The recommended coolant for this model Holden Cruze is the common, red OAT (Organic Acid Technology) coolant. This is actually really important to get right as the wrong type of coolant can damage the engine over time. The red OAT coolant is also a long-life product, so it’s the one to use.

As far as engine oil goes, the recommended grade is a fully-synthetic 5W30. Don’t forget to change the oil filter, too, as putting clean oil back through a dirty filter makes no sense at all.

All these products should be readily available at any decent auto part store, or you can buy them online form a variety of outlets.

Most mechanics would go back to basics for this one. With the engine running, you place the leads of a volt-meter across the terminals of the battery. This will tell you how much power the alternator is putting into the battery to keep the latter charged. You want to see a figure of up to about 14.5 volts, and anything less than about 13 volts suggests the alternator is struggling.

If you get a low reading, try the test with the engine just off idle as this can sometimes wake the alternator up and get it pulling its weight. Don’t forget to do the test with all the lights ad stereo off, and the air-conditioning switched off, too.

I can only hope so. Trying to start an engine with an obvious and large fuel leak like the one you’ve described is really tempting fate. This leak needs to be fixed before attempting to start or drive the vehicle as it’s a major fire hazard.

Even turning on the ignition will have the pump spraying fuel everywhere from the leak, so I’d disconnect the battery until the hose is repaired and the leak stopped. There’s a chance the computer has detected the lack of fuel pressure, but whether that’s what is preventing the engine turning over is another thing. You may have multiple problems.