Like stated in the title, the hose from the AST that leads to the overflow tank popped off and spilled coolant everywhere. I popped the hose back on and plan on zip tying the hose down once I can get to the autostore tomorrow to pick up more coolant.

So a few questions:

Is everything good to just add coolant to her and start her up? Is there anything else I need to consider before starting?

Any recommendations for coolant brands as well as distilled water to coolant ratio?

And finally a super basic question, but I've only had the car for a couple of weeks now, should I top it off from the filler cap or the overflow?

A few other things to consider: I was driving it pretty hard saturday night, cruised home sunday morning (stayed off boost for most of the drive), and she's been parked since yesterday morning (sunday) till I noticed it tonight.

The temperature outside was never higher than 65* so I dont think she overheated, but I'm just being cautious right now.

 

No recommendations for a particular brand. How cold does it get in VA? Keep a ratio to cover you with a little extra margin for safety. You can always add more distilled in the summer if needed.
Fill from the filler neck...at the top of the waterpump/t-stat housing. If the car is new to you, consider draining and replacing all the coolant...maybe just use the 50/50 mix right now and adjust in the spring. In addition to the radiator, there's also a drain on the left side of the engine's center iron. It's a good thing to learn how to do on these cars. IMO it should be done every year or so.
Fill at the neck until it's full, replace cap and squeeze the upper radiator hose a few times. Remove cap and refill and repeat until it won't take anymore. A little tedious but this will remove the air from the system. When finished, fill the overflow bottle to the recommended level on the 'Dipstick'.
As for the potential that you overheated...hopefully you didn't. No way to tell from your post. Do you have an aftermarket temp gauge? If not, get one ASAP and learn to watch it. The ONLY possible thing the stock guage is good for is the low-level buzzer. Otherwise it's not linear and worthless.

 

Thanks, Jim. It doesn't get super cold here in VA, but all the fluids are going to be changed out in the next couple of weeks, before she goes into storage for the winter/deployment.

Thanks to this incident, a new temp gauge just jumped to the top of the list on things to get done.

 

there is a check valve between the hose and the overflow tank, so when that hose pops off it usually means that the valve thing is clogged. you can usually just blow/suck into it to get it to free up.

if not its kind of buried.... well if you have the stock airbox/IC

 

you should do a complete coolant change if you just got the car.
its quite common for that hose to come loose.(well its happened to me anyway)

 

Ironically, the same thing happened to me this weekend except the hose is still on the tank.

I'm hoping it's a bad radiator cap, bad AST cap, or a leak in the hose somewhere and not a bad coolant seal. Anyone know where I can get a replacement hose? I mean these 16-18 year old hoses are getting pretty brittle, right?

 

If it popped off once it will pop off again. Cut the hose a slightly shorter if you can (1/2 inch) and use a clamp not a zip tie. Refill it with a mix of 40% coolant to 60% distilled water. Use green Prestone not that orange sh#@.

If you have any questions let me know, I'm also just down the street from you.

 

use a 5/16" hose clamp
dont use plastic zip ties for coolant lines
afterwards inspect for leaks after driving the car
and watch the overflow bottle height
even in light driving the overflow fills up, but after the car is completely cool - I mean completely - it should pull most all back in

 

Well, I got the hose clamped down and filled her up with coolant. Took her out for a spin and everything ran fine. The car is parked up now and I don't see any new leaks so I think it's good.

Mr rx-7 tt, What color combo is your car? There's another Rex here on base and I can't find the owner. It's black with neon green/yellow rims.