URGENT questions that need answering.. coolant EMPTY! and lift kit

[Freak]

First of all let it be heard that I know very little about vehicle maintenance (other than oil changes, basic stuff) and I've only recently started to learn.

This morning, as I filled up my windshield washer fluid tank, I decided to check all the other fluids. Oil level is fine, p/s fluid is good, so is the brake fluid.

Opened the cap to the coolant tank and it was EMPTY! It appears to have been empty for a long time as the rubber hose that was connected to the cap was completely dried and cracked. However, I've been driving it everyday with NO overheating - engine runs fine and the needle is dead-center on the temp gauge.

My car came with a B&M external trans cooler, does this have to do with anything?

Also, I picked up a set of LC coils for the rear lift. Can somebody recommend me an affordable set of shocks for the rear? As well as a cheap front lift kit to match. Thanks!

 

[mikebontoft]

Some people/places don't fill up the expansion tank when doing cooling system work. Remove the radiator cap when it's cold and make sure the fluid level in there is full. if the expansion tank is dirty, you can remove it and wash it out then fill it with fluid.

 

[Brique]

yeah, thats your overflow tank, the coolant mostly lives in the radiator itself.

 

[Freak]

yeah, thats your overflow tank, the coolant mostly lives in the radiator itself.

Some people/places don't fill up the expansion tank when doing cooling system work. Remove the radiator cap when it's cold and make sure the fluid level in there is full. if the expansion tank is dirty, you can remove it and wash it out then fill it with fluid.

Whew! Are you guys serious? But I can still fill it up with coolant anyway, right?

See, I have this paranoia with empty coolant tanks. Several months ago, I owned an E46 BMW (330i ZHP Performance Package) and the coolant leaked so fast, that by the time I was about to pull over to turn the engine off, the head gasket BLEW from all that overheating. Since then I could only afford a 4Runner and I am not about to have that s%#& on me again..

 

[mikebontoft]

oh yeah... BMW expansion tanks fail all the time (so do the thermostats) So in all honesty I shouldn't call this one an expansion... it's an overflow bottle. But yes, fill it up with coolant.

 

[5vzT4R]

That is a overfill tank (expansion tank) when the coolant temperature/pressure overheats or becomes to excessive, the cap will open its pressure release valve and allow the excess pressure escape into the expansion tanks, when the pressure drops, a vacuum is created sucking the coolant back from the expansion tank back into the radiator.

So I would not fill the expansion tank with coolant, it needs to be empty to except that excess pressure/coolant. Just my .02

 

[TheDurk]

Just to be clear, those BMW expansion tanks and the Toyota overflow reservoirs are two totally different animals. Those BMW tanks are part of the closed pressurized system and operate at full radiator pressure. When they go, and they do, it is dramatic and they have to be kept full to specified level.

The Toyota-type reservoir is for fluid that is allowed to leave the system, stored at normal atmospheric pressure, and then allowed to return when the system cools and loses pressure. Fluid level is less critical, but I see no reason to leave it empty, if only for the fact that you then have no easy way to monitor coolant level. There are MIN and MAX marks (cold state) for a reason. Air in the cooling system is not a good thing.

 

[z28forlife]

Comparing runners and BMWs are completely different beasts. BMW coolant systems suck ass, believe me I know, I work for BMW. Haha. The e46's were notorious for melted heads because of blown expansion tanks. If you don't see any fluid under your truck and you've never had any over heating issues then you probably just need to fill up the overflow tank. Coolant isn't a lifetime fluid, it does boil and start to burn away over time.