Skills for Success

Coolant

*When checking or adding coolant to your car make sure your engine is cooled down so you don’t get burned*

How to check coolant –

  1. Park your car on a flat surface. Make sure your engine is cooled down before starting. Make sure the car is properly cooled so you don’t get burned by the coolant or other things in the hood.
  2. Open the radiator cap. This is at the front of the engine and has a cap on it, in order to remove it you’ll need to press down on it and twist at the same time.
  3. Make sure the coolant reaches the top of the radiator, well not where spills over leave a little gap. If the coolant is lower or you’re unable to see it, your coolant level is too low. Typically, there will be a fill line mark.
  4. Look at the color of the coolant to ensure it’s working properly. Inspect it, looking for signs of an oily film on the surface of the coolant, if the surface is dark or has oily foam it can indicate there is a leak in the head gasket. If this happens take your car to the mechanic right away.
  5. Finally, you can put the cap back on and close the hood if no problems occur.

How to add coolant to a car –

  1. Park the car on a flat surface and let it cool down.
  2. Open the hood and find the coolant reservoir (specifically called an overflow reservoir). The reservoir is a semi-translucent white tank near the engine.
  3. Check where the coolant level lines are, see where the labels are and compare it with how much is already in the tank.
  4. If the coolant is close to the minimum line or beneath the fill line, add more coolant immediately
  5. If the coolant is at or near the fill line or max, don’t add more but look back every few weeks to manage.
  6. Unscrew or pop off the cap on the reservoir (make sure it’s completely cooled down), place a funnel at the opening and carefully pour coolant into the reservoir until it reaches just below the max or fill line.
  7. After, turn on the engine to ensure there are no coolant leaks. While running look at the pipes and connections leading to the reservoir and try to find any leaks. If one is spotted, take it to the mechanic.