I've just started mycar for sitting since september, i had trouble filling up coolant so after alittle over 5 litres(8.8 liters max) i started the car and checked if everything was ok. All seemed fine and i drove slowly(about 20-30 km/h) about 200 meters, turned back and then the add coolant buzzer came on. I drove the car into the garage and turned it off.

Now my question is if i risked destroying the engine?
My instinct says no but since im extremely paranoid i need a second opinion.

There wasnt any smoke coming from the engine and the temp gauge didnt move, then again it never moves, i have an aftermarket temp gauge but it's not connected for the moment.

 

Yeah I think those of us who are new to this stuff ALL share a paranoia of buying an FD spending $$$$$$ on it just to have it blow up.
Its simple, if the coolant light comes on then it still needs to be filled. Make sure you fill it up at the filler neck, not the AST ( plastic tank attached to your intercooler) and you will also need to burp the system ( do a search for 'how-to' on this) . No you wont f**k your FD unless you take it for a long drive, in fact would probably just warm it up in idle.

 

Your car sounds like its fine,

Im confused why you had to add 5 litres of coolant? the buzzer comming on just means you have a little air in the system, no biggie though.

 

that sucks it has been sitting that long.. One Q why was it sitting that long??

 

Agreed.

 

Tobias lives in sweden. We get plenty of snow every winter. Salt and sand is spread over the roads to make them less slippery. We don't want salt and sand on our FDs. Not to mention we're required by law to have snow tires during the winter, which wouldn't look very good on an FD. I think that pretty much sums it up.

 

200 meters after starting it up and then you shut it down?

No damage.

The thermostat probably wasn't even open yet.

 

There is no way that you damaged your engine. Make sure you fill the coolant at the filler neck AND the AST. Check it, and at top it off (every time) before driving the car, until you are satisfied that it is full.

 

One thing I do is I open up the AST and then fill up at the filler neck until it starts dripping out of AST. Then I fill up to full at filler neck and voila.

No harm done to the engine.

 

The reason it was empty is cause i dont want coolant to sit for over 6 months.

The FD sucks on filling up with coolant. It takes ages and it's easy to overflow the fillerneck. That's why i only put 5 litres on, thought it would be enough for the moment.