Easy way to check coolant?

[Invasivore]

I tried looking in the fender well with the wheel turn , but can't see my coolant level even with a light. Is there an easier way?

 

[Asp Man]

Have you tried to put a small light through the access plug (large, round rubber plug just inside the wheel well) to back light the over-flow tank?

 

[Richard Koch]

I remove the access cover in the front of the wheelwell and take a LED light and shine it toward the coolant recovery tank and it usually illuminates the fluid enough so I can determine the amount. The LED light I have is a cheapy Harbor Freight one which is 2 1/2 " by 1 1/2" with a bunch of lights on one side and it has a plastic hook whicih unfolds so I don't drop it into the bottomless pit behind the foglight. You definitely need a nice bright light to make this work.

 

[00VPRGTS]

I tried looking in the fender well with the wheel turn , but can't see my coolant level even with a light. Is there an easier way?

Are you sure there is coolant in the tank? It could be below the min line. Color matters too. If you have green it is relatively easy to see but if you have yellow it is much harder to see.

 

[Invasivore]

Thanks for the replies! Yeah, I did a flush and refilled with peak global lifetime (yellow). Btw, how much coolant is suppose to be in the top reservoir?

 

[LifeIsGood]

There's a line on the bottle. Here's both my bottles removed, cleaned and fill marks painted...

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[Fatboy 18]

Great pics as usual Ken

 

[Invasivore]

There's a line on the bottle. Here's both my bottles removed, cleaned and fill marks painted...

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Nice! I may have to mark the bottle as you did. I'm assuming the bottom reservoir will fill before the top one?

 

[dave6666]

Not sure why the surge tank would have a line indicating a working level. It should always be full. When the engine heats it displaces the coolant to the overflow tank in the fascia. Upon engine cooling, it ***** the fluid back in. If you only have fluid to that red line, you have a huge air pocket in your cooling system, and if the system is working correctly, that air will be replaced by coolant from the overflow tank. The typical breakdown in this system is when either the cap on the surge tank is bad, the hose from the surge tank to the overflow tank leaks (usually at the hose ****** @ the surge tank cap), or the overflow tank is allowed to dry out, meaning upon engine cooling you will **** in air and not the displaced coolant. Of note about the overflow tank, it is vented, and there will be evaporation. How fast depends on how often you drive and what climate you live in, but the level will go down on it's own. Since the glycol component of the coolant does not evaporate (the water does), when you top off the overflow tank you only need to add water. This will eventually disperse itself into the system as the car is heat cycled. However, if you live in a climate where the car could be exposed to freezing temps, it would be better to add the standard coolant mixture when topping off the overflow tank.

You want a clamp on the line by the cap. It does not come that way.

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Fill the overflow tank from there.

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[dave6666]

I'm assuming the bottom reservoir will fill before the top one?

No. Per my system description above, the surge tank responds to pressure increase as the coolant heats, and above 16 to 17 psi (depending on your cap rating), the lower tank - the overflow tank in the fascia - is a holding reservoir for the coolant until the engine cools and ***** it back into the surge tank / cooling system.

 

[LifeIsGood]

I was too lazy to go out to the garage earlier this AM to actually check my coolant bottles, but I just did and the coolant bottle (top) appears to be completely full and the coolant recovery bottle (in the fascia) is just below the MAX mark.

 

[CEJ]

As stated earlier, you need to remove the round access cover in the wheel well and shine a light in there to see the level in the tank. That is the only method I've found to work.

 

[dave6666]

I was too lazy.

Entire nations have fallen due to less. I suggest an inspirational boot camp for 6 months to realign your priorities.

 

[jdeft1]

I fill the ol' gen one untill it pukes. A couple a good pukes and she's done for a few years.....Then it's time for another coolant swap. It's dirty but it's easy.