solty202003

Well i got home today from around town and the car was smelling hot like something is burning. I have had this before but the temp is always reading about 220 and it still smells hot. So today i popped the hood and took a look around. I was wondering how much coolant should be in the overfill at a hot temperature like 220 or a little warmer. Mine overfill has the "hot full" and the "cold full" sign on it and it was reading cold full when the car was still like 210 at least. Probably closer to 220. Should it be at the hot full level?? The car was not running when i was looking around. Just wondering if i am low on coolant??

Thanks guys

Lance

PyRo9862

At 210, it should probably be at hot fill. Best way to get it exact is probably to check in when its cold. I don't think it really matters if you have a big to much coolent in the thing.

solty202003

ok i will keep an eye on it...but it seems like it just stays in the same exact spot no matter hot or cold....it just stays at the cold fill level...

IROC-T

When it is cool check the fluid in the radiator itself ,if you cap is old it could keep the fluid from comming back to the tank ,or worse holding to much pressure replace it. Always check your fluids when cold,with the exception of the autotransmission fluid.

seannz28

Okay....The level of the coolant inside the over flow bottle should be at "Hot full" if the engine is in operating temp. I am talking about if you drove the car for 2 miles or so. Nothing will happen if it is over full.
The radiator cap has a preasurized spring that lifts up when the is too much PSI in the radiator realesing the excess preasure (coolant) into the over flow. That coolant, when the radiator has less preasue than the cap is designed to hold, will be sucked back into the radiator. so If your car was sitting all night and you filled the over flow bottle to the brim, when the car heated up, you would force more coolant into that over flow causing the excess coolant to push through the top of the overflow bottle cap. The level of coolant in the over flow is almost inconsequential to weather or not your car over heats. you probably have a thermestat that is stuck open, or a clog in the system somewhere.
so... replace the cap, then replace the thermestat, then flush the coolant. if the cap doesn't help, replace the thermestat, if THAT doesn't help, change the radiator fluid.

solty202003

ok i will drive the car tommorow then i will check it when it is hot (the car does not overheat right now at all but on hot days like 80 plus it does touch close to 240 sometimes) but if it is not at that level then i will add some thanks for the help!

Lance