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Lack of coolant has me concerned

Discussion in '308/328' started by Saabguy, Oct 2, 2017.

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  1. Saabguy

    Saabguy Formula 3
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    Mar 28, 2012
    1,761
    Shreveport, LA
    #1 Saabguy, Oct 2, 2017
    Good Morning all!

    So over the weekend I was motivated to replace the top radiator hose (I had it in bright blue silicone) for show reasons. I jacked the car up a bit trying to make that area the highest in the cooling system, uncoupled the hose and... nothing. No coolant flowing out of radiator or pipe. I changed the hose and filled the radiator with half a gallon through a funnel and then added another half a gallon at the overflow reservoir.

    Is this just the typical air trapped in the system?
     
  2. zstyle

    zstyle Formula Junior

    Jun 28, 2007
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    Fountain Hills
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    Jon
    #2 zstyle, Oct 4, 2017
    You need to check the cooling system for leaks as a gallon of coolant lost is not a good sign.
     
  3. cmt6891

    cmt6891 Formula 3

    Feb 25, 2008
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    Carl T
    #3 cmt6891, Oct 4, 2017
    Typical to have some air in the system, however not to the degree to block a gallon of coolant. You need to bleed the system and fill properly. There are many threads on the topic.
     
  4. 308 milano

    308 milano F1 Veteran

    Jan 15, 2007
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    Kim
    #4 308 milano, Oct 4, 2017
    I am away from home at the moment so I can't run into the garage, but IIRC.. that top radiator hose is only about 10 inches long and bent in a 90 degree correct? I would think you would have to lift the rear end of the car incredibly high to get fluid to run out of that hose. Two thoughts come to mind.
    - your car was probably a half a gallon low on coolant before you started this and it's been that way for some time.
    - It might be acting similar to sticking a soda straw in a glass of water and putting your thumb over the end of the straw then pulling it out. Pretty good chance if you pulled the expansion tank cap off you would have coolant gushing out all over.
     
  5. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

    Mar 26, 2011
    11,993
    FRANCE
    #5 nerofer, Oct 5, 2017
    Lester,

    What was the level of coolant in the expansion tank, and did it overflow from time to time, by the expansion/overflow tube, leaving a puddle of coolant under the car?
    If your coolant level in the expansion tank was "about at the middle" (2 inches under the neck of the tank) and the car never rejected coolant, I wouldn't be too concerned.
    As said by Kim above, you probably has too much coolant now in the circuit, and it will be thrown over by the expansion tank overflow tube...
    Did you usually open the heaters circuit wide open from time to time to avoid air being trapped inside it?

    Rgds
     
  6. mike996

    mike996 F1 Veteran

    Jun 14, 2008
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    Mike 996
    #6 mike996, Oct 5, 2017
    As noted - the only place to worry about checking the coolant level is the expansion tank. If there is coolant in the tank with the engine cold, there is no issue. If there is too much coolant in the system, it will just overflow from the tank as necessary. FWIW, due to the length/complexity of the system (various hoses, pipes, etc) and slight variation in volume that can occur from car to car, "Correct level" in the expansion tank for one car with the engine cold might be slightly different than "correct level" for another. The car determines the correct level by spitting out what it doesn't need. On my car, the spec fill level is too high and the car "corrects" that on it's own. ;)
     
  7. Saabguy

    Saabguy Formula 3
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    Mar 28, 2012
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    Shreveport, LA
    #7 Saabguy, Oct 5, 2017
    Thanks guys, that's kinda what I thought. I made certain that the hose (straight 4 inch section from pipe to radiator) was the highest point in the cooling system. I added coolant to the radiator out of caution until it started to flow out of the pipe. It was always good in the expansion tank.
     

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