94 Escort Wagon Problems

[Angelicpawn]

Sorry for what might seem like asinine questions. I recently bought a one owner, 11k mile 94 escort station wagon, and I know absolutely nothing about it, or what I need to do for it. Among other various problems I've noticed in driving it, my "check coolant levels" light came on tonight on my way home from work (half hour drive) and I want to make sure I put the right stuff in. Google's not really helping me at all. What kind of coolant should I be getting to put in it? I have coolant left over from the previous car I had, which was a 01 Saturn SL2. Probably a dumb question, but I already admitted I know nada about this...but would the coolant I already have work, or is that some type of no-no?

Thanks in advance!

[aleekat]

As long as someone didn't change it, green.

[65comet]

What he's saying is that some of the GM coolants have specific additives that aren't the best for a Ford. So as long as your leftover coolant is green in color it is safe for your Escort.

[denisond3]

And its fairly common for the "Low Coolant" light to come on now and then. It does not mean the coolant is low, it may be just a bad senser. There is a transistor in the cap of the sensor that can go bad.
You should periodically check the level of the coolant in two places, when the engine is cold. So in the morning, first thing, take the rad cap off and have a look inside the radiator filler neck, You want to be able to see the coolant level in the angled neck. It doesnt have to be right at the top to be okay. Then check the level in the overflow recovery bottle. I use a twig about 12" long, and check how much coolant is in it. I want it to be about 3" deep when cold, and maybe 5" or 6" if the engine is warmed up.

I own four escorts, all 2nd g eneration LX models. With two of them I disconnected the connector at the top of the overflow recover bottle, since it would tell me "low coolant' when the coolant was not low.