Is there any spec on the level of coolant that there should be in the atmospheric tank; mine is empty which doesn't seem right?
2003 XK8

 

Bob, fill level is to bottom of neck that cap screws onto. After filling, May want to drive auto parts store and have a pressure check to see if visible leak. It is to be at the level indicated at all times.

 

the overflow in the fender should be almost empty

fill the expansion tank almost to the top

 

Good advice, thanks..

 

With a cold engine, this would be a typical level:





Graham

 

 

What you want is to have enough "extra" coolant in that recovery tank so that when the engine cools off and brings coolant back in the system, you are not running out and sucking air in, even when parked at an angle. That advocates towards keeping a lot of coolant in the recovery tank.

On the other hand, the recovery tank has to have enough room so that when the engine is hot and pushes coolant in the recovery tank, it does not overflow. This advocates towards keeping as little coolant in the recovery tank as possible.

For my own car, I evaluate those arguments equally and kept the tank half full (once, during a upper mount replacement, when the liner was off). My take on it.

 

That makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks for your input.

 

I read a post on one of the other forums a little while ago that stated the atmospheric tank should be filled half way when cold. This is where I've set mine. (After I patched the hole in the bottom.)

 

Thanks for your comment, good advice.

 

Is the recovery tank ( in fender well) visible for inspection without removing the inner liner of the fender?

 

The only way to see this tank is by removing the liner which isn't good in my opinion. Out of sight out of mind isn't good if you're interested in the general health of your car.

 

O&DR has a good Youtube video on the Atmospheric Tank. See below.


He made an easy modification in cutting a hole in the wheel arch for a visual inspection port.

 

The X100 has a High Velocity/Low Capacity cooling system. Total capacity on the N/A is 9.5 litres and on the S/C it's 11.5 litres. I haven't measured the capacity of the Atmospheric Recovery Bottle but would think it must be about 4 litres or equivalent to one third of the total volume in the S/C system.

I can't find an absolute figure for the expansion of the specified coolant. However, the volume of water increases by about four percent when heated from room temperature to its boiling point so coolant must be similar. Therefore expect expansion of the coolant from cold to running temperature to be in the order of 0.5 litre. We're not talking massive volumes of fluid transfer from the Expansion Tank to the Atmospheric Recovery Bottle and back again as the engine heats up then cools.

It's the correct level in the Expansion Tank at cold that's important. The level in the Atmospheric Recovery Bottle isn't critical.

Graham

 

Thanks for the link to this video it fully answers my question about the level and it looks like a simple modification that allows periodic inspection of the level.
Thanks for your help.

 

To avoid cutting up the wheel-arch liner, you can view the tank any time through the gap between the A pillar and the open driver's door using a good torch.

 

I'm being given some really simple ideas concerning this question; I'll check this one out for sure.
Thanks..

 

On one of the other forums I saw a mod a guy made to the fender liner to put in a 'view port'. It amounts to drilling a large hole (with a hole saw) and plugging it with a rubber plug (like a grommet but with the middle filled with solid rubber. (Would be a good idea to find the plug first and size the hole accordingly instead of the other way around.) Looks like a worthwhile mod. I'm a little concerned about the plug blowing out under the force of water spray when driving in the rain. Not a huge problem since the only thing behind the fender liner on that side is the recovery tank but if the plug blows out hard debris (likes rocks and glass bits) can get in there and put a hole in the plastic bottle. I'm still going back and forth over this mod.

Just an idea.

Oh, and one more thought. You can pressure test the cap. IF you have the proper adapter. I know, I know, you have to buy the stupid Jag pressure cap tester adapter. But if you can't figure out what's going on it might be worth it.

 

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it. The interesting thing about this thread is the tip I got from astromorg resolved the ability to inspect the level. Sometimes the obvious isn't obvious.