a one way valve, keeping the balance from happening.
As the engine cools, the coolant in the engine/radiator reduces in volume and reduces pressure until the the cap relaxes and allows the coolant to flow back into the radiator, equalizing the pressure between the now slight vacuum in the radiator/engine, and the ambient pressure of the recovery tank.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system.htm This link might help.
So basically, you need to have the recovery tank set at a proper relation to the top of the radiator so that the cold level of the coolant is low enough that the recovery tank has enough room for the expanded hot coolant, but high enough that when it cools off, it doesn't suck air into the cooling system.
If you want it out of the way, you might consider getting an aftermarket recovery tank, and mounting it behind the fender, just cutting a hole for access to the fill cover.