My 07 PT Cruiser is leaking pink stuff that I guess is coolant. Someone said to just put water in the coolant thing and drive it to a repair place. But the cap on the coolant says to only put special engine coolant and the book says it HAS to be HOAT coolant. Is just water okay?
If you are not overheating or running real hot, I would leave it alone. Your mechanic will top off with the right stuff when the repair is done. Keep in mind if you put water in it (distilled is best) then you dilute the coolant overall, so your winter protection will suffer a bit. If you do add water, make sure you tell your mechanic so he can test and adjust it back to proper winter protection.
Water is OK. The cooling system should be full of ‘coolant’ and water is coolant. Do you have any idea how much pink stuff has leaked out? Does it continue to leak out? Can you determine where the leak is? How far will you drive to get to a shop? It is best to avoid breaking down on the road. If a wrecker is needed it is much safer to get picked up from your home.
It went way up past the half way mark just going up to AutoZone (1/2 mile away) and they didn’t have HOAT coolant. That plastic coolant container under the hood is empty.
Thank you for your help.
Xerex (?sp) sold mostly by Autozone around here, is a HOAT coolant.
Does the plastic coolant container have an air tight cap or a loose fitting cap? Is there a cap on the radiator itself? Some plastic tanks are ancillary and some are integral to the cooling system.
Thank you everyone! I called my son and started crying so he came with some kind of coolant (not HOAT) and drove the car to the repair place.