Coolant light keeps coming on and needing a top up

[highlander]

CAREFULLY. Scalding hot steam escaping under pressure will cause you a lot of pain.

[jason1987]

na engines cold, i just drained some out, hopefully be ok now, water coming out was rusty orangey, this normal? also is that how you get air out the system?

[lozz]

na engines cold, i just drained some out, hopefully be ok now, water coming out was rusty orangey, this normal? also is that how you get air out the system?

there shouid be bleed screws,
one on thermostat housin or there abouts and one on pipes going to heater matrix,
orange rusty water is ok but id drain it and add some new antifreeze,
some Antifreeze is orange so it may just be that and look rusty ish

[jason1987]

ill drain it out now ive found how to do it, it hasnt been done since ive had the car, does it need to be bled if i change the coolant? do you just open it for a second to release air?

[jason1987]

also is it worth using coolant flush first? and why doesnt the 406 have a clear coolant tank so you can see the levels? mine is black plastic and has no markings, what am i supposed to do?

it seems different cars need different coolant, what does a 97 sri need? halfords do ones that say before 1998 as concentrate and after 1998 is pre mixed, does it matter?

[jason1987]

whats the process of bleeding/adding coolant then? do i just flush the old stuff out then fill it up with new coolant, and undo the bleed valves until the coolant comes out freely?

[Gary406]

no need for coolant flush.

once system is fully empty. make sure all taps are closed and system is sealed again. then just pour new coolant into filler cap on tank.

wait a few seconds and let it settle. you will notice the coolant tank will empty . fill it up again.

best to measure the correct amount of coolant 1st then you know when its full. around 6 litres usually but check .

after filling coolant tank a few times. start engine and keep topping up till it stays in tank.

leave lid off while its running. open blled nipples till coolant comes out.

KEEP AN EYE ON THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE FOR A FEW DAYS AFTER YOU HAVE DONE IT. MAKE SURE IT DOESNT OVERHEAT. IF TEMPERATURE GOES WELL OVER 90 STOP IMEDIATLEY

[lozz]

put the heater on hot and blower on while your bleeding the system,

[Gary406]

also premixed is just concentrate mixed down with water.

its best to buy say half amount you need in concentrate and put half water with it

50/50 mix but only with concentrate. ready mixed i think is allready a 50/50 mix .

my car had 50/50 made from concentrate 3 litres and 3 litres of water. that makes it protected down to -38

[jason1987]

heared the 406 has an overlflow on the coolant tank so if i overfill it should be ok, halfords do a 2 and 5 litre concentrate, does this mean it makes 2 and 5 litres or 2 and 5 litres of concentrate place 2 or 5 litres water?

[teamster1975]

Pick up a gallon of red antifreeze & pour half of it into a container, then top it back up with distilled water. If the coolant is orange the you've got red in there.
When refilling the coolant park the drivers wheel up on a kerb as the filler is lower than parts of the system, bleed from the bulkhead screw first, then the thermostat screw.
Fill to halfway up the filler neck. As you say any excess will be spat out the expansion hose
Another leak point is the thermostat cover; look for little pools of coolant around the area. The cover itself can crack but mostly the thermostat o-ring becomes perished much like this