Kozy

The radiator busted (top drivers side outlet broke) on my 97 and I just replaced it today. Made sure everything was connected properly. I then put the correct coolant in through the filler hole above the thermostat until it was full. It took roughly a gallon and a half. Overflow bottle was still full so that didn't need any fluid.

Started the car and let it idle for a few minutes. All seemed perfect. Take it for a drive and the temp gauge starts creeping above the halfway mark (it's never done that before) and when it gets close to the notch before "H" I shut the car off and coasted into a gas station.

Did I do something wrong when reinstalling and filling the system? Hopefully so, because I couldn't find and new leaks at all that could have caused the system to lose coolant again. I need to get this fixed by Tuesday, this is my primary mode of transportation to/from work.

Yamae

Only a gallon and a half?
A 97 LS400 needs 2.9 gallon. It may be natural to have a problem.
A few minutes idle is not enough. You need to follow the instruction as is indicated at the reserve tank. Your filling method is totally different from the correct way.

Kozy

Ahh that explains it. There are no instructions on my overflow tank, only a place where it appears the sticker SHOULD have been. I Google'ed it and see what I did wrong. We'll give it a go tomorrow and hope for the best!

Thank you so much!

Yamae

You are welcome but I hope your engine is OK and you can travel on Tuesday.

In case someone needs it, here I attach the instruction. According to my experience, after filled the LLC in accordance with the instruction, I still have needed to add about 0.3L after 3 cycles of commuting. But the temp gauge has been indicating the right temperature while commuting every time.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

You need to bleed the system.

SonicC

This. You got an air pocket in the cooling system.

You let the car idle with expansion tank cap OFF, turn the heat on and let the car warm up to it's normal temperature. You'll see bubbles in the expansion tank and once they stop coming out you can close it.

Kozy

Re-filled the car following the instructions that are typically found on the top of coolant overflow reservoirs and everything is A-OK now. Wish I had known beforehand that my reservoir was actually missing that sticker! Would have saved me from a lot of heartache.

Legender

And this forum is helpful one more time... Congrats on getting it filled correctly.

Yamae

Thanks for the update, Kozy. Congratulations on your success. Someone might be helped reading the thread someday in the future.

Since you have shut the car off when at your first drive, paying attentions and noticing the temp gauge going too high, I don't think your engine was damaged. But you'd better to be watching the coolant not containing any engine oil for the confirmation. A overheated engine tends to damage the head and it's gasket and this causes the mix of oil and coolant, you know.