car people i need your help.....quick!

[otispunkmeyer]

right ive got a long journey coming up and i was just checking my car over

the hanes manual says that the coolant expansion tank should be some where between min and max, and when the engines cold, preferably at max.

now i dunno if this is after the engines been running or what, but at the moment its been sat on the drive for 12+ hours and well.....the coolant expansion tank is empty

that doesnt sound right does it

 

[j00fek]

now i dunno if this is after the engines been running or what, but at the moment its been sat on the drive for 12+ hours and well.....the coolant expansion tank is empty

that doesnt sound right does it[/quote]

do you mean it been cold for 12 hrs and is empty? if it is just fuill it up 1/2 way and run the motor for 5 min let sit then check again

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: j00fek
now i dunno if this is after the engines been running or what, but at the moment its been sat on the drive for 12+ hours and well.....the coolant expansion tank is empty

that doesnt sound right does it

do you mean it been cold for 12 hrs and is empty? if it is just fuill it up 1/2 way and run the motor for 5 min let sit then check again

[/quote]


yeah engines been cold, ie not turned on, and the tanks bone dry.

 

[quakefiend420]

if it's cold, fill it to the cold fill line

 

[j00fek]

Originally posted by: quakefiend420
if it's cold, fill it to the cold fill line

:thumbsup:

 

[DougK62]

Why did you start your first sentence with "right"? That's weird.

 

[iamwiz82]

When was the last time you checked the level?

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: DougK62
Why did you start your first sentence with "right"? That's weird.

not very cultured?

 

[otispunkmeyer]

well i spoke to my dads mate steve who seems to be knowledgeable about these things

he says that its ok for it to be empty since its a coolant expansion tank, the engine cooling system is a sealed system or something, and just uses that tank to expand the coolant too when it gets hot,

he recommends i just fill it a 3rd with some water

 

[Pepsi90919]

i don't think the tank should be empty, ever...

 

[radioouman]

Should never be empty.
If you have an older car that has a real radiator cap, you should see if there is any coolant in the radiator.

Either way, you need to fill it up to where it is supposed to be, and watch it carefully to see how quickly it goes down. (It should never go down on a normal engine. If it does, you have either a leak and it is dripping/spraying onto the ground, or you have a bad head gasket/cracked head and it is being sucked into the cylinders and comes out the exhaust.)

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
i don't think the tank should be empty, ever...

but its not a coolant tank tho

its an expansion tank, i dont wanna put more in, then suddenly have something burst when it tries to expand coolant into space thats not there any more

 

[AdamK47]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: DougK62
Why did you start your first sentence with "right"? That's weird.

not very cultured?

He's from the UK. Read it in your mind with a British accent and pause after reading the word "right". It starts to make sense.

 

[Krazy4Real]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
well i spoke to my dads mate steve who seems to be knowledgeable about these things

he says that its ok for it to be empty since its a coolant expansion tank, the engine cooling system is a sealed system or something, and just uses that tank to expand the coolant too when it gets hot,

he recommends i just fill it a 3rd with some water

I don't know.. that just doesn't sound right. Every car's coolant tank is accessible to the user. You should be able to check the car's coolant level any time. If you want to get picky the coolant level should be checked at least at every oil change just to make sure it's at the proper level. Even if he's somehow right about the coolant expansion, there should still be another location in your engine compartment that shows you the level of the actual coolant.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

If the tank is empty, you either have a slight leak or your car has been overheating.
Like other have said, fill it to the cold mark and run the engine at idle for a while, let it cool and check again.

I would also check the thermostat, as a frozen thermostat is a very common problem that can cause overheating. Also check the belt that drives the water pump to make sure it isn't hard and slick, or frayed and that its not loose.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

ill go have a tinker then

this is the first time ive checked, car is due for its service next week, its been running faultlessly ever since ive had it so. i was driving for an hour last night, no warning signs or anything. ill fill it with some water for now, its summer here so antifreeze wont be a neccessity for now, it'll all get sorted in its service next week, but im driving nearly 700mi this weekend.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
i don't think the tank should be empty, ever...

but its not a coolant tank tho

its an expansion tank, i dont wanna put more in, then suddenly have something burst when it tries to expand coolant into space thats not there any more

Don't worry, if you overfill the recovery tank it will just spill out through the drain when the engine is pressured up, nothing will burst. And to reiterate if the recovery tank is empty you have a problem of some sort, it should never be empty

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
ill go have a tinker then

this is the first time ive checked, car is due for its service next week, its been running faultlessly ever since ive had it so. i was driving for an hour last night, no warning signs or anything. ill fill it with some water for now, its summer here so antifreeze wont be a neccessity for now, it'll all get sorted in its service next week, but im driving nearly 700mi this weekend.

100% water or 100% coolant will actually cool less than a mix.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
ill go have a tinker then

this is the first time ive checked, car is due for its service next week, its been running faultlessly ever since ive had it so. i was driving for an hour last night, no warning signs or anything. ill fill it with some water for now, its summer here so antifreeze wont be a neccessity for now, it'll all get sorted in its service next week, but im driving nearly 700mi this weekend.

100% water or 100% coolant will actually cool less than a mix.

i know, just filled it with water and what was left of the anti freeze we had, it'll be fine for now, just got off the phone with my mums cousin who owns a garage he said jus fill it 1/2 way with water and a little anti freeze

 

[acemcmac]

Originally posted by: quakefiend420
if it's cold, fill it to the cold fill line

duuuuurrr

 

[quakefiend420]

Originally posted by: acemcmac

Originally posted by: quakefiend420
if it's cold, fill it to the cold fill line

duuuuurrr

well, what seemed obvious to me apparently isn't to him

 

[db]

Keep an eye on the tank level. Usually a tank has "Hot" and "Cold" level marks, but may have "full" and "add" marks....
Anyway, it should never be below the cold or lowest mark.