overheating persists... again.

[Mr.PFloyd]

okay heres the rundown guys. When i start my car, i hear a squeal coming from the engine bay when i start it up right and its all normal. then all of a sudden i can smell coolant burning... so ikm like aww fuck. So anywya when i drove it, it starts to overheat, and my temp goes up slowly then it stops, then it climbs again,and stops. finally it reaches the point where its near red so i turn it off. i shut it off. but when i click on accessories again, its goes down to about 1/3. If i turn it on again it repeats the process. The smoke is coming from the front of my engine bay, im loosing coolant, and it kind of looks like my rad exploded because of all the coolant on the hood but i only have a very small leak (gonna get a pwr rad soon) and it gets rid of all my coolant. no coolant in the overflow... im thinking water pump. any other ideas guys?

 

[sleepersupra]

well just a thought but it might be your radiator, if you're losing the coolant somewhere and it's not leaving the overflow then it might be the rad

 

[Jaguar_5]

Sounds very strongly like a failed water pump!

Although i re-read it... and maybe not. The coolant burning is throwing me off, and where is the leak coming from? It could also be air in the line, from the leak, or a clogged radiator?

 

[shaeff]

i highly doubt it's the water pump. you have a leak in the cooling system, which allows air to displace the coolant, thus creating bubbles of air in the coolant tract, which, in turn allows the coolant to boil because it's not pressurized like it's supposed to be, and leads to your temp gauge spiking.

fix the coolant leak, replace the thermostat, and be done with it.

-shaeff

 

[Mr.PFloyd]

you see, i cant tell, and i do not want to run it again because of this -_-. i will try to put like some coolant to determine the leak. but from what i remember is white smoke coming from the drivers side headlight area (i had them opened to vent it as much as possible) and i opened to hood and there was coolant in that little passage betweemn the rad and the support bracket. I replaced my thermostat 2 months ago and i was wondering, is it common for this to fail as well? (its an OEM, no Partsource crap) Im guessing radiator as a possibility but this still wouldnt explain the squeal when starting up. I will check all belts and everythign else tomorrow.. im tired after driivng for 6 hours today and i need rest. Any overnight help would be appreciated.

 

[jmcboost]

If it's a belt squeel, it could be the belt on the water pump, because the water pump could have seized or is not puming right, causing the car to overheat. I would take the belt off of the water pump and see how it spins. Be carfull with a bad water pump, mine broke and the fan came loose and knocked a whole in the radiator. A new raditor, fan and water pump gets expensive.

 

[Mr.PFloyd]

If it's a belt squeel, it could be the belt on the water pump, because the water pump could have seized or is not puming right, causing the car to overheat. I would take the belt off of the water pump and see how it spins. Be carfull with a bad water pump, mine broke and the fan came loose and knocked a whole in the radiator. A new raditor, fan and water pump gets expensive.

well i got a new rad set up soon, and i got the fan and pump covered. also i was wodnerign, do fan shrouds really make a difference? i have been runnign w/o one :S

 

[boost fiend]

if theres coolant by the support and in front there, ill bet its the rad or the cap. test the theroy, get the system pressure tested at a local shop. should only cost about $40. that will find your leak.

 

[IJ.]

Pull the fan belt and see if there is any play/roughness in the Water pump bearings.

No use guessing at 7M cooling issues it gets expensive very quickly!

 

[lagged]

if theres coolant by the support and in front there, ill bet its the rad or the cap. test the theroy, get the system pressure tested at a local shop. should only cost about $40. that will find your leak.

or do it your self for free? autozone rents tools for free.

 

[boost fiend]

good point.

 

[Clip]

fan shrouds make a difference idling in traffic, or tooling around town. at highway speeds, the plastic panel underneath makes the biggest difference, allowing air to come in through the grille but forcing it over the engine and then under the car, rather than just in the grill and under the engine.

the shroud just directs the pull and push of air at low speeds, shouldn't make too big a difference if youre not living in the extremes. just keep an eye on the temp.