2005 Ford Focus - Help identify a Bottle please!

What's this bottle for (pictured below), and should I be worried that the fluid in there is below the 'min' level..?

This isn't a picture of my actual car, but it's the same engine pretty much, and it's the same bottle. I just need to know what goes in there so I can top it up without having to take it to the garage if I can help it

And no, it doesn't say what it is on the cap or on the bottle anywhere!

Thanks in advance

Engine coolant, important!

Yep as above.

I've got the same car and topped mine up with normal water after taking advise from my spanner monkey pal.

Thanks very much!

The lack of coolant might help to explain why the temperature rises more than it used to when the car is stood still (traffic lights etc).

One thing to bear in mind, too - have to say I've only seen it with cars using red / orange coolant (and specifically, only on a Rover 400 with a K series engine - you probably know where that one is going...) is that sometimes the coolant can stain the expansion reservoir. So if you just tend to look from the outside, and see where the level is, in relation to the max / min marks, it may be deceiving you.

You can rock the car just to ensure the level slops about a bit, or when you're sure the coolant is, um, well, cool, take the top off the expansion tank to check.

edit: one thing I've always been a little puzzled with, with Focussssesss, is why they have that little plastic raised bit in front of the air intake snorkel.

Neil":3gnz3134 said:

Focussssesss

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That'll be Foci, surely?

Similarly, what do you call ONE Twix? Is it a Twik, and a pair = Twix, or is it a SINGLE Twix, and a pair would be a Twi, a Twice, or maybe even a Twixabices?


G

Note that as it's orange, it'll be OAT coolant - do NOT top it up with any blue / green coloured coolant, if you can't easily get hold of the correct coolant use pure water to top up instead.

You shouldn't really have to top up the coolant at all, in between services - if you're losing coolant at any rate it's important to find out where it's going!

You shouldn't really have to top up the coolant at all, in between services - if you're losing coolant at any rate it's important to find out where it's going!

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I like mine with ice and a slice.

ajm":35x9egsj said:

Note that as it's orange, it'll be OAT coolant - do NOT top it up with any blue / green coloured coolant, if you can't easily get hold of the correct coolant use pure water to top up instead.

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I'm pretty sure there's OAT coolants in a variety of colours, and is available in at least blue, see here

I'm sure it's, in effect, just the dye used.

ajm":35x9egsj said:

You shouldn't really have to top up the coolant at all, in between services - if you're losing coolant at any rate it's important to find out where it's going!

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FPWM.

Mostly radiator / hoses. Don't think those lumps have form for head gasket failure. If it is a leak in the rad, though, unless you're selling it, imminently, don't just stick some leak sealer in. Most aren't well thought of, and I think only k-seal stands good vibes from "the trade".

And those Fords do have funky ECU programming, that means in the event of high engine temps, the car will run on alternating 2 cylinders (and blow air through the non-firing pair) to try and keep things at a normal temperature. You'd seriously notice this when driving, though, and I suspect the check engine light would be on. Can't say as I've encountered any other cars that claim this potential engine / head saving rationale, though, in the event of escalating engine temperatures. Maybe if K-series engines had something similar, then they wouldn't have quite the same reputation.

Neil":2x1m071x said:

I'm sure it's, in effect, just the dye used

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Yeah, I'm sure it is, too - but I'm pretty sure that the reason for the orange/red/brown dye colour was / is chosen so that it's easily differentiated from the glycol based stuff which has usually been dyed blue/green.

From the reviews pages I think that Halfords stuff is pink rather than blue? I use glycol based based coolants in my own cars so have never bought it myself.

Maybe if K-series engines had something similar, then they wouldn't have quite the same reputation.

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It does sound like one of the more useful applications of electronics in automotive engineering... K series engines and coolant is an uncomfortable subject for me as I have to figure out why mine has started drinking the stuff as of the past week. No prizes will be awarded for correct guesses!