Questions about engine coolant drain & refill

[striktlyaccord]

So today I did a drain and refill of my engine coolant on my own because I did a little something something under the hood which required me to drain the coolant or else things would have gotten messy.  I ran into some confusion, however, while doing the recommended bleeding method that the owner's manual suggested.  When it came to the steps where you would fill the radiator up to the filler neck and then run the car for a bit, cool it down, and then check the coolant level, every time this step was mentioned, the manual made it seem like the coolant level should drop as it spreads through the system, so you'd have to add more coolant to keep it topped off.  However, my coolant level always stayed right at the top of the filler hole, so I was wondering if I mighta did anything wrong, or if this is possibly normal?  Hell, rather than drop, at one point when I turned the car on, the coolant expanded within 10 seconds and began to rise and spill out of the filler hole.  I had to react quick so it didn't gush out.  So, any help here would be awesome.

Also, another question was, on one page of the manual it suggested that the coolant reservoir be filled between the max and min lines (while the car is cool, I assume?).  But, on the next page it suggested to fill it to the max line (while cool).  So, which is correct??  Between the lines, or right to the max?

[wtcii]

I dont know.This might help you though.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

From what it sounds like, you need to fill it up all the way the first time, run the car, then if the level drops, you need to add more to make it in the middle. I ran into the same problem just when I leaked a lot of coolant. It was still at halfway, even after I let the car idle for 15 minutes. However, when I drove to work the next day, it dropped all the way to below the min. line. My point is, I think if you give the car a spin rather than letting it idle, you'll see the level drop faster. That's just my experience.

[striktlyaccord]

Bill - Yeh that's the writeup I used for the procedure (courtesy of Milan), and then I used the owner's manual for the bleeding process.

Jeff - After I drove it today, the level of coolant in the reserve bottle dropped to right in between the min and max lines, so it must be going somewhere.  I think the driving works better at bleeding everything than just idling for 10-15 minutes.  The problem, though, is that afterwards it'll take the car a while to cool down before you can open the radiator cap, or else, splash/burn!

[ibcnunv]

So today I did a drain and refill of my engine coolant on my own because I did a little something something under the hood which required me to drain the coolant or else things would have gotten messy.

  Dave, did you get some Killer-Glass?

[striktlyaccord]

Say what?

Aww doo doo, I posted this is the J series forum.  Tim, can you move this to K series please?

[CrackerTeg]

Say what?

Aww doo doo, I posted this is the J series forum.  Tim, can you move this to K series please?

Done and done.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

The problem, though, is that afterwards it'll take the car a while to cool down before you can open the radiator cap, or else, splash/burn!

If I'm usually impatient with my car cooling down, I get a box fan and just lay it right on the engine, blowing away from the engine, because heat rises, lol.

By the way, I must be blind, but I couldn't find in the manual on how to bleed the system. It only shows how to add the coolant to the reservoir, lol.

[timot_one]

Dave, you really should have posted this in the "How To" thread instead of posting a new thread.  I'm going to lock this and recommend that you post in that thread instead.  This thread will be deleted in a few days.