CAR HELP! Coolent issue

[narzy]

ok call me stupid (stupid) my car is dry in the coolent tank, what do I put in there? can I just put water, to drive it to the auto parts store?

 

[FerrariMan]

Go to a nearby auto store (walk, or bus, or take a ride, or get a CAB but no water...) buy a bottle of coolant $3-$5.... and put it in..........

'Njoy........

 

[LAUST]

As long as it's distilled

 

[FlamingEightBall]

No....walk to the auto store and buy a gallon of anti-freeze...then take it home and mix one gallon of water with it and then put it in the radiator....by the way don't you ever check the fluids in you car?

 

[narzy]

if I didnt check the fluids I'd be driving it right now...I ain't no dummy! I may be a new driver but I am cautious, I check the fluids every 5th trip...

 

[DDCSpeed]

it will run fine with water. I dont know about it being distilled but i would go with distilled.

A better choice will be coolant cuz its made for that. You pour it in a container that says engine coolant.

 

[Ladies Man]

buy some antifreeze

its a 50/50 mix between that and water when you put it in

 

[Al010101]

first find out what type of antifreeze it needs, theres the regular green crap, and theres the red dexicool (yes it matters),
then get whichever you need and do a 50/50 mixture of water/antifreeze, and doesn't matter if it is distilled or not.

 

[RedRooster]

You mean the overflow tank is dry, or your rad is dry? If the overflow tank is dry, but you open the rad and can see fluid, then you're easily safe to drive to the store and grab some more antifreeze. If your rad is dry, I'd worry about finding something to fix your leak, that's bad.

 

[OrByte]

ditto what redrooster said, so is it the overflow that is empty?

if so not a problem...if it is your radiator that is empty how come you didn't notice the low levels while driving? usually when your coolant gets low your temp gauge will fluctuate due to the poor cooling low-level coolant does to your engine.

always pay attention to what your gauge reads...if it jumps around alot then you have a coolant problem. And you may have a leak.

Good luck!


*edit sp*

 

[boyRacer]

I don't know about running just 100% water in there... there has to be a 50/50 solution in there... i don't think water could cool your engine enough by itself.

 

[Ladies Man]

actually water is a better coolant than antifreeze

but i wouldn't suggest it since its winter time

 

[LAUST]

<< actually water is a better coolant than antifreeze

but i wouldn't suggest it since its winter time >>


Yep, During summer I run almost 100% water with water wetter cause it's a better coolant, I took off my engine fan to convert to electric, the thing never even turns on even on 100 degree days unless I'm in total stop traffic

 

[narzy]

thanks for all the help guys, found the problem, yes the rad was dry, leakie leakie, why didnt I notice it, well I did, yesterday wile driving, heh aparently the leak accourd at that time, because thats when the problem started. I checked the tank this morning just to make sure, and found 0 coolent. I put pure water in just a few minutes ago, and ran the engine, turned it off and poped the hood, overflow tank was half as full as it was when I started, wich would be normal from my understanding as there would have been water in the raidator. however I suspected not, so I took a listen, I heard leaking, so I looked around and sure enough water was heavly dripping/lightly running out the bottem of my car. looks like I have a little more serious problem.

 

[RedRooster]

Pray it's the rad itself or a hose leaking. The water pumps on the new cars are a real bitch to replace! I just did one last weekend, and it was not fun.

 

[narzy]

its an older car, pontiac grand am 89.

 

[RedRooster]

Cool, shouldn't be too bad then. A rad from a wrecker should be super cheap too, in case you have to replace the radiator instead of just patching it.

 

[OrByte]

Yeah, looks like someone has a project this weekend!

I hope for your sake it is something simple.....water pumps can be a b!tch.

Have fun !!

 

[Bignate603]

um, one thing, don't let your dog or anything lick that water running from your car. it'll still have some stuff from the radiator coolant mixed in and that stuff is really toxic but apparently tastes sweet. animals drink it all the time and keel over from it.

 

[Thegonagle]

Uh oh. It's your water pump or your heater hoses.

Good luck.


Use a 50/50 mix. It might get below freezing 2 or three nights this winter in Salem.

Running pure water is bad, bad, bad. Bad for freezing potential, bad for cooling effectiveness, and bad for the lack of corrosion protection.

 

[MaxDSP]

do all cars have an overflow tank AND a radiator tank? Ive got a 93 Intrepid and I don't see an opening for the radiator. I also have a coolant leak which is really starting to piss me off, since weve gotten it fixed like 3 times. :|

 

[Thegonagle]

Then they haven't really fixed it, have they? I'd be pissed off, too. :|
Find a smarter mechanic. He's a moron if he can't diagnose a leak. I don't think I could trust him for anything.

Some cars have a cap on the radiator and recovery tank, others have one on the recovery tank only. If there are two caps, you need to refill them separately. If there is only one cap, you fill the radiator through the recovery tank.