Coolant Refill after Water Pump and Thermostat

[Brandonian]

Howdy Ya'll - just went through the wonderful process of changing the waterpump and thermostat on my 2016 Expedition...realized that Ford eliminated the radiator cap . How do I refill all the coolant lol - do I literally fill the Reservoir a tiny bit at a time - I'm trying to find concrete answer...the manual posted to me says to fill up radiator to filler neck - this Expedition has no filler neck! lol .

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Howdy Ya'll - just went through the wonderful process of changing the waterpump and thermostat on my 2016 Expedition...realized that Ford eliminated the radiator cap . How do I refill all the coolant lol - do I literally fill the Reservoir a tiny bit at a time - I'm trying to find concrete answer...the manual posted to me says to fill up radiator to filler neck - this Expedition has no filler neck! lol .

The engine coolant is filled through the Degas bottle (the reservoir). You can fill it higher than the cold full line, then let the engine idle for some time to purge the air pockets.

It will take several drive cycles to purge all the air, then you can fill it to the hot level (or cold level after about three hours of nonuse).

Lisle makes a funnel kit with various adapters that lets you fill the Degas bottle and purge the air. It is sold on Amazon (I have no connection to Amazon). I own the kit and have used it on many of my vehicles and those of my family. It is a very inexpensive and handy fill kit.

 

[Brandonian]

Oh boy - this sounds like fun....really missing my Jeep Commander now lol. So just fill that reservoir full up and crank it, let it get to temp, turn it off - it'll suck down the fluid, rinse and repeat? I just don't want to mess anything up - never done a pressured system fill like this (I think that's the term for it). On this system type would that Lisle funnel kit actually be useful?

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Oh boy - this sounds like fun....really missing my Jeep Commander now lol. So just fill that reservoir full up and crank it, let it get to temp, turn it off - it'll suck down the fluid, rinse and repeat? I just don't want to mess anything up - never done a pressured system fill like this (I think that's the term for it). On this system type would that Lisle funnel kit actually be useful?

The water pump failed on my 2015 Expedition - but was replaced by Ford, including the coolant, under terms of my Ford Premium Care service plan.

The Lisle funnel system is very easy to use and I have used it often - just not on the Expedition.

I think you would have good results using it. This is a link to the kit: https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24680-...2036899&sprefix=Lisle+coolant+,aps,337&sr=8-3

 

[Brandonian]

Thanks for the assistance! I am going to pick one up for when it's time to work on the wife's Ram 1500 - I prefer working on Chrysler lol, but also prefer working on non-turbo now haha. It was actually insanely straight forward, just poured in the coolant, and the system started chugging it - 2 gallons in, it does miraculously auto-burp itself - have ran it twice and driven it a bit and so far, just waiting to top it off - I could hear it swooshing

 

[GlennSullivan]

So now you need a "kit" to do the same job that for the last 100 years you could do by opening the radiator cap and pouring in coolant? Sounds like an advancement to me (NOT)!

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

So now you need a "kit" to do the same job that for the last 100 years you could do by opening the radiator cap and pouring in coolant? Sounds like an advancement to me (NOT)!

The kit is not mandatory (needed) - but is sure makes the work much easier and less messy.

 

[Brandonian]

I can tell you I would have preferred that kit when doing coolant on my Jeep and anothers grand cherokee - definitely not required on these. I have driven it around the last few days and it hasn't needed topped off yet lol. I'm still getting that kit for when I help with others pumps etc. though.

 

[GaryH]

I believe the reservoir cap has now become the radiator cap. It is pressurized, so be careful. But you can refill your coolant by just pouring it into the reservoir bottle. It will folw down in to the engine block. Burp the hoses by squeezing them, run the engine a while and keep checking the level until it is full when hot.

 

[Brandonian]

Yes - while knowing enough to be dangerous, my knowledge is limited and I learned that one - was always taught hose squeezing was a myth on other vehicles lol. It wasn't horrible to work on surprisingly *knock on wood*.

It's been ran for multiple hours, as a matter of fact it was ran for about 4.5-5hours straight yesterday - no issues so far (again *knock on wood*) -

Glad to see a supporting community of knowledge here, I absolutely love it!

 

[ediddily]

As everyone here as said, yes to filling up through the reservoir. Yes, its weird but it works.

I rebuilt my entire cooling system on my 07 XLT recently. Radiator and hoses, pump, thermostat, reservoir fill hose, reservoir cap, front and rear heater hoses. Only 1 hose has slightly failed (reservoir fill hose) but i don't think ill replace anytime soon as its a drop once-in-awhile leak.

I had a pinhole leak in the radiator upper passenger side since i had it and put ~100K miles on it like that. I de-pressurized (loose reservoir cap) the system as the hole was almost the height of the reservoir and stayed filled without the system pressure. Only recently the pump started leaking hence me fixing EVERYTHING.

The pressure introduced into the system raises the boiling temp. So a car will remain circulated and cooled grated your pump is good.

I posted how i fixed the rear heater hoses.....https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/rear-auxiliary-heater-lines-fixed.51383/ .... with parts listed.

Also, a car will run without coolant for a little bit, just don't over heat it.

 

[Brandonian]

Nice, all good info! I'm semi-familiar with radiator and hose systems from the Jeep so that helps lol. All my hoses were in really great shape since it's a 2016, so that's a plus lol.