Filling coolant...

[gameson]

I know this is very newb quesiton, but can't resist not to ask

regular cars only have one cap to fill in the coolant, but Lotus has 2, what they called the air bled plug (in white color) and coolant cap (black color)

so when I want to fill the coolant, should i open up JUST the cap, or BOTH the cap and the plug?

Thanks

[JediMindGamez]

Just the black cap.

The airbled is to make the two sides equal. Forgot what the purpose that was for but its not for topping off coolant.

[Rei]

DONT touch the air bleed. That and if you have to ask this don't try to drain and fill your coolant. MR cars are a pain in the rear to bleed properly.

[gameson]

i just want to refill, not bleed as now the coolant level drops from H to L...

[Rei]

Topping off is just fine. I just want to provide a fair warning on draining the system. To do a proper drain and refill is a very annoying process involving tilting the car at an angle running the motor and lots of burping. Every time I do it on any MR car be it the Lotus or the MR2 I hate it. Hence why I switched to Evan's Coolant. That was a huge PITA doing a full bleed. Air tools are your friend for that process.

[tesprit]

Originally Posted by Rei

Topping off is just fine. I just want to provide a fair warning on draining the system. To do a proper drain and refill is a very annoying process involving tilting the car at an angle running the motor and lots of burping. Every time I do it on any MR car be it the Lotus or the MR2 I hate it. Hence why I switched to Evan's Coolant. That was a huge PITA doing a full bleed. Air tools are your friend for that process.

I have been considering changing to the Evan's waterless coolant when it comes time to do a refill. I had great results using it in an old TR2 (really simple cooling system so an easy job), but it is going to be really hard to completely clean out the old coolant from my Elise before adding the Evan's. What procedure did you use to accomplish this? How has the Evan's been working out for you in your Elise?

[Rei]

For the Evan's switchover I took it to a shop fully knowing how much of a PITA it would be to do myself. What they did was drain the system at all points as much as possible, from the radiator, engine block and lines. Forced some very low pressure air through the system for a good day to flush out the little bits that might be left. Capped things off filled, burped, filled burp. Took them 2 days cause I wanted them to make sure there was no old coolant so flushed things out with water many times etc.. It was painful handing the keys to another man even if he is a good friend.

So far the Evans is doing more then fine. I didn't switch over to a low pressure rad cap yet. But will know more after the first track day of the season. Spec wise I think it's a good idea to prevent me from blowing gaskets etc...

[tesprit]

Originally Posted by Rei

For the Evan's switchover I took it to a shop fully knowing how much of a PITA it would be to do myself. What they did was drain the system at all points as much as possible, from the radiator, engine block and lines. Forced some very low pressure air through the system for a good day to flush out the little bits that might be left. Capped things off filled, burped, filled burp. Took them 2 days cause I wanted them to make sure there was no old coolant so flushed things out with water many times etc.. It was painful handing the keys to another man even if he is a good friend.

So far the Evans is doing more then fine. I didn't switch over to a low pressure rad cap yet. But will know more after the first track day of the season. Spec wise I think it's a good idea to prevent me from blowing gaskets etc...

Thanks for the response. I am now convinced this will be the way I will go once my Elise is out of warranty. For me the one time fill and the lack of corrosion and pressure with the waterless Evan's are the main reasons I want to do it. The poor reputation of the Havoline DexCool as supplied by Lotus is the other reason I want to do the conversion. Knowing the conversion will be a major PITA I will just plan to do it during the winter here when I am not using the car.

[gameson]

how much does it cost to convert to Evan?

Also, does anyone know what happen if the air bleed plug is open? Does it mean the whole system needs to be reflush?

[Rei]

Evan's Coolant isn't cheap but it's a waterless system as well as zero pressure/low pressure system. Your overall coolant system isn't as stressed. Boiling point is a good 100 degrees higher then what you can get. Freezing point is -70 degrees F. Over all very good stuff.

It has many benefits, and I like to know that instead of changing out my coolant frequently "I'm picky that way every 6 months or 2 track days". I can just change it out once per year. Remember DO NOT MIX ANY WATER WITH EVANS.

Evans Cooling Systems, Inc. High Performance Engine Cooling and Power Production. <---link for coolant. Again this is not for everyone but I just take a little bit extra care of my toys.

[tesprit]

Originally Posted by gameson

how much does it cost to convert to Evan?

The NPG+ coolant runs about $30 for a gallon (you don't dilute it) and the flushing solution if needed to dry the system is about $28 a gallon.

[Rei]

Originally Posted by gameson

Also, does anyone know what happen if the air bleed plug is open? Does it mean the whole system needs to be reflush?

Depends was your engine running with the plug open. If so you might have a mess on your hands. Valve will spit out some coolant once it gets up to temp that's how you burp the system for air bubbles. Even if it was slightly cracked while you been driving around you might find only a little bit of coolant in the area. Now should you be so unfortunate to have it mostly open I would do a full flush. Good excuse to switch to EVAN's

[gameson]

No, I never opened any plug/cap when the car is ON for any car. I always turn off the engine before any refill.