Coolant top up Help Please ?

[tlshannon]

I have had a new head cylinder, gaskets, bolts, water pump, cam belt, fresh oil and filter fitted by bongo garage after a water pump failure and cylinder cracked

I have ordered a low coolant alarm and temp gauge after that costly lot

They said they had put in new coolant, bled the system and that I should check the water levels when cool

I checked the water level in the header tank 24 hours later, its low not empty, also inside the header tank on the walls is rusty gunk, WHAT'S NEXT ?

Can I go buy the correct coolant and top up the header tank ?

or do I need to buy the coolant, bleed the system properly, before I drive my van again ?

Do I need to get the header tank out and cleaned, is that easy ?
Thanks in advance

[mikeWalsall]

For the extra cost it may have been prudent to have had a new radiator fitted ..

[francophile1947]

Sounds like a bit of air may have been left in the system when bleeding, and has now gone. Just top it up with water if they didn't give you any coolant at the garage - shouldn't be a problem for a small amount, but make sure the level doesn't keep dropping.
Regarding the brown gunk, most tanks are like that - not a problem if it's just staining. However, if it's frothy, you should get garage to check it out, as it sounds like they didn't flush the system properly before bleeding it

[Simon Jones]

Crusty brown gunk on the walls of the tank is not really an issue as long as the coolant isn't same colour. It is normal to drop a little bit after bleeding although it may have been worth the garage keeping it in an extra day so they could have topped it up after it had cooled down.

[tlshannon]

Thanks guys for your help and advice

[mikeWalsall]

The previous Chairman of the TEOC (Estima) forum was the god of mechanics .. a brilliant all round nice guy ... who you may have seen on Scrap yard challenge a couple of times leading the scout master team ..

http://www.rcmvr.co.uk/

A new radiator was included his cost when fitting a new head on an Estima ..

[tlshannon]

Thanks Mike my next job was to locate a good mechanic, he is close enough and mobile, magic