hello guys! ok, here is a really silly question but since our cars don't have a "minimum/maximum" line on the radiator, I was wondering until where do you top your radiator with coolant? to the top until it touch the cap? an inch or two before the top? I know it's really a silly question, but i just wanna be sure... mine right now is about 2 inches bellow the top, since the water level is supposed to raise as the car gets hot... so am i good? thanks a lot!
Altho true don't freak out if when you check it, after it's been ran, and it's an inch down. I read somewhere once that it will be lower than the top of the opening during normal conditions.
Did it read like this? "Consult the capacities chart and fill the cooling sys­tem to within one inch of the filler neck or to the cold-fill mark on sealed systems with a mixture of 50% water and 50% ethylene glycol antifreeze. Install the radiator cap, turn­ing it only to the first position (off pressure), thereby allowing the system to bleed off all trapped air bubbles. Start the engine and al­low it to reach operating temperature. Re-check the coolant level and add as required. Check the system for leakage."
its a good idea to get a overflow tank. as the cooling system heats up, the coolant expands and builds pressure. the cap will vent excesive pressure out. this coolant just gets dumped on the street. then when the cooling system cools off the cap has a bleed valve that keeps the cooling system from going into a vacuum, and sucks in air. that why the level drops from being completly full. if you put a overflow tank in, it will catch the coolant when it gets expelled, and allow it to be sucked back in when it cools off.
great... i just topped it to the top after razorsharp's answer and now rthomas show me where my level exactly was before i don't wanna drain the whole thing, how can i take some out?
Put a surge tank on it as was stated, This not only keeps the radiator full but also cuts down on the pollutants that eventually find their way back into our water system. Autozone sells a plastic tank that you can tie strap behind the bumper out of site, These sell for like 8 bucks , So there is no reason not to run one.
they have instructions. basicly you locate it any where it fits close to the radiator cap. right under the radiator cap is a nipple that should have a hose on it going down the side of the radiator. take that hose off. the overflow tank should have 2 hoses with it. put one hose from the nipple on the radiator to the lower nipple on the tank. then put the other hose on the top nipple and run it so it dumps onto the ground.
