This maybe a blonde question, but help!

Jessie07

With the winter coming in i need to put anti freeze in my car, do i just buy this and put it in myself?? My car over heats very quickly when just sitting in traffic as i dont think the fan works properly, is it safe for me to just put the anti freeze in?? Thanks! x

djheath

Firstly, get the fan fixed. Are you sure it doesn't work properly? When in traffic the car will heat up. Roughly, just before the red area on the gauge the fan should cut in and cool the engine down. Let the car heat up and test it.

Do you need to put antifreeze in you car? I.e check the coolant level. Read the manual if you dont know how. If the coolant level is low, this could be another reason for you car getting hot. You can buy pre mixed antifreeze if you wish, but most antifreeze needs to be diluted with water first in equal parts-ish and poured into the colling system. Read the instructions on the bottle.

Antifreeze's are also different. Some cannot be mixed, so mixing a new cheap blue antifreeze with a cars half full purple antifreeze isn't a good idea for example.

Personally, it sounds like your car is a little neglected and needs a service. Get it checked by a mechanic and a full service done including a change in coolant and get the fan problem checked.

That will help you through winter more than just topping up the coolant!

Hope that helps.

Jessie07

Thankyou, ill just take my car to a garage on Saturday, let them sort it. Cheers!

Flearoy

If the coolant level is correct, it might be the case that the thermostat on the car's radiator is stuck in a closed or partly closed position. This would mean that the hot coolant coming from the engine doesn't get to flow quickly through the radiator and lose heat that way. It gets worse in traffic as there is less airflow over the radiator. Thermostats on most cars are cheap parts (as little as £10 or so) and are not generally a difficult (i.e. costly) job to replace. Fans are there to provide additional airflow over the radiator in heavy traffic / hot weather, so are important and worth fixing. If you let your car overheat too much, you might cause the cylinder head gasket to fail, which certainly can be an expensive job!

forgotmyname

Orange, Red, Blue, Green... Several different types these days, Some do not like to me mixed.

Mix Fords newer red cooant with the old type of blue could see it turning to jelly in the system,
It reacts badly at higher concentrations.