Quote:
Originally Posted by Allez
Posted this about coolant levels on the maintenance forum with no response.
According to the manual 'Check to see if coolant is visible in the coolant surge tank . . . If coolant is visible but the coolant level is not at or above the COLD FILL line, add a 50/50 mixture of clean drinkable water and DEX-COOL coolant.'
So with the engine cold on my car, the top chamber is filled just about to the top, above the COLD FILL line. The bottom chamber has very little in it, maybe 3/4", and I don't see any fill line. Is this normal? I've read some places that the bottom chamber should be half full, but reading the manual multiple times it seems like maybe I don't worry about the lower chamber unless the top chamber isn't full? The instructions given to add coolant look like they are for either if the coolant is visible but not at or above the COLD FILL line, or if there is no coolant is visible in the coolant surge tank.
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This is correct. The upper tank must always be full 100% of the time. The bottom tank is the one you add fluid to to keep it between the marks (~ 1/2 full) which of course are hard to see.
Great design from an engineering standpoint to ensure there's no air in the loop, but horrible from a owner/maintenance standpoint.
This manual page shows the purge procedure as well as a good graphic of what the two tanks should look like under normal conditions (hot or cold).