...now, it must have been a while since I last changed my coolant since I'm a little lost but if I open my radiator cap, isn't there supposed to be some fluid right there?

I just picked up my '96 from a radiator shop since my dex-cool looked like diarrhea and I thought I'd admire how fresh coolant looks and I don't see anything. The car had been sitting for about 3 hours and even with a flashlight, I don't see any fluid looking down into the radiator through the filler neck.

On the drive home (about 10 miles, no freeway, one stop), the temp gauge looked normal. The overflow bottle shows above both the FULL HOT and FULL COLD level so. I just took another freeway drive and a drive around the neighborhood, temps are all fine.

I would have guessed they maybe didn't fill it up all the way but with the temps fine and overflow bottle level OK, I'm stumped.

 

On my '97 the coolant level was either right there or 1/8 of an inch from the top of the radiator.

 

The purpose of the reservoir and the submerged overflow tube is to keep the raditor completely full at all times. The coolant level in the radiator should be right to the seal level of the cap. If you have a vapor space 1) they did not fill the system properly - or 2) they did not bleed the air from the system properly - or 3) you have a leak in the system - or 4) you have a crack in the tube from the overflow on the radiator neck to the reservoir, preventing the system from refilling the radiator with coolant as the system cools down and pulls a vacuum - or 5) the cap is not working correctly.

 

Thanks for the info guys.

I called the shop and the mechanic was pretty embarrassed that I didn't see any coolant in the tank. He said they are pretty hard to get exact but that since the overflow tank was OK, it just needed some topping off due to some air.

So, I went to add some 50/50 mix and surprisingly, it only took less than a cup to get the fluid level back to the filler neck. I guess looking into the radiator, you have a pretty limited view from the filler neck! So, I'll drive it around this weekend and check again but since the temps are good and there is no leakage, I think it's OK.

Seeing an empty radiator when I'm used to seeing nasty fluid there got me spooked!

 

Did you bleed the air out correctly, when you topped it up?

 

Honestly, ive never changed my own coolant on this car so no. I looked it up last night in my Haynes but it doesn't show where the valve is.

Just start the car, turn the screw until no more bubbles then re-tighten?

 

Courtesy of Shoebox:

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#radflush