[andrewc30]

Hey I'm going on a road trip this weekend and I've spent too much time already browsing forums about the differences between coolants and hard waters and ions and purity etc etc etc.

My low coolant light comes on just when i start my car. (it goes away)
The floater stick was about 1" below the cap, It's supposed to stick out about 1.5" from what i gather.

I just added about 500ml(?) De-ionized water until the float was level with the lid.

Should that be sufficient or should i top up even more with OEM coolant?

Thanks

[andrewc30]

So i added the 500ml water until the float stick came up to the cap,
and im going to "eyeball" another 500ml of OEM coolant until the float comes out.

I've had the car for a year, its at 155,000km, if i have a leak its obviously minor, but it was low.

Could it leak through a Valve cover gasket? Because i know i have some seeping around there that will need fixing at some point

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by andrewc30

So i added the 500ml water until the float stick came up to the cap,
and im going to "eyeball" another 500ml of OEM coolant until the float comes out.

I've had the car for a year, its at 155,000km, if i have a leak its obviously minor, but it was low.

Could it leak through a Valve cover gasket? Because i know i have some seeping around there that will need fixing at some point

Okay, so first, look closely at the top of the coolant reservoir and you'll see a pictograph molded in the plastic of the top of the reservoir. The pictograph shows how to use the coolant measuring stick to correctly set the level of the coolant. There are two balls molded into the red dip stick that indicate the level of coolant. The coolant level is correct when the lower ball on the stick is level with the top of the neck of the fill opening. The coolant is low if the top ball is below the level of the filler neck.

Now regarding the valve cover gasket. The the cooling system is separate from the oil lubrication system. There is no coolant underneath the valve cover. Under the valve cover is where the valvetrain for operating the valve sits. The valvetrain is lubricated by oil, so there is only oil under the valve cover. And I hope you understand there is an "engine cover" that covers the valve cover.

If there is a leak coming from the valve cover (gasket) then you have an oil leak, which you should eventually have repaired.