Jump to content

Coolant level low add coolant

matt katz

By matt katz
in Ask A GM Technician

 Share

Recommended Posts

matt katz New Member

matt katz

Posted
Posted

Hello everyone.  I have a 2007.5 GMC Sierra 1500 with the 5.3 gas motor.  The trucks been saying "coolant level low add coolant" on the dash for a while now.  The coolant is not low, and I don't have a leak.  It's also not getting hot or anything like that.  My mechanic looked at it and can't seem to figure out why its doing that.  He looked and can't find a location of a coolant level sensor, and there aren't any wires going to the tank.  If anyone has ever dealt with this before or knows what I need to do to fix it, any help wold be great.

davester Senior Enthusiast

davester

Posted
Posted

Did you mechanic have access to the full-service manual, as that would indicate where the sensor would be (IDK, as I've got a GMT800, where the sensor is in the overflow tank).  The images on rockauto for a '07.5 1500 5.3 coolant tanks don't show level sensors on any of them, and there's no mention of a level sensor in he cooling system section either.

 

Perhaps some computers in your truck have been swapped from another truck with different options, that had a level sensor, and weren't flashed for your truck?

Jsdirt Senior Enthusiast

Jsdirt

Posted
Posted

The half-year model doesn't tell me much. Is this a old or "new" body style '07? GMT-800 or 900?

 

The 800 series trucks have a sensor at the bottom of the tank that's not replaceable. Have to replace the entire tank - very hard to see with it in place. Thanks, GM! ? That's the engineering we all know an "love" today ... replace a whole tank for a .50 cent sensor ...

Jsdirt Senior Enthusiast

Jsdirt

Posted
Posted (edited)

Ahh, 10-4. That's the one problem I haven't had with my truck (yet ...). I'd bet you'll find a sensor at the bottom of the tank. Hopefully GM designed it to be replaced separately, but I wouldn't count on it.

 

EDIT : I looked up that part for my truck ('07, new body) and it is separate now. Shocker!

 

All I can say is, DO NOT buy a Dorman sensor to replace it.

Edited by Jsdirt
Duelin Enthusiast

Duelin

Posted
Posted

Some of the Saturns use to have a lot of problems with low coolant sensors. One of the fixes was to remove the overflow bottle and turn it upside down and shake it.

  • 1 year later...
Frankentruck New Member

Frankentruck

Posted
Posted
On 7/11/2020 at 6:03 PM, Jsdirt said:

Ahh, 10-4. That's the one problem I haven't had with my truck (yet ...). I'd bet you'll find a sensor at the bottom of the tank. Hopefully GM designed it to be replaced separately, but I wouldn't count on it.

 

EDIT : I looked up that part for my truck ('07, new body) and it is separate now. Shocker!

 

All I can say is, DO NOT buy a Dorman sensor to replace it.

What’s the part number? I have the same issue and there’s literally no level sensor on these trucks. There’s a temp sensor. 

Frankentruck New Member

Frankentruck

Posted
Posted
On 7/11/2020 at 1:07 PM, matt katz said:

Hello everyone.  I have a 2007.5 GMC Sierra 1500 with the 5.3 gas motor.  The trucks been saying "coolant level low add coolant" on the dash for a while now.  The coolant is not low, and I don't have a leak.  It's also not getting hot or anything like that.  My mechanic looked at it and can't seem to figure out why its doing that.  He looked and can't find a location of a coolant level sensor, and there aren't any wires going to the tank.  If anyone has ever dealt with this before or knows what I need to do to fix it, any help wold be great.

You ever solve this?

Supreme Pizza Senior Enthusiast

Supreme Pizza

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Frankentruck said:

You ever solve this?

 

I have seen this happen on some of my rigs from time to time. Parking on a hill exacerbates the problem. The solution is to avoid looking at the dash gauges.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Forum Statistics

    250.5k
    Total Topics
    2.7m
    Total Posts

  • Member Statistics

    342,903
    Total Members
    8,960
    Most Online
    RyGuy43
    Newest Member
    RyGuy43
    Joined

  • Who's Online   2 Members, 0 Anonymous, 315 Guests (See full list)

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • richard wysong
      Wow I'm in a pickle. (Broke down truck) and a story.

      By richard wysong · Posted

      Is it time to put a piece of tape over the CEL? 
    • davester
      2015 Silverado 3500 right rear turn indicator failure

      By davester · Posted

      consider doing electrical testing?  I would guess some power or ground wire/connection has a problem.   alldata.com has wiring diagrams, connector pinouts and diagnostic procedures you can use to find where the problem is.
    • davester
      My First Project and GMC has me stumped

      By davester · Posted

      can you tell if the reader is actually trying to get codes, and the pcm is reporting none, or is your reader just silently failing because it's not communicating with the pcm?
    • Atlas
      Wow I'm in a pickle. (Broke down truck) and a story.

      By Atlas · Posted

      Any joy with this truck seems to be short-lived.   The CEL for P0172 ("bank 1" too rich) is now "intermittent".   I'm not sure where to check, or re-check, and my energy to keep chasing problems with junk is wearing thin. The P0172 seems to set as I'm coming to a stop, completely off the throttle, when fully warm. At least, that's what it's done the 3? times it's set.   Everything appears normal on the scanner EXCEPT long term fuel trim. There's only one bank on this vehicle because it's an OBD 1.5 with only one upstream O2 sensor. At idle, it's around -16.4% and will dip to -18% occasionally at idle or off-throttle. LTFT approaches 0 when throttle is held at 2500rpm. Short term appears normal, much closer to zero all the time. The LTFT tells me the engine is running rich at idle but compensating at higher load. But, why?   The EVAP purge valve doesn't appear to be leaking/sucking fuel vapor continuously. Is it sticking just as I come to a stop and the engine is choking on fuel vapor and sets the P0172? But that doesn't explain the persistently negative LTFT. Disconnecting the purge valve doesn't seem to make any difference.   I suppose that leaves another dang issue with the fuel injector. A leaking fuel pressure regulator, a new leak in the spider, or a leaking fuel injector/poppet valve I didn't see, or a small crack in one of the spider legs.   The vacuum line leading to the fuel pressure regulator doesn't have raw fuel in it. It doesn't even smell like fuel when it's pulled off, not until you suck air through it, then you can tell it leads to a fuel component. I'd consider that normal? Nothing is signaling this is a FPR issue from the outside, at least.   The oil smells like fuel but it's not building volume. I've noticed most oil in most engines smells like fuel to some degree so it's hard to say if the smell is an issue or not. Or if the engine just still smells like fuel because the crankcase was full of it a few hundred miles ago. But it's been changed twice since that original issue of the leaking fuel line dumping fuel into the intake.   Patience is running very thin. Every win seems to be accompanied by two steps backwards, or another issue that leads to removing at least the top half of the intake manifold. Enough! LOL
    • Chuck FB
      Tire pressure for 37s

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      First off you mentioned "Toyo Says" and then gave the pressures 45/50, was this some person at the tire shop that pulled those numbers out of his head ?   Now of course I can't know your exact axle weights front and rear, however I have much the same pickup as yourself other than not knowing your starting weight as per the pounds the truck rolled out of the factory at due to the options yours did or didn't come with or what you have added beyond the extra tire weight. The correct way to know 100% where a person is at is by weighing each axle with the typical weight the vehicle is driven with and that means taking into account passengers and making sure you figure in a full tank of fuel and a little grace for whatever you may put in the bed "groceries" !    I am looking at and not that it really matters as all the tire companies use the same charts anyway, but I am looking at the comprehensive Toyo tire chart in the section that your tire falls under and I know it sounds confusing but your tire is not an LT metric tire like your factory tire but instead because its a standard inch measured tire its under a different category called an LT floatation series tire. That makes a difference as LT metric tires they don't want to see run below 35 psi at highway speed where as with the LT floatation series it can be run down to 25 psi on the highway as long as the weight on the said size of tire is agreeable with or less than that minimum 25 psi. It blows many people away that how is this physically possible, an empty truck for one thing and larger tires with the same size wheel diameter have a lot more air volume so they can carry the same weight as the smaller tire with less air pressure.    So my truck, I have the stock 275/65R20 wheels and tires and I have a bit of weight in the box with a bak flip cover and a rubber bed mat and some tools and spare gas. The front of my gas truck weighs a bit more than some trucks of the similar spec due to double batteries and alternators. However with full fuel and just me in the truck I am weighted such that I can run 40 front and 35 rear and so that is what I have done since day one.    If I base your truck at or slightly below the weight of my truck, in theory with your tires going by the tire chart you might be right around a minimum of 30 pounds front and 25 pounds rear. Of course that would hit pretty much minimum cold inflation pressure one could run with that tire size and a near empty truck. If you have access to an accurate weigh scale to do individual front and rear axle weights I would suggest you do that and make sure your topped up with fuel and whatever else in the truck before you weigh it and then you will have a great starting point to work off of and figure out what your bare minimum pressures are you can safely run. If you do much in the way of hot weather high speed driving, bumping up a bit for a safety margin is never a bad idea but just depends on what type of driving you do. I will include the Toyo chart and the floatation series sizes start on page 31. Without a doubt at these pressures I am speculating at minimum wise for your truck, it would most certainly ride very different then it did when you were using 55 lb front and rear.     https://www.toyotires.com/media/pxcjubjs/application_of_load_inflation_tables_20200723.pdf

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...