As I was driving I see a little bit of smoke coming from my hood and a burnt smell. I pulled over get out of car and I see green liquid stains on the grill area of my front bumper. My car has 110K miles and I just did a timing belt and pump change at the dealership. Any ideas what is wrong with my car?

 

sounds liek a busted raditor which cus ur car to overheat. sounds about right

 

Is it safe to drive? The mechanic I want to go to is like 18 miles away and everytime my car is idle I see really light smoke coming out. Is there any visual cues to where the damage might be? What would be the cost of fixing or replacing the radiator? Thanks

 

for a couple weeks to save up cash, use radiator stop leak. Just follow the directions, and usually the crack will seal. BUT, your under a couple lbs of pressure, and that stuff is by no mean permenant. oem replacement is like 140 bucks.

but the green liquid is just coolant, dont let it overheat. Thats bad long term damage.

 

yeah the green liquid is coolant just like they said. u guys sure its just the radiator? couldnt it be things such as upper hose has a leak? and if that is the problem thats pretty simple to fix. and fairly cheap

 

Sounds like you have a coolant system problem. Let your car idle and watch for leaks, also check your oil and if theres water in your oil then you probably have a head gasket problem. You could also maybe have a bad water pump or thermostat. If its a radiator problem then you should see it, if its a thermostat then your top radiator hose will be cold because your thermostat isnt opening. It shouldnt be too hard to pinpoint.

 

I took it to the dealership and the service guy showed me that the coolant is leaking from the top of the radiator and said I needed to replace the radiator. It costs $550 in parts and total came out to be $720.

 

buy a used radiator for like 100 bucks and do it urself.