Mk IV Astra Club, heater/overheating problem

has it got enough coolant in?

mrcheerful

Erm, aye, right you are. Coolant tank looks empty.

Yes, I'm a novice. ;)

Would this affect the heater also, or just the overheating? I can sort the coolant out with a trip to Halford's...

Cheers, DSt.

The message from "DSt" contains these words:

Both. Though it might be a good idea to find the cause of the water loss!

Thanks, mrcheerful.

The coolant tank appears to be empty.

Yes, I'm an idiot. ;)

I'm having a look at the manual, to see what kind of coolant I need, but it's a bit confusing, as it states that the coolant is glycol-based, yet you can top up with water and/or anti-freeze? Is this something I should be doing myself, or get the garage to do it? I realise the tank shouldn't be empty in the first place, so...?

Incidentally, I've been looking for a decent garage in/around the Edinburgh area...can anyone recommend? Looks like I might need one sharpish...!

DSt.

You should top up with anything you can rather than run very low. Any car shop will sell suitable antifreeze, even your Vauxhall dealer will have the right stuff.

mrcheerful

Thus spake DSt ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

Low coolant means not enough will be getting to the engine to cool it down, nor getting through to the heater element to heat it up.

Well, I've topped it up and it's working fine - so, down to the garage I guess to find out why it's leaking, if I can't find the cause myself (highly unlikely, since I didn't realise it was in the first place).

Thanks for the help, all, much appreciated,

Dst.