COOLANT 101 LOCKED
by Locked Thread
This thread is locked. New replies are not allowed.
I almost called this
ADVENTURES IN COOLANT
Thus far I've been fairly faithful with the up keep of my car. In the recent cold snap I was a bit remiss with maintaining fluids at their various levels with disastrous results.
This weekend my car overheated...
Yes I know where my coolant goes and how to put it in and maybe a little more but not SOOOO MUCH MORE.
So I was fairly concerned when mid Saturday afternoon my the temperature gauge went all the way past H to the red =(
Fortunately I was coming in, so I was parking and had a chance to let the engine cool down before panicking.
Later on, much later on after crashing a little (my energy level has just been down in the gutter) I started to head for home. The temp was reading normal so I headed towards the high way.
About 5 minutes into my approach the gauge begins to inch back up.
Not a good feeling...
I purchased emergency coolant and a funnel. I'm not sure whether or not the color is relevant to the formula but, I thought yes and since it didn't correspond to the yellowish coolant I previously used I was nervous and used a minimal amount. My reasoning "a little of possibly the wrong fluid will do minimal damage" DON'T LAUGH... Bad feeling =/
EVEN BETTER FEELING
contacting the first guy in your phone for some quick advice and getting ZIP (glad I wasn't on the side of 80- the main stretch to take home from where I was)
How many times must one start a conversation with the words bud, dude, or punk before you get that I'M NOT INTERESTED, DISENGAGE BABE-BLOCKER lol!!! So charming =) What can I say, there are some real winners out there.
From what I've gathered after talking to a few guys tonight it MAY NOT matter what color the coolant is, IS THIS TRUE???
What would be good is if I could get a CRASH COURSE IN COOLANT. Shoot just throw out some helpful tips would be awesome!
Oh and yes I have AAA but, since the car was neither smoking or broken down I didn't think it warranted a call.
AI Summary
31 Comments
Remember to pour coolant into the radiator itself and not just the big overflow container.
i'm pretty great with cars, brilliant actually, and i think you prolly need to replace the rear axles. you wouldn't think that could be it, but it is.
and also humble
leave em alone, he has a great hair cut.
Your taking advice from a man who allowed his car to roll down hill into the bushes... yeah, he sure knows a lot about cars...
what a funny story
HAHA! thanks a lot giac, im gonna beat u in madden again!!
Madden '07 on 360 = Victory for me... bring it
I can't see you getting your Ken Doll hands dirty. LOL!
HA! Ken Doll, that's funny ppl used to call me Barbie.
HA! actually i really know very little about cars, my comment was a joke, but i do have working man hands!
I know you were joking. haha... My hands are rough from picking up dumbells and bars at the gym. Other than that, I'm an office boy.
more info for you livy:
The color of the coolant/anti-freeze does not matter. I had my car overheat a few times. All you need to do is replace the volume with water as a temporary fix.
If your car overheats there is something wrong with it. Things to check/do:
thermostat may need to be replaced
check radiator for leaks. -Check your parking spot for signs of leakage.
low coolant levels (add water).
it's probably a johnson rod issue. pretty typical really.
omg I knew it! Siiike yeah johnson rod mmmmmmmhmmmmmm
Oh! And next time your car starts overheating, turn the heat on!
I did my friend was w/ me (the 1rst time) and they told me let it vent =)
Wow, this sounds familiar. Until I bought the car I have now my jetta overheated like mad. I had the problem fixed once I since the car was old, didn't want to shovel out the money again. I drove with coolant in the passenger seat. I still remember the way that engine smelled. Not good times.
Officially bad times, lol
i read this and i was like, "that's so dangerous. coolant in the passenger seat"
but then i was thinking and there was a time where my car had no brakes. and it was the vw bus and the brake fluid was right under my seat so i used to pour brake fluid in there WHILE i was driving because it kept leaking out. yeah so then i totally understood where you were coming from.
wait, why would coolant in the passenger seat be dangerous?
only if you are thirsty and used to drinking from big jugs...
HAHAHA. I actually laughed out loud.
It's not like the coolant was in a glass container. And the car wasn't on fire. I wasn't too worried.
not dangerous like it may blow up but ya know, the fact of just driving around when you know something might brake. i tend to do it all the time but i just know its dangerous.
If it's overheating with fluid in it, the thermostat may need to be replaced. Also check your radiator. If there is a leak in that you will hear a sizzle. That can cause overheating. Don't let it go too long. You can crack the engine head if you let it go too long. I've had that happen before. My genius brother was driving it at the time. It can also be a pump.
i don't know anything about any of this but i'm really good at paying people and providing beer to tell me what's going on in situations like this
chris doumas - mechanic for all of my car needs
I actually heard about this guy, good to know. I'm getting worried hopefully I don't need a mechanic yet...but some general helpful tips for the future is whagt I was leaning towards =)
youve met him too
water pump