Shop overfilled coolant, should I suck some out?

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Tegger
As an aside, why are Volkswagens so weird? Are they the Linux of the automotive world?

Yes, pretty much. My Audi had a similar coolant tank and cap system. On the positive side, new OEM caps were dirt cheap.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Tegger
They overfilled it knowing that a lot would get sucked in as air burped out over time. They did you a favor by doing this.

Leave it alone until you've driven the car for at least four or five full-hot, full-cooldown cycles. If the level is still high, then and ONLY then, suck some out.

There is no harm in leaving the level high. If you do end up sucking some out now, keep a close eye on the reservoir for at LEAST a week to make sure the level does not drop below minimum!


+1 I have a feeling that was the intention, instead of a sometimes lengthy bleeding procedure. I'd give it sometime and see if the level goes down, and be certain if it did, that it didn't go down because the water pump they changed is leaking. If it remains high after a week or so, suck a bit out.

 

[tpattgeek]

Yeah, I did have to add some over the past few years due to evaporating, or so I thought. I'll just keep an eye on it. Thank you all for the suggestions!

 

[JOD]

I'm kinda surprised by some of the comments. When I do a coolant exchange or a water pump replacement, I use a vacuum tool to refill the coolant so there's no air in the system--and I'm just some shade-tree home mechanic. Are shops really just overfilling and hoping that it "takes care of itself"? If so, that seems pretty unprofessional to me. I mean, the average consumer isn't going to be religiously checking the coolant after the repair, even if instructed to do so.

Using the vacuum tool there's no perceptible dropping of the coolant level. I overfilled mine the last time I did it--and I sucked out the excess.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: JOD
I'm kinda surprised by some of the comments. When I do a coolant exchange or a water pump replacement, I use a vacuum tool to refill the coolant so there's no air in the system--and I'm just some shade-tree home mechanic. Are shops really just overfilling and hoping that it "takes care of itself"? If so, that seems pretty unprofessional to me. I mean, the average consumer isn't going to be religiously checking the coolant after the repair, even if instructed to do so.

Using the vacuum tool there's no perceptible dropping of the coolant level. I overfilled mine the last time I did it--and I sucked out the excess.


Yep shops do that, in fact plenty of them.

 

[tpattgeek]

Originally Posted By: JOD
I'm kinda surprised by some of the comments. When I do a coolant exchange or a water pump replacement, I use a vacuum tool to refill the coolant so there's no air in the system--and I'm just some shade-tree home mechanic. Are shops really just overfilling and hoping that it "takes care of itself"? If so, that seems pretty unprofessional to me. I mean, the average consumer isn't going to be religiously checking the coolant after the repair, even if instructed to do so.

Using the vacuum tool there's no perceptible dropping of the coolant level. I overfilled mine the last time I did it--and I sucked out the excess.


No, I think this is different. I don't think they just filled up radiator and reservoir and called it a day... I believe they followed the proper bleeding procedure, and THEN added an additional amount just in case there is air still hanging around. There really is no bleeding on this vehicle. You fill the radiator, start it up, keep filling the radiator as it cycles through, let it warm up, make sure it's full, done. Then fill the reservoir. I guess they just added a little extra just in case. The level has been consistent since I posted this, so they must have done a good job bleeding.

 

[JOD]

OK, gotcha. That's what I would have thought/hoped! If I'm paying someone to do the work, I'd expect it to be fully bled.

As far as the extra coolant, everyone's comments make perfect sense. If for some reason it expanded greatly, it would go thought the cap--and coolant doesn't expand *that* much, an inch or two. That said, I sucked some out to get it to the correct level just because it made me feel better (it was about 3" from the top of the reservoir). Yeah, it was unnecessary but it just bothered me. So, if it bothers you I'd suck some out.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
Originally Posted By: JOD
I'm kinda surprised by some of the comments. When I do a coolant exchange or a water pump replacement, I use a vacuum tool to refill the coolant so there's no air in the system--and I'm just some shade-tree home mechanic. Are shops really just overfilling and hoping that it "takes care of itself"? If so, that seems pretty unprofessional to me. I mean, the average consumer isn't going to be religiously checking the coolant after the repair, even if instructed to do so.

Using the vacuum tool there's no perceptible dropping of the coolant level. I overfilled mine the last time I did it--and I sucked out the excess.


No, I think this is different. I don't think they just filled up radiator and reservoir and called it a day... I believe they followed the proper bleeding procedure, and THEN added an additional amount just in case there is air still hanging around. There really is no bleeding on this vehicle. You fill the radiator, start it up, keep filling the radiator as it cycles through, let it warm up, make sure it's full, done. Then fill the reservoir. I guess they just added a little extra just in case. The level has been consistent since I posted this, so they must have done a good job bleeding.


When there is no bleeding procedure a trick I use is to slightly elevate the front of the vehicle to make the radiator and hopefully the fill neck [depending on design] the highest point of the engine. That helps to get some of the air trapped in the system out. I always put a little extra in the recovery system even after bleeding the system and keep an eye on it. Once I'm sure there is no air in it I remove any extra A/F, or top it up to the cold full level after the car sat overnight on level ground.

 

[901Memphis]

More coolant is better. As long as it isn't over flowing or puking out I like to error on the high side too for future evaporation. The factory max fill line on pressurized bottles is typically conservative. You also can't really ever be sure when an air pocket decides to escape.

 

[Bgallagher]

I would wait about a week from when the repair was made in case there are any stuck air bubbles. After that I would turkey baster and make it the proper level.

 

[asand1]

Originally Posted By: JOD
Are shops really just overfilling and hoping that it "takes care of itself"?


There's no "hoping", it's what the system does by design.

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: asand1
Originally Posted By: JOD
Are shops really just overfilling and hoping that it "takes care of itself"?


There's no "hoping", it's what the system does by design.


Mine doesn't. There's a specific procedure in the factory service manual for bleeding the system while installing the coolant, and it doesn't involve overfilling the system and hoping--and the coolant level on my car doesn't move after a coolant exchange.

Sorry, but it's a shoddy way for a shop to do it, since there's no way to determine the actual amount of coolant drop. This is a technique for a guy doing it in his driveway, who then checks the coolant level over the next few days (and it doesn't sound like that's how the OP's car was done--his was just overfilled a bit).