Can anyone tell me how I would know if I have filled the radiator with enough coolant?

I'm an idiot! I was driving today, and the radiator started smokin'. I haven't been checking the fluid level at all. The resevoir container is empty, and who knows how much, if any fluid is left in the radiator!

I bought the coolant, and I have to put enough in to get the "death trap" over to the dealer to check the radiator & hoses for leaks. There are some coolant drippings (larger than quarter coin size) in my driveway.

TIA Grounded

 

Can you locate that leak ? ,is it comming from the actual rad ,did you had any job on the engine lately ? did you mixed your prestone yourself or is it premix stuff? i know it sounds dumb but did ya tighten drain plug at left bottom of rad from front of vehicule?

 

did you experienced any over heating problems? i would consider checking the shape of your rad and if the small elements seems roten on the sides or corners i would think about replacing that rad quick before it gets HOT!!

 

I have to mix it myself. It's a ratio of 1:1, coolant and water.

Heating problems? A few days ago, the fan ran for about 30 seconds after I shut off the engine. I thought the fan was a little noisier than usual, and I didn't clue in! This morning the engine was idling strangely when I put the car into "park" before shutting off the engine. By 3 pm, the engine started smoking.
I'll either have to ride my bike in the rain to work tomorrow morning, or get up real early to mix up the coolant and guess how much to pour in. Do I just keep pouring until the resevoir says full, and until I see the coolant reach near to the top before recapping? At least I can get to work and get it checked out after work??

 

If your level is that low, you better make sure you get all the air out of your system when you refill it. Jack the front of the truck up as high as you can get it, so that the rad cap becomes the highest point in the system (helps to get all the air out of the system). Make sure all you cabin heater controls are set to "hot", open the rad cap and fill the rad slowly until the level comes up to the top of the rad. Re-fill the overflow bottle to the "full" line. Leave the rad cap off, and start the truck and let it idle. Gently squeeze the top rad hose to help move any air bubbles through. Keep topping up rad if level drops as any remaining air comes out of the system. Don't let the truck run too long with the rad cap off (5 or 6 minutes should be plenty of time to make sure you've got all the air out), as your coolant heats up, it will expand and overflow out of the open rad cap if you run it too long.

 

Thanks GSGallant! I'll do that before I take it in this morning.

 

What are you driving? Rav-4 or Highlander? 4Runners and pickups have mechanical fans that run with the engine, unless you swapped out the mech fan for an electrical. Is the fan kicking on and off like it should?

 

Thanks for your reply.
It's the radiator...
After following everyones suggestions, the radiator must have had an unrepairable leak. It started smoking again after a 10 min. drive over to the shop.

Oh well. I'm getting a new radiator, and while it's there, the broken driver side inside door handle can be replaced.