[MR2] Coolant Level

[Kurt Krueger]

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "John Treadwell" <DBSS_Gohan at hotmail.com>
>
> I was afraid of a blown headgasket, but my oil seems to look ok, and my 
> compression figures were great. I was wondering if I was flushing it all 
> back into the overfill. I'll check for soft hoses, I park the car in a 
> garage, and I'm really not noticing any leaks. At least nothing spilling on 
> the ground. It's going to be a while before we get a warm day around here 
> apparently... It's typically staying under 30 every day, but even while 
> riding the car home 2 hours, the temp didn't go up. But so it should be 
> sitting in the middle? I will check those hoses and the overfill tank and 
> report back.
> --John

Even here in the rainy Northwest, when I had the small leak thermostat
problems, the car wouldn't get up to temperature at 40 degrees plus
no matter how long I drove.  It would climb some, but never made
the 1/2 way point.

Something else I forgot to mention is that the connector to the
temperature sensor could be corroded and can cause an erroneous
reading.  Possible, but usually you get no reading or intermittent
readings rather than one that's wrong.  You've got (at least) two
temperature sensors on the engine, one works the gauge, the other
is used by the EFI system.

If you like gadgets you can get an IR no contact thermometer for
as cheap as $10.  Aim that at a metal part that has coolant
flowing through it to get an independent temperature reading.

I believe you have a MkII. Correct?  Thermostats are usually
easy to replace and most folks start there just because it's
cheap and easy.  The MkI is not quite so easy, but if you
remove the battery and tray you get a lot more room to work.
Don't know about the MkII.