Radiator Half Full

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Trying to be optimistic as to whether I should view the radiator as half full or half empty...LOL. So I noticed a small puddle the other day. Opened the hood and the reservoir was almost empty. After driving home form work the radiator cap was still cold. Thought that was odd. Opened it, and no coolant. The radiator was warmer about halfway down so I assume there was some in there. I'm getting it fixed. I think its a hose because I see dry residue around the passenger side. So long as there was some fluid in the radiator, should I be ok?
 
Not really. Low level means it probably isn't circulating real well. The thermostat has a small hole in it meant to burp air, so that level was the level in the block too--which might be below the water pump.

Most temp sensors need coolant on them to read properly--recently I read on here that some Fords will read properly, though.

But in the end, any damage done is already done. With any luck, there was none. The head would be the first to run hotter (highest up), which could lead to preignition. If it wasn't knocking I'd be tempted to not worry about it.
 
You might be OK.

You might not.

When the coolant level gets low enough, a couple of things can happen; the thermostat won't open, because it needs hot water to open, the water pump won't circulate because it's sucking air and the temperature gauge won't work because it's reading air, not hot water. In those cases, damage is happening, but your dash won't tell you, because the gauge isn't reading accurately.

Did you get that low?

Can't tell from your description.

I hope you didn't...
 
What car ? What engine ?

Have your mechanic go over it with a fine tooth comb , looking for leaks and signs of a blown head gasket , non functional pans , defective tstat , defective water pump etc. .

Were it me , I would replace all the coolant hoses , Tstat , hoses , belt / belts . Pressure test al the above + radiator . Radiator may need cleaning and / or replacing .

You MAY have dodged a bullet , do not skimp out on this .
 
Originally Posted by Mark72
Trying to be optimistic as to whether I should view the radiator as half full or half empty...LOL. So I noticed a small puddle the other day. Opened the hood and the reservoir was almost empty. After driving home form work the radiator cap was still cold. Thought that was odd. Opened it, and no coolant. The radiator was warmer about halfway down so I assume there was some in there. I'm getting it fixed. I think its a hose because I see dry residue around the passenger side. So long as there was some fluid in the radiator, should I be ok?


Holy moley dude, did you pop open the radiator cap to see if there was coolant in the radiator at least before you drove home?

If not, then you actually don't have any idea how low/how much coolant your system had while driving home. You may or may not have dodged a bullet but if it were me I'd do as one other person suggested and get it into a shop and have a mechanic look at it. I'm sure you know that there's a buttload of problems that can be caused by high heat due to low coolant.

Some of the problems are in the "screw it, I'm selling the car" category of warped heads/cylinder cracking etc, but you won't know for sure until you have it looked at properly.
 
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nope
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I drove it home...uuuughh.. This a 99 Olds 88. This one is actually my sons (grin). I did open the cap, I could see no water. But half the radiator was warm which leads me to believe there was water in it halfway down. So... maybe I dodge the bullet and the engine had water running through it?
 
I would not put water in it , from the tap .

So , low on coolant ? Your Son's fault ? ( Did it show hot on the dash ? )

If his fault , he should pay for the repairs ( tough love ) .
 
Most cars, when you drive them, the water pump sucks coolant from the bottom of the rad, pushes it up through the engine, and it hits the thermostat at top and bounces around the heater bypass circuit until said thermostat opens.

Your 3.8 is like this, I'm pretty sure.

So the "extra" coolant winds up in the engine, then it passes the thermostat, through the top hose, "waterfalls" down your half-empty radiator, losing some heat, but not much, then returns to the engine for another go-round.

I bet you did fine.
 
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