Q: I have antifreeze splattered all over the cover of my engine and all over

You definitely have a leak somewhere in the cooling system. The reservoir is not where the leak is coming from and it isn’t the best place to check the coolant level.

The coolant expansion tank is there to capture the expansion of the coolant in the rest of the system. The spraying of coolant in the engine compartment occurs after the cooling system pressurizes. When pressure begins to build in the cooling system, coolant will be forced out much like a spray nozzle from a water hose. While this can happen from any number of cooling system components, it is very common for the upper plastic tank on the radiator to crack and only spray when it is pressurized. Radiator hoses can develop pin holes that will do the same thing.

You can warm the car up with the hood open and wait to see where coolant comes out. Be careful not to get sprayed with hot coolant though. If your so inclined, you can rent a cooling system pressure tester from your local auto parts store. You connect it to the radiator filler neck and pump pressure into the cooling system. This will force coolant out of the problem area.

If you want to have this taken care of for you, a technician from YourMechanic can come to your location to diagnose your antifreeze leak and make the appropriate repairs.