I got in the 95 tonight and started to head in to work. I got heading down the road and then stopped at a red light. I noticed some steam coming from under the hood and pulled into a shopping center where I was under a lamp post. I popped the hood and I seen coolant all over, but no appearant place it was coming from. I checked the hoses and they weree all intact and NEW, I checked the Radiator and it is good (New also) I looked at the Tstat (New also) housing and it is dry. I am stumped, so I checked the overflow and it is dry. The temp is not skyrocketing on the guage but it is steaming under the hood. So I drive back home and have the GF open the garage and pull some rad fluid out for me. I fill the overflow and wait. No steaming, so i am off to work, through the entire drive I am checking the guage and it is showing good. it never gors above the "no" of normal. I pull into my space at work and STEAM again!!!!!! I get out of work at 6:30 am and will check under the hood once again before I head home. When I purchased the car I seen the paperwork that the Radiator, the hoses, the t-stat have all been replaced and I checked them all myself to ensure that all those parts were new. Im pissed right about now because I cant find where the fluid is coming from or why it is overheating. I am going to check the fan in the am and see if it kicks on, I think it may not be working, which would explain why it heats up at the idle and not while driving. I am venting more than asking for help, but any idea that I have not thought of is welcome guys and gals.
Is it wet around the cap? I noticed you said the jug was dry, maybe the hose is blocked off and coolant is escaping thru the cap. You might want to try a new cap too.
Well I dont know what the heck is going on now, I just babied her home. The Hood is up and cooling down, I am afraid its the heater core because I smelt the tell tale sent inside the car, What worried me is that when i looked in the rear view I seen a white cloud. I dont know if it was coming out the tail pipe or if it was just coming from under the car. The engine sounds fine and has no abnormal sounds on it, still purrs like a kitten. Sooooo, what do you all think?
What's this tell tale sign you speak of? I smell something rancid (like burning rubber or oil or something) in my car from time to time when I turn the heater on, but I don't have a problem with losing coolant or overheating.
maple syrup is the smell, when the heater core begins to go you will smepp this sweet "Maple Syrup" smell. I filled the coolant back up, and popped the hood. I sprayed off the engine and let her idle. it was all good for a while and then the temp started to rise, good news was when the fan kicked on so that is not broke like I thought. The radiator, t-stat and the upper hose is new, but the lower hose is not like I thought. So now I dont know where to begin, there is no seapage on the engine itself of any fluid and I cant find the "Leak" anywhere. When I pop the hood the fluid rests under that black cover that rests over the radiator. I took that off and the hose that comes from the cap to the overflow is Gummy so that is goint to get replaced tomorrow. I dont think that is the problem though. Now I am stumped.
Well Just got back from Autozone Step 1: Call In to work Step 2: Check oil for water - no foam visiable no white at all visiable, will check again in step 4 Step 3: Pressure Tester - G/F is on the way to get that (my dumb ass forgot it) Step 4: Bypass Heater Core, Run car to eliminate it and re check oil for foam and a whiteish presance Step 5: I hope it dont get this far.
So the lower radiator hose for sure isn't cracked? Maybe a hose clamp is failing (so coolant squirts out at high pressures/temperatures)? Have you looked inside the radiator (not just inside your overflow tank)? Are you for sure not losing coolant? If it's coolant escaping and hitting a hot engine, there won't be any seepage left on the engine - it'll boil off as steam like you saw. Also check your radiator cap and make sure it didn't fail if you haven't already.
Its not holding pressure, I rechecked it when I bypassed the Heater Core also and the same thing. There is a Leak somewhere (hoping its not the head gasket)
I flushed everything, man this system was clogged to hell, gunk, ****, shoes, socks. I re-filled it and ran her for 45 min, and no issues. So, I took her to work on friday night, when I got there there was a slight smell but that could be burn off, but no vaper and no loss. So far so good........
