mikesampso

I drained my coolant yesterday and refilled it until it was full but when I took the car for a short drive after the work was done the temperature gauge was reading hot. When I did the work I estimated how much coolant and water to put back in as I was in a bit of a hurry to finish up. Is my car running hot because it does not have enough coolant? Someone mentioned that I may have caused some sediment to come loose and it may be blocking a line. Any ideas? This is my first attempt at a coolant drain so my apologies if this is basic stuff.
Thanks!

yeldogt

Did you have any problems with the cooling system prior to the change? What was the condition of the coolant that came out? Did you drain the engine or just open the plug on the bottom of the radiator. What year and model do you have?

You left a lot out of the equation?


The manual has the capacity of the system -- so you know the maximum it can take. I'm not sure how you guess. Did you fill it up -- run it -- and then refill all with the heater on max heat?

You most likely have an air in the system

Toyota makes two types of coolant

mikesampso

Thanks for the reply. No problems prior to changing on my 2003 es300. The condition of the coolant that came out looked good to me and I drained it using the butterfly valve at the bottom of the radiator and the rear drain nut. I stripped the other drain nut unfortunately so I could not open that one.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

It sounds like you have an air bubble inside the system. Try idling the engine with the heater on high (AC off), until the fan comes on - that's when your coolant starts circulating. And while you're doing this, leave the plastic coolant reservoir open so that any air bubbles could escape. Also check that you actually have enough coolant, I know sometimes you have to top it off for about a week after doing a flush.

mikesampso

Thanks for the help!

yeskay

might be "air lock". do a search

deanhavie

Air Lock - right. If you apply a vacuum to to the system and then under vacuum suck the coolant into the car, you minimize bubbles. You do need some specialized tools like a air hose, 1-way vacuum valve and a jug of coolant.

Again - do a search for Air Lock.