Fired it up this morning and was greeted with a low coolant warning right away. I let it run for a couple minutes to avoid the risk of a bore wash and shortly before I shut it down the low coolant warning went out on its own, so I'm guessing I'm just a bit low on coolant and it expanded just enough to raise the float and turn off the light.

So a couple basic questions, are the flaots prone to sticking and tripping false warnings? If so is it resolvable or just replace it? Just the sensor or the whole overflow bottle?

Am I correct in that there are basically two coolant types? Orange and green and I should top it off with the same type only? If what I've read is correct I should have Dexcool in there, right? Car is an 01 but I have a later date replacement engine with the newer timing components (engine sn unknown so far...hard to get a good image of it). Coolant was flushed and filled at about 60k miles by a prior owner, I'm now at 128k...I've checked the level before in the overflow tank and it looked good (adequate level and not obviously full of crap) but I can't remember the color of course...easy enough to check later.

So, easy enough to top it off, but if I have lost some, where did it go? If its a few ounces or so, I can live with the evaporation explanation, but if its more than that, or turns out to be a more rapid loss, where are the common trouble spots? I know there are a bunch of fragile coolant lines, particularly under the supercharger...are all of these points easy enough to access for inspection without 4 hours of work to disassemble the top half of the motor? Can I see everything I need to see with a lighted borescope perhaps? Just want to make sure my lines are in good shape and that I won't be setting myself up for a stranding in the near future.

Thanks!

 

Floats are prone to stick.

 

It is good to flush the coolant system from time to time. The float mechanism acquires
buildup over time which can cause sticking.

 

Checked the overflow, its got plenty of fluid in it, so it must be either the float or the sensor. I exercised the float with a scewdriver and it seemed to move freely, so probably my Jag doing Jag things and messing with me...i think that means it likes me, right?

Dunno where the level is supposed to be exactly, but i definitely do not think this is low.

 

looks low to me….

 

Compared to mine, I also think it low.

 

Where should the level be at? I don't see an obvious fill indicator. Up to the filler neck? Float submerged?

 

yes float submerged

you have an overflow bottle you can fill it to the brim if you felt like it

 

Thanks!

 

Nobody seems to have the right coolant on the shelf so I topped it off with distilled water, took a couple cups. Took it for a drive and ran the heater to mix it well and will check later for leaks and level to make sure its good.

 

dexcool

 

I usually try to keep some of the Zerex Dexcool on the shelf.

 

These actually use Dexcool? I know the coolant is orange but didn't know it was Dexcool. That's great news, have gallons of that stuff from my various GM vehicles.

 

Had no idea either. I checked my generic dexcool compatible "universal" stuff and i didnt see the spec numbers on the bottle that are on the overflow bottle in the car.

This simplifies things.