Originally Posted By: simplistic
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Originally Posted By: KitaCam
Originally Posted By: gregk24
It appears that the coolant level in my overflow tank has dropped a little on the Accord in my Sig. Not 100% sure it has, but I don't remember it looking as low as it does, it's still in between the high and low marks though. Is a little drop normal? I am planning on UOA on the oil once I change it at 125K. About 600 miles to go (another month or so).
There is no relationship between oil and the water level in the h2o overflow reservoir....so why you've mentioned that isn't clear....
You don't say how much a drop you've seen in water level other than "a little drop"...How much is a "little"....an inch, a half an inch....? You can expect as much as an inch drop in the dead of summer, especially one as hot as this has been...
BTW...when adding water to the overflow tank, USE ONLY DISTILLED WATER.
I was going to do a UOA to detect if there was any coolant getting into the oil. I would say about an inch. It just looks lower than I remember. I had the cooling system drained and filled at the dealer 2 years or so ago.
During the service life of the coolant the water is boiled out. Every year I have to add 1-2qt's of water to my vehicles due to the water being 'cooked" out from the summer time heat. Example, I changed the coolant in my durmax. When I refiled and bleed the system out the ratio was 50/50. About 1 1/2 years later (30k miles) I was 2qts low on coolant. When I checked the ratio it was off a bit..over %60 dexcool. I added the water and that brought the ratio back down to what I had it set to.
Even some owners manuals say adding water up to 4 times a year is acceptable.
So if all you are low is "an inch or so" I would get a hydrometer for antifreeze and add distilled water to bring the mixture back in line. Keep in mind that after you adds distilled water the recovery bottle's mixture will be off till the system has went through several heat and cool cycles. While they az purchased one's are not exactly accurate they will get you in the ball park on the mixture percentage's.
Keep in mind I am talking about the overflow tank, not the radiator. Does that make a difference?