Steve's dog

i just put a my newly fixed radiator back in. i put about a full jug of coolant in there. and its still low. i let it warm up. then it wouldnt say cool. it got above normal operating tempurature and i shut it off. and the coolant tank is empty now. how much does the radiator need to get full? the car didnt overheat, it got about half way up the meter. could this of caused any damage? also, could it be possible that the thermostat isnt working properly?

p0sta1

I just recently replaced my fan with an electric and decided to drain the radiator and pull it so I could clean it up a bit. After putting it back in I noticed it took quite a few times to fill it back up. The first time I filled it all the way plus filled the resevior. After running it down the road a few times, the resevior was empty again. It took two times of filling up the resivior to get it full. It also wanted to get to normal operating temp befoer it would start sucking it out of the resevior.



Stupid question but you did put 1/2 water 1/2 coolant in there right........?? If not, it wouldn't be cooling the engine properly.



Half way up the meter is fine, my car ran at 3/4 for quite a few months because I put too tight of a belt on when i took out the air pump and the water pump wasn't pumping all the way. (she's fine now, just had to constantly keep an eye on her) Just keep feeding it coolant/water, it takes quite a bit, but you'll get there.

Option6

I fill the radiator right up, put the cap on, and let the engine warm up. Shut down, relieve the pressure (if any), top it up, and repeat. After the second time I'll usually just let the car idle while I top it up, and squeeze the upper radiator hose a bit to work the air out faster (mind the fan, plus the hose may be getting warm).



It is a silly process that takes a while. This is also a good opportunity to ensure your low coolant indicator is operational.



Top the reserve tank up, and keep some pre-mixed coolant handy in the car if your next trip will be a long one. Chances are good you'll still need to top it up just a little bit one last time. Beyond that, keep an eye on the reserve tank as a quick reference.