Running your car without coolant can cause a lot of problems. The engine’s coolant system helps keep the engine from overheating, and it keeps the oil from getting too hot.
If you run your car without coolant, you may notice that it takes a long time for your engine to heat up, and when it does, its temperature may be higher than normal. You may also notice that your car is running rough perhaps even making an odd noise or skipping at idle.
If you continue to drive a car with no coolant in it, you’ll eventually experience catastrophic engine failure. This can happen very quickly if the cylinder head temperature rises high enough to cause the head gasket to fail.
How do you know if you need to add more coolant?
If your vehicle’s temperature gauge is in the red zone and does not go down after a few minutes of driving, it may be a sign that the coolant has leaked out. You should check the level of the coolant every time you fill it up at the gas station.
If there are white or yellowish stains under your vehicle, this could mean that there’s rust developing in the radiator or other parts of the cooling system. If there are puddles of water around your car, this is another indicator that something isn’t right with your cooling system and needs to be addressed immediately.
How do you add coolant to your car?
Remove the cap from the radiator. If there is none, look behind the front grill for a plastic cover with a bolt underneath it. Remove that cover and use a socket wrench to remove the bolt holding in place the cap for adding new coolant.
Pour in 1 gallon of water and 1 cup of antifreeze into the radiator until you reach half full. Then put back on the cap or cover and tighten down with a wrench until snug but not tight enough that it breaks any seals between parts.
How to check your coolant level?
You can check your coolant level by turning off the engine, opening up the hood, and looking at the reservoir. If you see bubbles coming from it or if there is any fluid leaking from it onto the ground or undercarriage of your vehicle, then you know that there is a problem with your cooling system that needs immediate attention before further damage occurs.
How to replace your coolant?
In order to replace your coolant, you’ll need to do some research on your car’s make and model to find out how much coolant it takes and what kind of coolant you should use. Once you’ve got that information, you can head over to your local auto parts store or mechanic’s shop and pick up a new bottle of coolant for your car.
What kind of coolant?
Antifreeze
This is the most common type of coolant and contains ethylene glycol. It’s usually orange or red in color, but it can also be blue, green, yellow or pink. Antifreeze has a lower freezing point than water, so it keeps your engine from freezing in wintertime. The disadvantage of antifreeze is that it can damage rubber seals and hoses if it leaks out into them from the cooling system.
Ethylene glycol-based coolant
This type of coolant is also known as EG or EGW. The advantage of EG over standard bottles of antifreeze is that it stays liquid at higher temperatures which means fewer problems with boiling over when the weather gets hot outside. The disadvantage is that EG can damage rubber seals and hoses if there’s any leakage into them.
Conclusion
If you have a car that runs on coolant, then the absolute worst thing you can do is run it without any coolant at all. Not only will your engine suffer from overheating because of the lack of proper temperature regulation, but it will also be damaged by the acidity of the coolant.
