[Leroy]

Hi guys,

Just need to know if the coolant reservoir should always have coolant in it when the engine is hot cold, indifferent. When I picked up my vehicle from the Nissan dealer 18 months ago with a coolant concern they said it's normal for the reservoir to be empty when engine is hot.

What is your experience???

Leroy

 

[geeyoutoo]

Hi guys,

Just need to know if the coolant reservoir should always have coolant in it when the engine is hot cold, indifferent. When I picked up my vehicle from the Nissan dealer 18 months ago with a coolant concern they said it's normal for the reservoir to be empty when engine is hot.

What is your experience???

Leroy

I will assume you are speaking of the lower one closest to the heat exchanger with just a screw cap on it....... The other should always be full.

If so this has a minimum and maximum line marked on the side facing the heat exchanger, around half full is the maximum level with the minimum around 20mm lower, I don't know who you spoke to but he has no idea about the laws of physics which state that things expand when they heat up , so it will be higher when hot and lower when cold..... Mine changes around 8-10mm.

 

[Leroy]

the one with the screw cap is an over flow. The one with the radiator pressure cap is the reservoir for the radiator. This is the one that I reckon should be full all the time.

Leroy

 

[geeyoutoo]

the one with the screw cap is an over flow. The one with the radiator pressure cap is the reservoir for the radiator. This is the one that I reckon should be full all the time.

Leroy

That's what I said at the end of the first sentence.

 

[daemonus]

@Leroy - according to Nissan Repair Manual, either cold or hot, in the overflow bottle has to be some coolant, between MIN and MAX marks.

When the engine is cold, mark the coolant level in the overflow bottle. At the end of the trip, notice the new level. When the engine cools of, the level of coolant in the overflow bottle will drop, as the coolant gets sucked back in the system through a little "valve" located in the pressurised tank cap op-top the overflow bottle.

If no coolant present in the overflow bottle, when the engine cools down, it will suck air into the cooling system and definately you wouldn't want that.