This week, I replaced the coolant tank in my 2006 Saturn Ion after dealing with the coolant light on the dashboard being constantly illuminated for the past year, accompanied by a jarring ding every time I started the car.

After investigating, I found that this issue is often caused by a faulty sensor inside the tank since the actual coolant level was fine. The “easiest” course of action is replacing the entire reservoir.

Old coolant tank with fluid up to the fill line.

I bought an OEM radiator surge tank and followed this video, but instead of dismantling additional parts to drain the tank through the valve, I pumped the fluid out of the old tank with this syphon pump. The video’s method would also have required buying a 7mm socket and a petcock socket.

Getting the fluid out.

The syphon pump.

Tools needed:

• 10mm socket
• 13mm socket
• Long socket extension
• Pliers for the hose clamps
• A container to drain the fluid into (I used a clean windshield wiper fluid bottle)

Biggest challenges:

• Moving hose clamps on and off with pliers. Buying hose clamp pliers next time would be worth it!
• Getting the bracket in the photo below back over the bolt was beyond my ability.

Coolant tank removed. Impossible-to-reposition bracket.

Time spent: 3 hours. It was harder than I expected.

Money spent: $116.42 ($102.04 for reservoir + $14.38 for pump)

Successfully fixed the coolant light? Yes!

New coolant reservoir successfully installed!