CHECK AND CHANGE YOUR COOLANT
As you drive, especially in very hot or very cold climates, you are going to need to make sure that you have enough coolant or antifreeze in your car. This will keep your engine from freezing or over heating, which can cause a lot of damage and very expensive repairs. It’s very important preventative medicine for your car.
If you had to, you could use regular water to cool your engine, but more often than not coolant is used. This is because the chemical properties of coolant raises the boiling point. If your engine gets too hot and you are only using water, the water could boil and turn into steam, steam is not a very effective coolant. With a chemical coolant, the liquid will stay liquid at even higher temperatures before turning into steam.
First, you want to make sure that your car is parked on a level area. If it is on a hill, it can show a radiator that’s much fuller than it really is and give you a false reading.
After opening the hood, you will want to locate the radiator cap. This is located on top of the radiator, which looks like a smaller version of radiators found in old apartments or houses. If the car has been driven recently, make sure you use a towel to open the cap as it could be VERY hot. The coolant level in the radiator should be near the top.
If you follow the hose leading out of the radiator, it should lead you to a clear or translucent tank for the overflow. This should have markings on it showing the level full or low.
Read the instructions on your coolant as some may have to be diluted 50/50 with water, and others might have to be diluted less or more. If your fluid is low, add some by using a funnel to the overflow tank.
You should never have a full overflow tank and a low radiator level. If this is the case, take you car into a professional right away.
By maintaining the fluid levels in your car, you will prevent many costly repairs later on down the road. All things will break or wear out eventually, but by keeping an eye on things and taking preventative measures, you will make sure that these things don’t happen before their time.