I have a mitsubishi lancer 2002. The coolant reservoir tank is empty. Radiator is full. I just need to add coolant to reservoir. Do i add straight coolant or does it need to be a 50/50 water/coolant mix?

There is no "radiator cap" on the Alero. It has a pressurized recovery tank (overflow bottle) integrated into the cooling system. Unlike other cooling systems where you can add coolant to the coolant reservoir when the engine is hot as there is no pressure in the reservoir, these tanks are at full system pressure and must be allowed to cool down in order to check levels and/or add coolant. This is the only place in the system that allows for coolant input.

Open the container of antifreeze. Using a separate EMPTY gallon-size container, pour out HALF of the contents into the empty container, making sure not to spill any. Now, FILL the newly filled container with tap water. Fill the rest of the antifreeze with water, also. Now, you are ready to add antifreeze to your vehicle! Simply locate the radiator cap, (Don't touch it if it's hot!!) and unscrew it. Pour the desired amount of your mixed antifreeze into the radiator. Remember not to do this without proper knowledge!

If the engine is cool, what you should do is open the radiator cap and top off the coolant in the radiator. Then, fill the reservoir to slightly above the Full Cold level. This will allow for some additional coolant to enter the system since it will probably need more than what you put in the radiator. After that, as long as you keep the reservoir level between the full cold and full hot levels, you should not have to add any additional coolant to the radiator itself.

Did you refill the radiator and reserve tank after the work? If not, the radiator will suck water in from the reserve tank to top the radiator off.

Check the coolant reservoir tank and fill if needed. Most modern cars have a plastic reservoir of coolant connected to the top of the radiator. This will allow you to see if your coolant is low. Many have marks indicating the proper level of coolant when the engine is hot. Check to see if the coolant is at that level.
Add coolant (or water, in a pinch) to your reservoir to the full/hot line. On most cars, you can add liquid to your reservoir even if the car is hot. Check the owner's manual to be sure, or wait for the car to cool before opening.
If your car only has a radiator and no coolant reservoir, you must wait for it to cool before checking the level of coolant.

• One is the radiator and the other is an overflow tank. Sometimes anti freeze will back pressure a bit and need somewhere to go and other times the antifreeze gets low in the radiator. That is the purpose of the radiator.
• Put the antifreeze in the radiator fist and then add to the reservoir. Pay attention to the cold/hot level fill on the overfill tank.
• You need to find out where all that antifreeze went to if the radiator was empth. Pull the dipstick and look for a chocolate milk look on the oil. This would be a head gasket or a cracked head.
• Otherwise keep an eye out for a leak and repair it soon.
• Hope this helps and thank you for using FixYa.

Regards, Tony

POUR COOLANT IN THE COOLANT OVERFLOW JUG,IF YOU DONT SEE A RADIATOR CAP AT RADIATOR..POUR COOLANT TO THE FULL COLD MARK ON OVERFLOW JUG.YOU DONT OVERFILL.

On most cars it's pretty much the same. Make sure the reservoir is full and leave cap off it. Get a small crescent, dot3 fluid and another person. Have them pump up the clutch and hold it to the floor. You open the bleeder on the slave cylinder and let it squirt until stops. Close bleeder. Check reservoir and add if needed. Repeat. Do this about 3 times and will do the trick unless you have a leak in the line.

fill the reservoir with the coolant. it is a GOOD thing you dont see steam or a leak I hope.YOU DO WANT TO CATCH THE PROBLEM BEFORE IT REALLY OVERHEATS OR YOU MAY HAVE MORE COSTLY PROBLEMS. fill the reservoir. BUT, it may only fill the "radiator" once you do this as it cools off. As the radiator water cools it sucks the reservoir water into the radiator. as it heats up and the water swells (increases in volume) it pushes the excess into the reservoir. when the engine is good and hot and you dont have any coolant in the reservoir, that is a sign that the radiator is low or empty also.
when the engine is cold, find the radiator cap and remove it, add as much coolant you can there. fill the reservoir also. If it has been several years since the radiator cap has been replaced, I would do that now ( it is a cheap investment). if the gasket on the cap is not sealing well anymore or the exspansion valve mechanism on the cap is not working properly anymore, then it will let coolant pump out into the reservoir and not hold radiator pressure. if the reservoir is empty the radiator itself is probably too low or empty.

While the car is cold, take off the radiator cap. If you cannot see coolant, fill the radiator with coolant until you can see coolant standing in the radiator. Start the car, and go look at the coolant. Can you see a steady stream of air bubbles in it? If you can, the air is coming into your cooling system (and coolant is exiting) from a leaking head gasket, cracked head, or cracked block. Did you remove the head when you installed your headers? If so, the gasket was probably improperly replaced. Are you getting white smoke from the exhaust? That's an indicator of water in the exhaust.