BradFisher

Hello all, i've posted here a few times and I must say the responses have been extremely helpful. Thank you guys so much for that. Here is my question, keep in mind ive only had the car for 2 months and I just don't know what is going to be the norm on a lot of things. I got the timing belt changed about a week after I bought the car and the mechanic stated that they did have to replace the antifreeze/coolant. Before he worked on the car the check coolant light never came on, but now it comes on about every time i drive it for at least a few minutes and then goes off. Well when the car is just sitting there and hasn't been cranked for a few hours there appears to be very little coolant in the resevoir. Then when cranked and ran for a few minutes the coolant level in the resevoir rises close to the level it should be as indicated by the fill line on the resevoir. The car doesn't run hot, but that check coolant light does come on. What do you guys think I should do? Also I checked my oil the other day after I got back from about a 2 hour trip. I last changed the oil about 2 months/3000 miles ago. The oil registered about halfway in between the Low and Full line on the dipstick. Then again when the car hasn't been ran for a few hours and you check the oil it registers at or above the full line on the dipstick. To me this is very puzzling. I am checking the car as it sits on a relatively level surface. Not perfectly level, but close enough. I really don't know much about cars in general, just enough to know how to check things, or so I thought, lol. If anybody knows anything about these issues, please help me. Thank you so much, I really apreciate it.

91LS400vgb

The coolant is higher when it is hot due to expansion. When it is cold, the fluid should be at the lower line on the reservoir. It sounds like you need to add some coolant (in a 50/50 mixture; same type as the mechanic used - avoid mixing types) to the reservoir to reach the proper level.
If the oil level is at the "Full" line on the dipstick after sitting a while, then you are fine. It's a good idea to wait about 5 minutes after shutting down the engine to check the oil, as it takes a little while for it to all fall into the oil pan.

deanshark

Ya gotta learn sometime. Oil level is pretty much normal. When the car sits for a while, the oil settles downward into the oil pan which is why you get a higher reading on the dipstick. The coolant is low, you need to add some. (Same kind that's in there) Your "mechanic" must not have put in enough when he did the T-belt job. It works like the oil, it settles when it sits and cools off. As it warms up the pressure builds up in the system. You need to do this starting from step 18. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/cooling/coolant.html or you can bring it back to your mechanic and tell him he didn't put enough coolant in.
If you're that low on coolant you have alot of air in the system, I'll bet you don't have heat, right?

BradFisher

Thank you guys, I added some coolant and things are back to normal. The add coolant light no longer comes on, which is a plus. But in response, yes I did have heat. I don't know, once I get more familiar with the car im sure i'll have a feel for whats going on. Id like to apologize for asking such dumb questions, but thank you guys so much for helping out i really appreciate it!

Mach1speed

Sometimes get air in cooling system when it is completely emptied, like when your mechanic changed the timing belt and water pump too I hope. The air bleeds out after running for a while. Car can also overheat when this happens. After air bleeds out everything is fine.