Coolant recovery - fluid level

[sassy19]

So earlier today I went to check all my fluids etc and when i looked in the coolant reservoir I noticed it was much higher than usual. I waited for the car to cool down and open the coolant recovery cap. The two parts were separated (some plastic broke off) and I couldn't see any coolant below the cap.

I went and bought a new one, ran the car and the let it cool down. Still no coolant visible when I take the cap off. What gives??

 

[DMack]

Are you losing coolant or are you worried the recovery isn't going back into the system?
Pull the driver side cover off and check all water hoses under there for a leak (mainly the heater tap)

 

[sassy19]

I'm not losing any coolant but I feel like there should be coolant visible when I take the coolant recovery lid off. When the car is cold that is.

 

[diysv6]

From memory there should be about 500ml of coolant/water mix in the recovery bottle when cold. This should coincide with the triangles/circles imprinted in the dip stick.

Also check for any blockages or cracks/splits in the recovery hose from the radiator cap to the bottom of the hose in the recovery tank.
A blockage will stop the to and fro coolant movement.

"and when i looked in the coolant reservoir I noticed it was much higher than usual".

The crack/split could allow fluid into the tank, but reduce the recovery vacuum and allow the tank to be "overfilled" past the correct mark on the dipstick..

If you lose vacuum when the engine is hot then you will get no recovery as the engine cools down. Check that the end of the recovery hose is below the water line in the recovery tank otherwise you will have no vacuum.