Club 80-90 Forums

Hi All

After all my recent shenanigans, I checked oil and coolant the other week, I knew oil was all good as I'd had it topped it up, what I didn't realise was that two garages let me drive away with little to no coolant in my van. I realise I am also to blame however I didn't even know I had to put coolant in it until you all told me I have a water boxer and not an air cooled engine.

Q: How much damage can/could I have done

Q: What are steps to check

Hope you can help, I have coolant on order however I don't know if I should even start her at this stage.

Cheers

Fun.

How much is "little to no coolant" and how do you know ?

The tank is empty, I don't know if there's still some in the system.

What exactly did these garages do to your van? Did either of them do any work where they would of had to drain any coolant from it?

No but one of the garages were supposed to be doing a vehicle check to see how sound it was after purchase. After a month of waiting for the van I only got info on structural stuff that was wrong and quoted 2.5k for the work to make it *safe* and roadworthy. Not one mention of something as crucial as coolant.

Admittedly I should have asked them to top that up when I asked them to top up the oil before I travelled home. I got charged for the oil on top of the bit of the vehicle assessment I received.

Methinks you need to change your garage.I suggest you top your tank with water for now and see how much you can get in. You can always drain it and fill it with coolant when you get it.Make sure you push your dash heater sliders open when you do.

Fun. wrote:The tank is empty, I don't know if there's still some in the system.

Which tank are you referring to? An empty top-up tank (behind the number plate flap) is a sign of neglect, and maybe some small leaks somewhere, but on its own is not a serious problem. An empty header tank (rear left corner), on the other hand, is a sign of serious neglect, and would be a problem for the engine. The header tank should be brim full, the top-up tank should be up to the mark when cool. Top them up accordingly, then keep an eye on the levels to monitor whether you have any serious leaks.

Thanks folks, I’ll let you know how I get on.

Fun.

CJH wrote:An empty header tank (rear left corner)

It's the one in the bottom left of this pic that's totally empty.

That's the tank referred to as the header tank by CJH.

I suggest you add a measured amount of water until it is full- say 1 litre at a time, heater on hot.

If not much coolant is needed, then you can always drain some off and add antifreeze to get to the right 50/50 mix.

If a lot is needed, then you're going to need to drain and refil with fresh anyway.

Let us know how much you needed to add to fill the system and that tank to the top

Worth testing the cap on that tank as well whilst your at it.If you can suck and blow through it, then it needs replacing. Buy one from brickwerks. A spare is an essential bit of kit.