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Always fill you radiator & resevoir with a 50/50 mix of coolant / water. Your vehicle should have dexcool which is a red/orange colored coolant. You can buy a universal equivalent which is premixed and is yellow (not green). It is safe to add universal coolant but not green antifreeze. Premixed (it will say on jug) would be your safe bet. Fill the radiator, add to overflow tank to full cold line, run vehicle until fully warmed up. Let cool back down & then recheck. Don't forget to check for leaks....it is not normal to have your coolant get that low. You likely are leaking coolant.
If this helps please rate me! You can do it. Brett
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find and fix the reason for the empty reservoir
have a radiator specialist shop do a pressure test of the coolant system
any anti-boil anti-freeze product will be suitable but check with a service dealer as some are ethylene glycol based ( (green ) and others use a different base compound ( (red)
The best mix is 50 parts water and 50 parts anti freeze
When engine is cool, take off radiator cap, and fill radiator. Then fill the coolant recovery container to halfway between the full cold mark and the full hot mark. Start engine (with radiator cap still off) and wait for the thermostat to open (upper radiator hose will get hot). Shut off engine, top up radiator, and put the radiator cap on. Fill the coolant recovery tank to the full hot mark. You should mix the water and anti-freeze in a 50/50 mix before putting it in the car, you know. Cheers.
The resevoir should be filled with a 50/50 solution of water and anti freeze.
The fact that it is empty indicates a leak in the system.
Refill it and watch the overflow tank and other coolent items like hoses and such and note any leakage.
If you smell the sweet smell of antifreeze when driving the truck , you may have a radiator issue.
If you need to do a coolant bleed and refill, then depends on the antifreeze you are using. Most products require filling the coolant tank with water and then topping up with 50% antifreeze. Use distilled water. Tap water is mineral and helps corrosion.
drain the coolant, connect or close all hoses and drain plugs,start motor and fill radiator with a 50/50 mix of water and anti-freeze, leave engine running,when motor gets hot the thermostat will open allowing the coolant to flow through the motor, in change the anti-freeze will get lower in the radiator thus you continue to fill untill full and the radiator will not except more coolant, ( this is how you get the air out) replace radiator cap and fill reservoir to cold level and your done. Recheck your coolant reservoir after you have driven the vehicle a bit and fill if necessary, do not fill to top, only fill to cool mark. the reservoir is not under pressure so you can fill at any time motor hot or cold
put a 50/50 mix. remove radiator cap when cold,start car let run 1 min and dump 50/50 mix till full, a little will come out cap when thermostat opens this is normal,when thermostat opens coolant will go down,continue to fill till full,put cap on and fill reservoir to cold mark,check reservoir after you run a day and fill if needed to the full cold mark again
U need to use 50/50 mixture of long life/extendedlife coolant availible from any automotive parts store for around $8 per gallon. but you must have a leak, check for coolant leaking when the car is running, don't overheat this engine or u will blow the cylinder head gasket, a $1000.00 repair.
The drain plug is at the bottom of the radiator on the passenger side. I see no reason to drain it all out unless you just want to change it. If you do our Neons take the orange radiator fluid Havoline "Dex-Cool" invented by Havoline. It has a very bad taste added to it to protect children and pets. I changed it at 74000 in my wife's 2003 Neon SXT using a 50/50 mix of Dex-Cool and distilled water to avoid any scaling residue.
Our Neons cannot use any other type as it will ruin the internals of your engine the coolant comes into contact with.
The anti freeze is to be changed at 100,000 miles. If your coolant reservoir tank (located in the engine compartment on the drivers side just under the windshield large white plastic bottle) is always filling up over time and spilling over you may need a new radiator cap.
The radiator cap lets some of the coolant out in to the reservoir tank as you drive and the coolant expands due to heat. When your radiator cools off a vacuum is created inside of your radiator at that time your radiator cap is to open it's valve and **** the coolant from the reservoir tank back into the radiator via the small hose that leads from just under your radiator cap to the reservoir tank.
Make sure the hose leading from just under your radiator cap to the reservoir tank has a tight seal at both ends as well as no leaks.
If your cap is not operating properly it will just keep letting coolant out and not letting the radiator **** it back in resulting low coolant level in the radiator.
The reason that your anti-freeze is gelling in your rad is that the mixture of anti-freeze and water is too weak. this could be because of old anti-freeze(same as oil,it deteriorates over time, usually 2 to 5 years), or there could just be too much water added. I would suggest a cooling system flush, and re-fill with a new 50/50 mixture of water and anti-freeze.
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