Coolant Help Needed

[ritch]

I,m new to servicing cars. I just got a 1995 celica GT, i have changed the oil but im not sure about the coolant, i dont think it needs topping up as the pipe that comes up with the lid is pretty wet? I cant see how you check the level though

I basically want to know what i have to do if i do want to top it up, do i have to get proper coolant or can you top up with water, what coolant should i get, i got no idea what is in there already? Also, what is the cap on the radiator for, are you meant to put anything in there?

sorry in advance for the dum questions

Ritch

[Fizz]

Right.. the radiator cap is where you pour the coolant into.

If you open it up you will be able to see the little metal radiator 'teeth' and the coolant level sound be level with the top of the teeth.

The bottle with the pipe is the resovoir so if you start to loose coolant for whatever reason then it will be sucked into the engine accordingly. Like a backup system of sorts.

With regards to finding out if you need to replace it... when you take the pipe out of the resovoir bottle.. what colour is the liquid?

If its a dirty brown colour then it will deffo need replacing. Dont use water as rust will build up in there.. not good. Get some Toyota For Life coolant from your dealer and use that.

When doing a coolant change.. there is a nipple at the bottom of the radiator (if i remember correctly as its been a while) which you unscrew and the coolant will then drain out.

I would suggest taking a hose pipe to the rad and flush out all the crap that has built up for a while until you see clear water coming out the botton. Then fill up with the coolant for life.

One you have fillied up to the top of the radiator cap.. start the engine and you will see the level drop as it starts to circulate round the engine. At this point top up as required till the level stops going down.

Leave the engine running and turn on the heaters and wait till they are warm which is a sign that all is well. :)

[ritch]

looks like i need to change it as the liquid is a brown colour. are you meant to top up the resovoir at all, or does that fill up as you put the coolant in the radiator cap?

thanks a lot for the help

[Fizz]

i wouldnt have thought it automatically fills up.. once you have done the change and you can no longer add anymore into the radiator then check the resovior tank and if needed then put some in there but not too much.

Any excess will be sent out the overflow pipe that runs accorss the cap of the resovior.

[Parts-King]

Part number 08889-80002 Red coolant. Just to add: Make sure, after completing the job, let the car go COLD, and re-check the expansion bottle, the level should be between the max/min marks. COLD. Cheers Kingo

[Fizz]

Expansion bottle!!! Thats the expression i was trying to remember as opposed to resovoir...

But yeah... thats something i forgot to add.

Im no mechanic or even remotely mechanically minded but i have learned a little over the past 3 years.. :P

[Parts-King]

Expansion bottle!!! Thats the expression i was trying to remember as opposed to resovoir...

When you have been in the job over a hundred years like me, you don't forget these things, lol

Cheers Kingo

[Fizz]

Expansion bottle!!! Thats the expression i was trying to remember as opposed to resovoir...

When you have been in the job over a hundred years like me, you don't forget these things, lol

Cheers Kingo

Ahh so was my advice correct for the most part then considering you aint corrected anything ive written?

[ritch]

Thanks guys, ill get on with that then!

cheers

[T600]

Ahh so was my advice correct for the most part then...

I think so

Though if I was being picky isn't the 'nipple' on the bottom of the radiator actually a tap? And there may be one on the engine block too - there is according to GT4 (ST185) manual, but could be different on the 3S-GE engined gen 5 and/or the gen 6s.

[Parts-King]

Some models don't have a tap or nipple, in that case, you need to pull off the bottom hose and flush the radiator out that way, if it does have a tap, check the "O" ring by completely removing the tap out of the radiator, and check it for cracking and wear, Kingo