smoke is come from my passenger side radiator area.. when the car is just idling, I have noticed something burning creating the smoke.. But I do not know what is burning. it is not smoking a lot, but enough. It seems like it is coming from the radiator, but I do not know what is getting on, or is already on the radiator. There are no fluids leaking on the ground or anything like that.. so i am very PUZZLED!!!! anyone have any suggestions or clues that could help me out..

Thanks.

 

is it steam or smoke? what does it smell like? id say you prolly just have a hole in your radiator

 

fire!

 

You may only see it when the car is idling, but it's more likely that it smokes whenever the car is at running temp, you just don't see it because you're moving. As for what it is, coolant smoke is white, oil smoke is darker.

 

Have you checked the fluids in the radiator? It wouldn't leak if the fluid is all gone. IS it when the car is hot and the fans are not coming one?

 

it's white smoke.. i dont think its oil. All the fluids are at their recommended levels. They haven't changed since i've noticed this.

How can i tell if there is a hole in the radiator? would it be visible? wouldn't I be loosing coolant? is this bad? the car doesnt over heat? would the car start over heating if there was a hole in the rad?

it only happens when it is hot and the fans are not on. That is when the smoke is most visible.

doesnt smell like oil..

 

waaaaayyyyy too common amongst cars with recent oil change. u prolly have oil spill somewhere on ur motor or radiator fluid on a hot surface. if its oil, spray some $2 brake cleaner or if its radiator fluid, pour a bucket of water over ur radiator to wash it off. just dont get water on the valve cover area (mainly onto the sparkplug wires).

 

ya I did a transmission oil change 2 weeks ago. so if i just power wash my radiator at the car wash? would that be ok?

 

It almost sounds like you have a very small hole in your radiator. That would cause it to smoke a little bit but at the same time your coolant level wouldn't change enough to notice over a few days.
One time a friend of mine opened his radiator cap and had some coolant spill when he opened it and then for a few days it smoked the same way you car sounds like it's smoking... turns out it was just his spilled coolant burning off his radiator.
If you have a small leak, washing off your radiator will not really fix it. It would make it easier to find the problem. Try rinsing your radiator off and letting it dry with the car off. Once everything's dry start it up and go for a ride. You'll want to get on it good so the pressure builds up enough so if there is a leak that it will leak once you get into higher RPM's. After driving her nice and hard check for and damp spots on your radiator and if there are any leaks you should see them.

 

its been doing this for over a week now.. the coolant level has remained the same the whole time. its not smoking a lot. I'm gonna try to wash it off and see what happens.. then i can atleast elimiate some possibilities.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92integraVTECgsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ya I did a transmission oil change 2 weeks ago. so if i just power wash my radiator at the car wash? would that be ok?</TD></TR></TABLE>


water wont do anything if u have some tranny oil spill on parts of the car. go to walmart/autozone or whatever and buy couple $2 brake parts cleaners. sray the **** out of anywhere there's signs of oil. dont worry its safe. i think almost everybody here cleans their engine bay with it, i use it on my customer cars and mine. it should stop. where ever u got the tranny flush, should have cleaned it wih brake parts cleaner anyway, just learn how to to change ur own so u dont have to pay anybody next time good luck and it doesnt sound like u have a major issue so dont worry man.

 

still think you have a pinhole in your radiator.. monitor your collant overflow bottle to see if you are losing any coolant, but you may not notice anything... i have been in the same situation and a little hole can make a lot of steam...

 

i think its your blinker light fluid doing this... haha

most likely radiator or what 98boosted said...

 

I did change my own tranny fluid. cleaned it all up. but people said it would burn or spray a little out if it was a little over the limit.. they said it would be normal for it to do that.. now im just wondering if some of it sprayed onto the radiator.. but how long would it take for this to all burn off..

I've been watching it some more, and I think it is the radiator. if there is a hole in the radiator, what is the worst that could happen? is it still driveable? or what?

 

bump