how to fill the radiator with coolant?

Question

The coolant in my reservoir is quite full, but in the radiator it's quite empty. It's just been service 1 months ago. i wonder whether it's clogged or something else. any comments? but first of all i want to fill the radiator with the coolant and i don't know the procedure. can anyone help me ?

Answer 1

You don't. You fill the reservoir. If that is not flowing then you need to have the system flushed to clear out the blockage.

Answer 2

If you're, by any chance, looking when the engine was just turned off there will be coolant in the reservoir and it could appear that there isn't any in the radiator; so make sure you are checking it when the engine is good and cold. It overflows into the reservoir when the engine is hot.

If the radiator is old you may want to be careful about flushing it because you could flush out gunk that is plugging some holes, and when the gunk gets flushed out there will be a bigger leak than you have now.

If the car is overheating but there are no signs of coolant on the ground there is a chance it could be leaking into your engine. I am, of course, not qualified to say this is your problem; but there is a chance - particularly if the car is old - you need a new head gasket. If coolant is leaking into your engine your engine will be ruined, so - again - if you don't see it on the ground you should get it checked out.

I'm assuming - since you must have looked checked the radiator to see how much coolant is in it - you did that when the car was cold; so maybe you do have a leak. If you do you'll see the green coolant wherever you've parked the car.

Answer 3

Sound like to me, you need to take this issue back, you might have a leak. Leaks can come from a hose, radiator, radiator cap, water pump, thermostat housing, a blown head gasket, or one of many freeze plugs. The biggest question I have, is if you took it to a shop why didn't they catch the leak at that time? If you don't have any leaks, to properly fill the cooling system, it will need to be cool. Take off the radiator cap, and assuming the system is empty, fill the radiator with antifreeze. Make sure you are using the correct type, some use green antifreeze and some use a new type called Dex-cool which is reddish in color. You don't want to fill the radiator completely. Start the vehicle and let it run to warm up. As the level of fluid goes down you need to add the rest of the gallon of antifreeze to the system. When the antifreeze is gone, you need to start adding "distilled" water to the system. This type of water has to be purchased from the store. If you use distilled water you will contaminate the system and cause yourself future problems. What you are trying to do, is let the vehicle reach normal operating temperature and have the thermostat open to circulate all the fluid in the cooling system, so to remove all the air in the system. Air will cause the fluid to not circulate correctly and make the vehicle overheat, which in turn will cause a head gasket to blow or other damage. If your vehicle is equipped with an electric cooling fan or 2, wait till the fan turns on, either the single fan, or the auxillary fan. This tells you that the thermostat has opened and has triggered the switch to turn on the fan. Top off the cooling system, and tighten the radiator cap. I suggest filling the overflow bottle with antifreeze or dexcool to the hot level at this time. The overflow bottle is there just as a buffer to move the expaneded coolant in the system back and forth when it heats up and cools off. This is the proper way to fill a cooling system. You will in the process of filling the cooling system, have spillage, it's normal. My only concern is why or where did all the coolant go when it was serviced?

Do this simple test. Pull your oil dipstick, wipe it off, and re-insert it again, pull it back out, and take a look at what color your oil is. Hopefully it's black, or a dark brown, and not a milky color. If it's milky in color, then you have a blown head gasket and a major repair bill on your hand. Good luck!

Forgot one other possible leak, your heater core and heater hoses. Since we are in the winter season, this could be a possible leak issue also. Your heater core is located in the dash area and firewall area on the passenger side of the vehicle. The heater hoses will be under the hood on the passenger side also.

Answer 4

ok first of all dont take the radiator cap off when the vehicle is hot do it when the car hasnt been driven so it wont end up spraying hot fluid or steam in your face and burning you. take the cap of the radiator and put the fluid in until you see it come up to the neck of where the cap fastens on the radiator. give the upper hose a little squeeze to ensure all the air is being released from the engine. next start the car with the cap off and observe the fluid if it starts to get loww the add a little more about five minuets of this should ensure all the air is out of the system. put the cap back on and you should be set. when your all done make sure that there is no leaks by looking for any fluid on the hoses and connection areas of the engine side of the hose and the radiator side. then as long as there is no problems you should be set

Answer 5

Never rely on the Puke tank always check the radiator when cold. If it is low on water Here is two things that ill cause it, a bad thermostat take it to a auto parts store have the cap pressure tested if it does not hold pressure replace it, if it does pressure the radiator see if it holds if it does not you have a leak in the cooling system or the heater system, if not check the hose from the radiator to the puke tank it has a cracked hose somewhere.

Answer 6

Replace the radiator cap. Its not opening, probably not holding pressure and not allowing the pressure differentials needed for the radiator to "suck" the coolant from the over flow jug.
Fill the radiator, with the engine cold, with approved coolant before replacing the cap.

Answer 7

Take it back to where you had it serviced.

If your water pump is not properly circulating coolant through the radiator, then you can overheat your engine and leave you stranded on the side of the road with a smoking car. Take it back to the shop or the dealer, they're your best bet.

Answer 8

Check all of the water and heater hoses, sounds like you got a leak.