Yesterday I had to drive 80 miles, which is the longest I’ve driven in ages. So I thought it was worth checking the coolant level, something else I haven’t done in a while. It was fine, but I forgot to put the expansion cap back on. When we arrived at our destination we had to sit in a small queue of traffic to park. After a few minutes I could smell a hot smell and then noticed the coolant was dumping on the ground. I parked up straight away and topped the tank with water and wrapped a crisp packet over the filler neck with an elastic band.
Today I made an 8 mile round trip and I’ve just checked and the expansion tank is empty again. No dash warning lights or anything. I’ve ordered a new cap which my in laws are going to bring with them when they meet us here on Monday. I don’t need to drive between then and now.
Is it just a case that the crisp packet isn’t air tight so the coolant (mainly water tbh) has evaporated, or could it be something more serious?
Most likely you will have air in the system. You would ideally refill with coolant and idle the car without the cap on while the air burps out of the tank. Once that settles top up again an replace the cap.
Yesterday I had to drive 80 miles, which is the longest I’ve driven in ages. So I thought it was worth checking the coolant level, something else I haven’t done in a while. It was fine, but I forgot to put the expansion cap back on. When we arrived at our destination we had to sit in a small queue of traffic to park. After a few minutes I could smell a hot smell and then noticed the coolant was dumping on the ground. I parked up straight away and topped the tank with water and wrapped a crisp packet over the filler neck with an elastic band.
Today I made an 8 mile round trip and I’ve just checked and the expansion tank is empty again. No dash warning lights or anything. I’ve ordered a new cap which my in laws are going to bring with them when they meet us here on Monday. I don’t need to drive between then and now.
Is it just a case that the crisp packet isn’t air tight so the coolant (mainly water tbh) has evaporated, or could it be something more serious?