Avandacar – A number of fluids are important for your car and should be routinely checked to make sure that your car would work properly. Besides routine checks, you also need to drain and refill the reservoir to improve the car's performance and add the lifespan.
One of these important liquids in your car is called coolant. Coolant works by absorbing heat from your car's engine and dissipating it into the air. This process is very important for your car's performance since it will keep the engine's temperature at a stable and constant level. Since coolant is so important, let's learn how to check and refill your car's coolant.
How to Check your Coolant
When you are about to check your coolant, there are two things you should do before you do it. First, make sure that your car's engine is cool since your coolant and radiator could become dangerously hot. So wait for 15-30 minutes after a drive until the engine is completely cool down. Second, you need to get your car on level ground so you can read the reservoir accurately.
After doing those two things, open the hood of your car and locate the reservoir of your coolant and radiator. You need to know that most modern cars have a small tank for checking and filling the coolant. On the other hand, older cars don't include this kind of reservoir. The reservoir in most modern cars is made with clear plastic so you can see the level of your coolant, and the maximum limit.
While you're inspecting your coolant level, you need to also monitor its color. Coolant comes in a variety of colors such as green, red, blue or yellow. If your coolant is rust-colored, colorless or sludgy or oily, you need to have it inspected by a professional mechanic. The weird color and texture of your coolant is a sign of contamination and could lead to more severe issues.
The Danger of Contaminated or Low Coolant
The purpose of coolant is to regulate your engine's temperature, making it stable. If your coolant is contaminated or not enough, your engine will overheat. A leak in the system could also contaminate the coolant and then prevent it from working as it should be.
To prevent this, don't wait for the engine to overheat and always monitor the state of your coolant. Just like inspecting oil regularly, you also need to spend a couple minutes of simple inspection to make sure your coolant is okay and then preventing other issues with your engine.
How to Fill Your Coolant
In how to check and refill your car's coolant, now let's learn how to do the refill. Before refilling your car's coolant, you need to make sure that you use the right type of coolant for your car. Choose the type of coolant that your car already has.
Coolant usually needs to be mixed with water, but it needs to be just the right amount. Pure coolant without water could damage the radiator while coolant with too much water could prevent your coolant from working properly during extreme temperatures. Make sure to read your car's manual to find out what type of coolant would work best for your car.
Now that you know all you need to do before refilling your coolant, it's time for the easiest part. Just top off your coolant until the limit line and then close the cap. While doing it, make sure that there's no foreign objects or debris entering the reservoir. Make sure to secure the caps of your radiator and reservoir before starting your car. While you're at it, you should as well learn how to clean your car's engine safely.
Drain and Replace Your Coolant
If you see serious signs of damage to your radiator and weird color and texture for your coolant, it could be time to drain and replace it. For this, it is recommended to let professional mechanics do it since this could also mean you have issues for your radiator and head gasket.
But, if you have to do it yourself, first locate the plug that's usually at the bottom of the radiator. Then, put the pan underneath it and drain your coolant completely. Carefully inspect the pan to see any contaminants. If you see any, that could mean that you have a compromised hose or a cracked radiator. Further fixes are needed before you can pour new coolant since it will also get contaminated.
The last thing to do on how to check and refill your car's coolant is to refill it and replace the plug, and then top off your reservoir. For a last check, do a test drive to check whether there is air caught in your car's system.