Hi, sorry for daft question - just inherited ancient Ford Escort and starting from first base.

Have worked out 1) where engine coolant is 2) that it needs the orange anti-freeze/coolant 3) that it needs to be half way between min and max.

Getting confused about the radiator - is the engine coolant tank basically the expansion tank? i.e. if I'm topping up this tank, do I need to also sort out the radiator?

And - er - where is the radiator?

Thanks in advance

Her's what you should do:
1. Get a Haynes manual as this will be very useful to you in the future and will show you where things are on your car, like the radiator, which is behind the grill at the front of the car.
2. Go to your local garage, as diagnosing where the coolant is going is very difficult via the internet especially as you know nothing about cars. There's a few places the coolant could be leaking from.
It would be a good idea to get a quote as to how much it will cost to fix the car and get it a new MOT as it might be cheaper to buy another, newer car, as you said this one was very old (what's the bodywork like especially underneath).

Many thanks for speedy reply!

Sorry, I didn't explain myself very well! There is no leak, it's just had an MOT and it's perfect - I just needed to know how to top up the engine coolant (I can't ask the owner as sadly they are, er, no longer with us).
I have got the big Haynes book but would you believe it - it doesn't actually say where the radiator is! I think this is because they couldn't believe someone would be so stupid as not to know
However thanks for your help

[quote name='pestcontrol' timestamp='1303580893' post='124055']
Many thanks for speedy reply!

Sorry, I didn't explain myself very well! There is no leak, it's just had an MOT and it's perfect - I just needed to know how to top up the engine coolant (I can't ask the owner as sadly they are, er, no longer with us).
I have got the big Haynes book but would you believe it - it doesn't actually say where the radiator is! I think this is because they couldn't believe someone would be so stupid as not to know
However thanks for your help
[/quote]

As already said, the radiator is at the front of the engine bay, you should see if it you look through the bumper?

Some cars you cant top up the radiator you just top up the expansion bottle - sorry i cant be more specific with yours

Thanks - all sorted!

As they have said above.

Expansion tank is where you need to top up the cooling system including the rad, which you will see through the front bumper.
What car is it? What Mk Escort? Mk1, Mk2, Mk3, Mk4, Mk5, Mk6