My car is overheating bad!

I came back into town and drove the car and everything seemed fine until it started to overheat. It fully overheats, i.e. needle goes all the way to the right sometimes. Even when I am on the freeway. I noticed that when I stopped the radiator fans where not on. I checked the fuse under the hood and it was fine. I also had the heat blasting to try and cool the car but that didn't help. I also noticed what smelled like coolant coming from the back of the block near the firewall. I could some smoke coming from that area.

I'm going to check the coolant level to see if it is low or what. But does this sound like a thermostat problem? water pump problem? coolant leak? fan switch problem? Or some combination?

 

Well it could be a variety of things. Try to turn your heater on and see if it cools down. Also see if your fans come on at all. If not, then it would be your switch. I have monday off if you want me to look at it.

art

 

my fan switch sensor went out the other week, my fans would not come on.. see if your fans come on with the AC.. see if u can touch the polarities together for the fan switch sensor, if the fan comes on then most likely the sensor is bad.. thats what it sounds like to me but i dont know why u would smell coolant.

 

Thanks for the suggestions....I am such a dumb***. I just checked the coolant level and I had to pour in about half a bottle of antifreeze. I just drove it around and it was fine and my fans finally turned on.

So the next question...Where did all my coolant go?

Did it leak from the back of the block? Is my headgasket blown?

 

Sounds like a possible headgasket failure. I had the exact same problem a few weeks ago...coolant disappears and things overheat. After it's cooled down (i.e. there's no pressure in the coolant system), pop the radiator cap & give it a few good revs. If coolant starts splashing everywhere, suspect a bad headgasket.

Good luck,

Ryan P.

 

I'll give that a try.

Thanks for the suggestion.