In December I thought before I would travel with my 87 Runner I would replace all the radiator fluids, and the thermostat. Turned into a nightmare when the bolt for the radiator housing snapped off in the intake manifold. Eventually go that replaced, and have a brand new thermostat....CHECK! Then I bought a "back flushing kit", at least I think that is what its called. It was a hookup that I connected to my garden hose, and turned on to literally flush out the coolant system. I refilled it with filtered water, and anti-freeze, waited for it to heat up, and the thermostat to open, and filled it to the top. After 2 weeks I re-checked the level, and it was about 3/4 gallon low. No biggie, its an 87. I refilled it, drove about 45 minutes in traffic, and stopped for a bite to eat. Water and anti-freeze started pouring out of it when I stopped. I would say I lost about 1/2 gallon. So my question is....

1) Is there something wrong?
2) Should I NOT be filling my radiator to the top?

Any advice would be appreciated, and thanks in advance!

-Jon

 

After the initial fill, only add water/coolant to the overflow tank. Also you should use distilled water. It's even better than filtered water (unless you have RO filtered water). You want water with zero minerals in it.

So... if your overflow reservoir is dry pour in some water. If the reservoir has any liquid in it you are OK.