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The line from what you call "the expansion tank" leads to.....well, an expansion tank. What you see under the hood is actually the "pressure tank", the line off of this leads to another rather large expansion tank (I usually refer to it as a "puke tank") which is inside the rear of the front fender.
The expansion tank will take up excess coolant when blown off or "puked" by the pressure tank, as required. Then, like most other cars of the modern era, when the engine cools off, a small valve will allow coolant to be drawn back into the system when the engine cools off.
So, depending on circumstances, you may have had a full expansion tank in the fender, which had some added to it through this experience and there is a small tube to allow the expansion tank to leak out onto the ground when it's full. So I'm guessing this is how it ended up on the ground.
As to why it isn't being sucked back in when cold, possibly a bad pressure cap (on the pressure tank). Is it an MB pressure cap?
The initial fill quantity seems a bit low, how much do you figure you've put in now total?
I recommend putting in as much as it'll take, wait 10 minutes or so and top it off again, then put on the cap and drive it with the heater turned on defrost position, so you can monitor if it's blowing hot yet or not. Then drive it to normal operating temp (NO MORE THAN THAT!), then shut it off (usually a mile or two is sufficient to achieve operating temp). Then shut it off, leave the cap on, wait another 10 minutes or until you see the coolant level drop (usually will do this suddenly), then carefuly remove the cap and top it off. Repeat the test drive, monitor the defrost temp. Once you have a hot defrost, usually you can just wait a few more minutes, check the coolant level again and you're done.
Gilly
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