How Do I Check or Add Radiator CoolantAnti Freeze to My Car or Truck
Created on: 2010-10-21
This video shows how to check the engine radiator coolant level and add fluid if necessary. The look and placement of the engine coolant reservoir may vary
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step 1 :Checking the Radiator Coolant Level
- Locate the radiator overflow bottle
- Open the cap
- Visually check the level of the radiator fluid
- You can also check the level visually through the side of the bottle
- The fluid should be up to the cold fill level line
- Put the cap back on
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step 2 :Checking the Condition of the Coolant
- Do not open the radiator cap if the engine has been recently running
- With the vehicle is cold, twist off the radiator cap
- Check that the coolant is clear and the correct color
- Use a flashlight to check for corrosion
- Put the cap back on
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Hi, I'm Mike Green. I'm one of the owners of 1A Auto. I want to help you save time and money repairing or maintaining your vehicle. I'm going to use my 20-plus years experience restoring and repairing cars and trucks like this to show you the correct way to install parts from 1AAuto.com. The right parts installed correctly: that's going to save you time and money. Thank you and enjoy the video.
In this video we're going to show you how to check the coolant level on this '98 Ford Explorer which is pretty much the same as any vehicle and we'll also show you how to inspect the radiator fluid, just to get an idea of if the fluid has got any contamination or if the radiator's got any corrosion.
It's pretty easy in this vehicle. Here's your radiator reservoir and it just flips up and you kind of can do a visual inspection to see if there is fluid in there. There actually is, down here, a cold fill line. You can't even really see it, but that's what that is. You want to make sure when the engine's cold, you fill it to that. You don't want to fill it over that when it's cold because as it warms, that fluid expands and it needs a little more room.
The other thing you can do is you can kind of look at the condition of your fluid and as every cap will say, never open this when it's hot. It could steam out, spray out and you'll get burned; but as long as your vehicle is cold, you can twist this cap and you can just look and you can just see that this fluid is pretty nice green, clean and turning a light on . you can't really see down in . but sometimes you can see down into the radiator and you can see if there's any corrosion going on or anything like that, any flakes of metal in the fluid. You definitely want to get it flushed and check your radiator. Just make sure you put that cap back on, press it down and twist it, make sure it's secure.
We hope this helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.
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