Hey guys. Im hoping that someone can help me diagnose a recent problem I just had and a possible fix. Just last night, i encountered what seems to be an overheating problem. First time this has occurred. My car was in idle for about 30 or so minutes (which I've never done before) waiting for a friend to come out. I drove to a nearby theater and parked, left the car on, and walked into purchase some tickets and came right out. I noticed why smoke coming from the passengers side and i walked around and see green fluid leaking onto the ground. I immediately turn the car off and pop the hood. Green fluid is kinda steaming/spurting out because of the temperature it looks like. I wait about 3 minutes and try and turn it on and it wouldn't start. So i waited about an hour to see if it'd turn on and it did, i guess after cooling off. So the movies was out of the question and so I drove back home and I could see the temperature needle rising and falling, rising and falling. It would stay at the last mark before 'H' then slowly go back down to the middle again and do this off and on. I checked the antifreeze bottle in the engine and it has antifreeze fluid in there but it's not filled up to the top. What do you guys think could be the problem. I plan on taking it to auto zone tomorrow but figured i would ask you owners and engine guys what it was. I'm located in Atlanta as well so, during the day the temperatures was around 70ish but at night it's around the 60's so not terribly. I know I'm at fault for leaving my car on for long periods of time like that, I should have cut it off cut I didn't think it would cause this problem. Could it be the temperature gauge malfunctioning? Thanks again guys.

 

autozone aint gonna figure it out. 90% of the people that work at autoparts stores are retards. where was the coolant leaking from? the reservoir? fill the coolant system all the way up, let it run and check for leaks.....and once it reaches "normal" operating temps, do the fans kick on? if not, thats prolly ur problem. there is an extended factory warranty on the e-fan motors.

 

It's not leaking anymore. That's the problem. It seemed to be leaking from the reservoir last night when the problem occured but I checked this AM and there were no fluids on the ground. Also, should I fill the coolant system with antifreeze only or a mix of antifreeze and water?

 

It was leaking from the reservoir because it was probably BOILING OVER. You always want a 50/50 mix do no use straight antifreeze.

Make sure the coolant overflow reservoir stays near the "FULL" line

Also, check to ensure that BOTH of your electric fans kick on. Drive the car - when the car is at normal operating temperature park and it it idle. The fans should engage within 5 min. Pop your hood and inspect to make sure both fans engage.

 

yea, I think it was boiling over. that's exactly what it looked like. But I will add some water and antifreeze mix in the morning. Do you know why the temperature is fluctuating? Is it because the reservoir isn't at the full line? I think its at about halfway now, but when I drive, the temperature needle fluctuates, and when I'm idle or at at light for about 30 seconds, I see the needle begin to move up then go back down once I begin moving again.

 

more likely it was comin from the coolant boilin inside the reservoir. top it off, and top off the rad with 50/50 coolant. do like i said and run the car and see if the fans kick on. if not, go to the dealer. if so, you got other problems.

 

*update* I filled up the reservoir with a 50/50 mix. I parked the car in my garage and haven't driven it since. I just checked my reservoir and it's completely empty. But, there's no pool of water or fluid on the floor. What the? Could it be leaking somewhere else?

Also, I'm located in the Atlanta area...does anyone know any shops I can take it to. I don't wanna take it to the dealership since they're going to charge to just look at it.

 

If the system was warm when you filled it, then the coolant in the reservoir would be drawn into the radiator as it cools. If that is the case, fill it up again while it is cold and see what happens. I also recommend purging the system of air in the method recommended in the Refilling Engine Coolant procedure in the service manual. If that doesn't work, your next step is a pressure test.

 

Thanks for the reply. I took it to a shop this morning and they did a pressure test and nothing was leaking and it held the pressure. They said what the problem was that my fluid was low at the time which caused my car to overheat and then boil the fluid over. But since then the reservoir has been refilled and has held the water in there. Apparently I filled it up too much and I left the excess go

 

It's happening again. It just started up the other day when I was in a drive thru for a long time. The AC wasn't running. All of a sudden, I see white smoke/steam coming from the righ side of the car by the reservoir and coolant spewing out. Luckily, my destination was only about a mike down the road. I let it cool, then pop the hood to see that no coolant/water is in there or it's really low. I fill it back up with water because I didn't have any coolant on hand, and a couple hours later drive it home only to see the needle to start to rise again when im idle. Once I get going again, it drops to normal operating temp. I got home, and noticed the tank really low again. I fill it up again, and look under the car to see if it leaks out. Not a drop. A couple of days go by, no issue, but today it starts up again and I had my AC on and noticed that it's no longer as cool as it used to be and although there was green coolant in the tank, it was below the max level and way below where I had topped it off at. As mentioned earlier, I took it to the shop a few months ago and they pressure tested the hose and lifted it up and looked underneath but couldn't find anything. Could my thermostat be bad? WhAt could be the problem??

 

could be a thermostat (~$20)
could be a radiator cap (~$15)

those are the first 2 places I'd start. Both are relatively cheap.

it could also be the fans aren't working or are intermittently work.

I have a new rad cap I''ll sell for cheap.. pm me if you want it.

 

How will I know for sure which one it is?

 

well, you can check fans pretty easily - let your car warm up to normal temp...pop the hood and wait for the fans to come on. If only 1 comes on, or neither come on then you have fan issues. If you turn on the AC then both fans should be engaged within 45 seconds regardless of current engine temp.

For the T-stat and Rad Cap I would just change them, personally.

Rad cap - when the car is at normal operating temps the upper radiator hose should be very firm and hard to compress.

T-stat you can remove and drop it in a pot of boiling water. Using a thermometer you can determine if it is opening at the correct time.

 

Where is the T-stat located in our engine bay? I actually had an overheating problem today as well, expect that i live in phoenix but it was a lovely 72 degrees today. Radiator cap is fine, rad is full of fluid and overflow tank is topped off, i havent tried checking the fans yet but knowing the location of the t-stat will definitely be of use.
Thanks,
Tukeeg35

 

lower radiator hose is connected to thermostat inlet on driver's side.

Vapor lock (coolant gaps in the system) can cause these symptoms if you've let the overflow reservior empty, or somehow have air entering the system.

When the car is running and at normal+ temp, feel / squeeze the upper radiator hose to see if coolant is running. G's are known to be difficult to fill properly and need to be bled with a particular routine. Search for these threads.