Car reaching max temp (H). Help.

[Christopher Bowles]

So I’ve topped up the dex-cool section with water as I didn’t want to open the radiator when it was overheating.

As soon as I drove off, it started overheating again, made it home finally. Fans took forever to turn off as it was overheating.

Would it be best to take it to a mechanic or should I try and add coolant myself? If so, what’s the process in this? If it’s overheating would I need to drain the coolant still as it seems there’s none in there? Where do I add the coolant? What coolant do I get?

literally need this explained to me like I’m 5 hahaha. I’m hopeless with cars!

 

[Panda69]

So I’ve topped up the dex-cool section with water as I didn’t want to open the radiator when it was overheating.

As soon as I drove off, it started overheating again, made it home finally. Fans took forever to turn off as it was overheating.

Would it be best to take it to a mechanic or should I try and add coolant myself? If so, what’s the process in this? If it’s overheating would I need to drain the coolant still as it seems there’s none in there? Where do I add the coolant? What coolant do I get?

literally need this explained to me like I’m 5 hahaha. I’m hopeless with cars!

Best thing to do would be to get the car to a mechanic for them to have a look at.

A lot of people use and recommend AC Delco Dex Cool in their VF Commodores + GEN-F HSV'S -> Genuine Holden ACDelco DEX-COOL Extended Life Coolant (Red) 5Lt - 19375293 | eBay

 

[Forg]

Agree with the martial-arts Panda ... take it to a mechanic.

Coolant doesn't leave the system (except for small amounts on occasion) unless something's going wrong somewhere, you don't just keep adding it like petrol. So if it's truly low on coolant, you probably have a leak of some description, and the leak may have been caused because it got a bit too hot (or it may have gotten too hot due to the leak) ... and why it got a bit too hot probably needs to be diagnosed & fixed, as well as the leak & probably a complete flush of the system in case there's crud in it.

 

[stooge]

if you do not know much about vehicle mechanics then do not drive it and get a call out mechanic to diagnose it.

if you do know about enough to check your self then wait until it cools or you can squeeze the top radiator hose easily then take the radiator cap off.
if there is coolant at the top then you might have a blocked radiator or a busted thermostat.
if the is no coolant then try and fill it and if you add something like more than 1 ~ 2 liters then you probably have a leak.

with red dexcool you can normally see where it leaks by looking for a pinkish/red stain on parts which can be traced back to the point of origin.

if you are not confident with cars then seriously just get a call out mechanic because if you drive it in that state you will turn a $600 problem into a $6000 problem really quickly.

 

[Christopher Bowles]

Best thing to do would be to get the car to a mechanic for them to have a look at.

A lot of people use and recommend AC Delco Dex Cool in their VF Commodores + GEN-F HSV'S -> Genuine Holden ACDelco DEX-COOL Extended Life Coolant (Red) 5Lt - 19375293 | eBay

Appreciate your response! I’ll see if I can get a call out mechanic!

 

[Christopher Bowles]

Agree with the martial-arts Panda ... take it to a mechanic.

Coolant doesn't leave the system (except for small amounts on occasion) unless something's going wrong somewhere, you don't just keep adding it like petrol. So if it's truly low on coolant, you probably have a leak of some description, and the leak may have been caused because it got a bit too hot (or it may have gotten too hot due to the leak) ... and why it got a bit too hot probably needs to be diagnosed & fixed, as well as the leak & probably a complete flush of the system in case there's crud in it.

Alright no worries! Thanks for the response!

 

[Christopher Bowles]

if you do not know much about vehicle mechanics then do not drive it and get a call out mechanic to diagnose it.

if you do know about enough to check your self then wait until it cools or you can squeeze the top radiator hose easily then take the radiator cap off.
if there is coolant at the top then you might have a blocked radiator or a busted thermostat.
if the is no coolant then try and fill it and if you add something like more than 1 ~ 2 liters then you probably have a leak.

with red dexcool you can normally see where it leaks by looking for a pinkish/red stain on parts which can be traced back to the point of origin.

if you are not confident with cars then seriously just get a call out mechanic because if you drive it in that state you will turn a $600 problem into a $6000 problem really quickly.

yeah I’ll just get a call out mechanic to be safe, don’t wanna risk driving it anywhere with how quickly it’s overheating and I’m not too confident with it all!

thanks heaps!

 

[burnz]

So I’ve topped up the dex-cool section with water as I didn’t want to open the radiator when it was overheating.

As soon as I drove off, it started overheating again, made it home finally. Fans took forever to turn off as it was overheating.

Would it be best to take it to a mechanic or should I try and add coolant myself? If so, what’s the process in this? If it’s overheating would I need to drain the coolant still as it seems there’s none in there? Where do I add the coolant? What coolant do I get?

literally need this explained to me like I’m 5 hahaha. I’m hopeless with cars!

had the same problem, lower radiator tank split.
loose coolant when hot (pressure) draw air threw split when cooling, reserve tank all ways full.. new radiator under warranty..

 

[Fu Manchu]

I'd hazard to guess a faulty filler cap. $30 from Holden.
New coolant and air bleed by low pressure bleed or vacuum fill.
Top up the reservoir and then keep an eye on the reservoir over the next week or two as more air bleeds out and coolant is drawn in to replace the volume.

 

[Jeda]

When the car has been sitting for a while to cool down, take your oil filler cap off and check if there's any milky substance on the cap. If there is a milky substance there, we've worked out where your coolant is going.