Q: my friend just called and her car overheated and she needs a quick fix just to get home.. I told her to pour water into the radiator. Thats about all I know, should I tell her anything else? (besides to wait for it to cool down) Is it better for the car to be off or on when she is doing this?
A: it's best to let it cool all the way down, then remove the radiator cap and not running. once the cap is off fill it with just water so you don't waste money. Leave cap off and stand back and start the car watch and see if water comes shooting out of the radiator, if it does she has a blown head gasket or a stuck thermostat, if it does not leave cap off until engine is warm the water level will drop then carefully fill it to the top and wait for 3 or 4 minutes while it's running, if it starts shooting water out of the radiator don't drive it you have a bad thermostat or blown head gasket and will damage it more if you drive it. doing it this way will also help you tell a mechanic what the problem may be by these observations