A major short between the ears caused me to lose the majority of my coolant on my drive this morning. I pulled over after seeing mist coming from under the hood. Upper radiator hose was disconnected. My temperature gauge was reading just above the upper line on the sweep but not yet to the red. Engine sounded and performed fine up to me shutting it down.

I added about 2 gallons of water back into the radiator and reconnected the hose and finished the trip without issue. Oil on the dipstick didn't look contaminated. I'm hopeful my engine survived my mistake with no ill effects. Is there anything on it that I should check at this point?

Were you trying to save money on the recycling charge for used coolant?

A few years back, I patiently filled my diesel tractor with five gallons of gasoline from a five gallon container. Ya think I should have noticed the vaporous odors of gasoline? - Nope. I started to drive the tractor and noticed that the engine idle was fluctuating. I figured it out and shut down the engine. Fortunately, no harm was done. Stuff happens.

I think you are probably okay. I would monitor engine coolant for leaks and periodically check the engine oil condition for moisture. After you have re-established the coolant mixture ratio and the coolant level has stabilized, then monitor the overflow reservoir for normal changes in volume (cold engine vs warm engine).

TIP When the coolant exceeds 225°F the cluster will slam the needle to 240°F and trip the check gages light and chime. Since you never seen the Check Gages light you are fine.

No worse I was out a few years ago firewood cutting. Lost all the power steering fluid. I had ATF+4 in my toolbox I refilled with ATF+4 and finished the day and came home to flush that all out again. 504k miles still going.

Being out of a fluid is bad but replace with the wrong fluid can be better than no fluid at all. Just choose wisely.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by Mopar1973Man