hydraulic fan oil problem

[Rick C.]

Howdy all, Been away from here for a while and no I wasn't in jail.
Yesterday I went to put antifreeze in the 2001 LS V8 Sport and in front, on passenger side was a tank cap with a fan on it. Silly me ASSUMED (yes I know) it was for coolant. I started pouring antifreeze in when I realized the fluid in the tank wasn't antifreeze. I checked the owners manual to find it was the hydraulic cooling fan oil.
I'VE NEVER HEARD OF A HYDRAULIC COOLING FAN!!!wtf?
Now my questions; how do I drain it? The car was running and I put half a pint+/- in, did I do any damage in the few seconds it was running? The book says to fill with Mercon/Dexron II, how much will it take?
I did a forum search and found nothing telling how to change the oil, so am I the first to do this? Or is it so simple no one else needed to ask?
Thank You,
Rick

 

[joegr]

Your are not the first, there are many threads. Search.
https://www.google.ca/search?as_q=L..._occt=any&safe=images&as_filetype=&as_rights=

Also, there are/were a number of cars that used hydraulic cooling fans.

I also have to assume that this means you haven't been keeping up with the coolant level. You check/fill at the degas bottle. It's at the base of the windshield on the driver's side.

 

[Rick C.]

Your are not the first, there are many threads. Search.
https://www.google.ca/search?as_q=L..._occt=any&safe=images&as_filetype=&as_rights=

Also, there are/were a number of cars that used hydraulic cooling fans.

I also have to assume that this means you haven't been keeping up with the coolant level. You check/fill at the degas bottle. It's at the base of the windshield on the driver's side.

joegr, the dashboard readout says coolant level was ok, I saw no reason to check it.
The engine started getting hot then suddenly dropped down to normal running temp so I checked it anyway.
Thanks for the info, I'm on it.

 

[Rick C.]

OK,
After reading all the posts I could find, none described how to drain the old oil from the fan pump, how to properly refill it, or if it needs to be flushed out or bled. Is it simply a drain and fill? Where is the drain plug?

 

[Rick C.]

I found it!!
Thanks again joegr, and I found the degas bottle soon after. It took a little less than 1/2 gallon.

 

[joegr]

joegr, the dashboard readout says coolant level was ok, ....

No, it didn't. Try again and look at the exact wording. It's basically saying that you aren't overheating right now.
There is no coolant level monitoring or low coolant sensor on the LS.

 

[1LoudLS]

well the good news, since you have a 1st gen, the #1 most likely cause is the hydraulic cooling system fails, so even if you did damage anything, its probably gonna need some of it replaced anyways.


there is also the (very) likely chance that the plastic parts (all of them) are failing and will need replacement as this is the 2nd most common cause of 1st gens overheating.