just as the title says...is it bad to over flow it? I guess I couldn't see the min and max lines very well...and kinda went overboard...what exactly is the purpose of this tank? it looks like it relieves excess pressure from the cooling system or something? cuz when the engine is all warmed up, the tank becomes more filled up with water

 

The only thing that overfilling opens you up to is the tank overflowing when the system is real hot. Since the coolant resevour(sp?) has an overflow tube on it, the worst that happens is it dumps coolant on the ground. Just be careful if you have pets b/c coolant tastes good to them, though it will kill them. Other than that, it won't be a problem for the car.

 

Bingo, the hot liquid expands with heat, so it need the extra space for when it gets extreamly hot.

 

so basically the reservoiur is just there to hold excess coolant? and if i overfilled it with distilled water, there would be no harm done?

 

Suck some out with a turkey baster and dump it down the drain.

 

so it is bad to overfill the coolant reservour? if so, why?

 

As stated above, the fluid might drain out and kill some animals!

Spend less time asking inane questions, and simply take some of the fluid out of the reservoir. Laziness is not a virtue!

 

well, besides the fact that i can kill animals...i'm talking about the engine...is there any harm there?

 

no harm to engine at all. Just fill to the maximum marker and call it a day.
/thread

 

I've heard of several instances in other cars (not sure about Maximas) where the engine has seized as a result.

I think it has something to do with the fluid penetrating the walls of the gas tank and the combustion chamber and the resulting mix being lethal!

 

its not bad, and it doesn't hold excess, just as jstutter said. ur coolant expands. when it does that. it might cause smoke too when it overfill the bottle andcomes out the tube.

 

Surprised this thread isn't locked yet. The recovery tank just holds some coolant in reserve in case the radiator coolant became low from a leak or something. If the coolant gets really hot it will overcome the spring pressure on the radiator cap and allow the coolant to enter the tank. If the tank is overfilled the incoming coolant will force the extra coolant out of the overflow tube on the tank. When the engine begins to cool down it will draw coolant from the recovery tank if needed. I would not fill the tank with just water if I were you. I would use antifreeze straight or a 50/50 mixture so you don't dilute the rest of the coolant.

 

I have another issue with this tank I've replaced coolant a year ago with Toyota red stuff the level was stable for some time, I was adding some dist water since there still was some air after replacement. From the time level was stable 3~6 months after replacement it now dropped 1 inch. Do you guys know where it has gone?

 

If your radiator is still full it could be there or it could have evaporated.

 

the aliens stole it!