Can I Add Coolant To Reservoir When Engine Is Hot?

An Engine Coolant is a very effective liquid substance that ensures that our engine remains cool all the time. Here you may ask, “ can I add coolant to reservoir when engine is hot?

The engine is one of the most important parts of our vehicles on which both our car and driving safety are dependent. So, we must know how to keep our engine in a good condition and a balanced temperature.

In this article, we will help you in this regard. Read the entire article carefully to get your answer as well as to know the way of keeping your engine well.

Can I Add Coolant to Reservoir When Engine Is Hot?

No, you cannot add coolant to the reservoir while the engine of your vehicle is running at high temperatures. Because it can cause severe damage and hamper your safe driving.

Before adding any kind of coolant, you must wait for a minimum of 30 -60 minutes, or until the engine has cooled down. The engine pressure on the reservoir cap because of long driving should also be reduced.

If you instantly add coolant, there will be a sudden temperature shift in your engine. This temperature imbalance will cause your engine in getting burned and cracks in the blocks which may hamper its performance.

So, after driving your car for a long time, don’t rush to make your engine cool by adding coolant immediately. Give some time to rest your engine and then proceed to add the coolant to the reservoir.

How to Add Coolant Properly to Reservoir

Adding coolant regularly and perfectly can enhance your car performance to many extents. You can not add your coolant according to your sweet will.

There is a proper way of it. For ensuring your vehicle protection, we are describing it step by step.

Cooldown Your Engine Properly

Make sure that your engine is completely cooled down before you start it up again. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour, depending on the outside temperature and whether the car was just driven. 

Find out the engine reservoir

There is a white container with a lid and hoses connected to the radiator. If it’s near the grill, it’s usually in front of the engine. It usually has a fill range marked on its side. 

If you find it, you already know where the radiator is, which is usually under the engine. For help finding your radiator and reservoir, look at your service manual. 

Remove The Radiator Or The Reservoir Cap

Open the hood and look for your car’s radiator or coolant cap. In the engine, these caps usually look a little more oval than other round caps.

As soon as you see the cap for the radiator or coolant, pull it and remove it. This step needs to make sure that the radiator or coolant cap is not hot.

If the radiator or coolant cap is too tight, twisting it while pressing down on it helps it loosen up a little more. 

You can also put a small rubber mat under the cloth you are using to make it more slippery. When you remove the cap, use a rag or thick cloth to be extra safe.

Also, wear gloves and safety goggles even when the engine isn’t running. This will help you avoid getting hurt. 

Take out the old coolant 

Draining the old coolant isn’t necessary very often unless it’s dirty or doesn’t have the right amount of water and antifreeze in it. 

If you think it’s necessary to do a full drain. You can remove the radiator hose clamp and the engine hose to drain the rest. Connect the radiator line back together. Replace the drain cock after all the old coolant has been drained into a pan.

Take The Appropriate Coolant For Your Car

Coolant is made up of water and antifreeze. Most of the coolant mixtures are sold ready-made in the shops. But they are not universal for all the cars in the market.

Different coolant meets the needs of different cars and engines. Read the manual of your car and engine to decide which is the perfect coolant for you. Then bring the coolant

add coolant to your engine

It’s time to pour coolant into your reservoir. The filling should be adequate. To make sure you don’t add too much coolant, look at the lines on the side of your overflow tank or reservoir where “MIN” and “MAX” level is written.

It’s best to add the coolant mixture you made earlier up to a few inches below the MAX or full mark on the coolant tank. Use a funnel to keep coolant from spilling.

Replace the Reservoir or coolant Cap

After filling the reservoir with coolant, screw the cap back on until you hear its clicking sound. Make sure the other isn’t damaged and can prevent the engine coolant from spilling.

Do a test to see if the engine overheats.

After you finish the previous steps, close your hood and start your car. It’s time to check to see if your engine is overheating. 

Let your engine run until the gauge on your dashboard shows normal operating temperature. Turn off the engine and let it cool down before you check the temperature gauge, head gasket, or radiator for damage. Also, check if there is any leakage.

What are the safety precautions we should follow while adding coolant?

• Check that the hood of your car is cool enough to touch.
• Use gloves and goggles because coolants are not friendly to your health
• Ensure the pressure of the reservoir cup is fully calmed

FAQs About Adding Coolant to Reservoir

Final Thoughts

We hope you have got the answer to the question, “ can I add coolant to the reservoir when engine is too hot?” You can easily avoid the overheating of the engine of your car if you fill coolant into your reservoir wisely.

However, if you do any mistake like adding coolant to a very hot engine, there is going to be havoc with your engine. So, be very careful about every step of cooling down your engine.

Our car performance mostly depends on the performance of its engine. our safety is also related to it. So, it is very crucial to take proper care of the engine as well as of the car. 

This article will help you to take care of your car engine properly. You will find it very useful in cooling down the engine.