How much coolant in the overflow on a cold engine?

by **offthahook** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 1:06 pm

My overflow tank has BARELY any coolant in it when the engine has sat overnight. I had it flushed and filled last year with the Toyota red coolant. I can barely see ANY in the tank when the engine is off and has been sitting and has had time to cool down. The temp. gauge is where it always has been when the car is running-- just under "9 o'clock" on the gauges. Am I good or should I add some coolant?

by **Ruski** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 1:11 pm

when the car warms up the coolant goes back to the Over fill tank. or expands. But when it sits over night or what not. the coolant cools down and goes through the tubes.. let the car warm up and see where the fluid level is in the over fill tank ??

by **Paladin06Greg** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 2:22 pm

The tank should be at the full line on the tank when cool. Just fill it with fluid to the full line and you should be good to go.

by **offthahook** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 5:23 pm

Now I'm more confused.... I've heard the first reply before. I don't want to overfill it, but the second reply says to fill er up on a cold engine. There is a low and high mark, so maybe in the middle on the tank? Need some more replies. Thanks.

by **Ruski** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 5:29 pm

Start the car let it runn til warm up temps.. Check the level if the level is fine then your coolant level is fine..if its low on a warm engine then fill it.. If not then your good to go

by **Paladin06Greg** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:19 pm

Yes, anywhere between the two marks is fine.

offthahook wrote:Now I'm more confused.... I've heard the first reply before. I don't want to overfill it, but the second reply says to fill er up on a cold engine. There is a low and high mark, so maybe in the middle on the tank? Need some more replies. Thanks.

by **ASG14** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 10:20 pm

Should be about at the low line, or a little higher, on a cold engine. When warmed up, it will come up to around the high mark.

by **offthahook** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 10:52 pm

Sweet. Quick question... Can I open the overlfow tank while the engine is running and warmed up or will that mess up the pressure in the system? I guess what I'm saying is can I add the coolant with the motor up and running or should I wait til it has cooled and the engine is off? I've heard you don't want air in the cooling system at all. Thanks!

by **unbalancedwood** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 10:54 pm

You can open the overfill taken while running that wont do anything, nothing with pressure in the overfill.

If you look at it, there is a little tube like hook on the top that will let fluid come out if need be.

Of course dont open the pressure cap when the engine is running or hot...

by **boiphil** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 11:14 pm

After my last flush & refill with Toyota Red after driving it and parking overnight my overflow was also almost empty. It's a little un-nerving to have it drink more after filled, but once I topped off the overflow to "full" it's stayed put ever since. I suppose maybe I had a bubble in a hose or something?

by **NeFaRiOuS_SLE** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:33 am

How long has it been since your last water pump change? It is designed to spill out minuscule amounts of coolant from the side of the pump when it is worn out enough to replaced, which is about every 100,000 miles (but recommended to change at 90,000).

I had a problem with losing small amounts of coolant; I found myself having to top it off every 2 weeks when it lost about 1/4-1/2 from the "FULL" mark, but now I got it changed and it's been steady since.

by **offthahook** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:54 am

My car only has 42K on it and I see no evidence of ANY coolant drops. I don't smell any coolant either. I know the water pump can weep, but I don't think that's an issue right now. I think I'll just let it warm up and add some red coolant to the tank and see what happens. Belive me, I wouldn't open the actual radiator cap while it was hot. Thanks fellas.

by **NeFaRiOuS_SLE** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 10:27 am

Well, another issue that comes to mind is the evaporation; mine does that a bit and gets all over the outside of recovery tank and even a bit onto the ABS solenoid from time to time :roll:

.

by **Jai_Jai_Binks** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 11:14 am

Guys the guy asked a simple q for his low milage 'lara regarding overfilling. Simple answer is for the newbie is " the system has a small tube to let off excess coolant if overfilled!" meaning its faisafe pour away. I think greg summed it up well

Paladin06Greg wrote:The tank should be at the full line on the tank when cool. Just fill it with fluid to the full line and you should be good to go.

by **NeFaRiOuS_SLE** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:20 pm

yeah, but if there's a CAUSE for it to be low that is not due to a dying water pump or evaporation it might serve as useful information.

How much coolant in the overflow on a cold engine?

How much coolant in the overflow on a cold engine?

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