Coolant is low? What gives?

[Mark]

Understood.

I checked underneath again this am and i saw a very small amount of water dripping. Verified with a piece of paper. No color fluids whatsoever.

I’ll check every now and then.

Mark - the link to Walmart works but out of stock everywhere

I was only giving an example. I saw it was out of stock. That was the only one @ Walmart sold back then, but now Walmart & other places sell a variety of Asian Blue Coolant. Just search for it & see for yourself. Pick one & share with us if you like before buying it. Super Tech even has one now, too.

[7milesout]

DT88 - I'm assuming that picture was taken on a cold engine. I'm no coolant system expert, but the way I understand that it works is that as the engine warms up, the coolant expands (when it gets warm/hot). And it (purposefully) overflows into that tank you took a picture of. So, if you drove it and got the car fully warmed up, my assumption is that tank would then be holding more coolant.

And then, when the engine is turned off and cools from not running, that overflow tank has it's contents slowly pulled back into the vehicle's cooling system.

Best to judge that level on a cold engine. If it is below the 'LOW' level on a cold engine, then add coolant. If it is between, that's perfect from my understanding. I think the point of this reciprocating level in that overflow tank is the eliminate or minimize the amount of bubbles in the vehicles cooling system, to reduce or eliminate cavitation on the pump (and extend its life). Not to mention to have a bit of a reserve capacity if in fact the system does develop a leak ... it *could* be noticed before too much coolant is lost and something goes pop.

I think I'm right about this. The following is a blurb from the owner's manual:

The engine coolant reservoir lets you quickly see when you need to add coolant. When the engine is cold, the level of the coolant in the reservoir should be between the “F” (FULL) and “L” (LOW) marks. The radiator usually stays full so there is no reason to remove the radiator cap except when you check the coolant freeze point or replace the antifreeze coolant.

[daleWV]

If your car is parked outside and it's been colder than normal weather, that will show a little lower towards the "L" line too.