I was just out running errands. I'm at a stoplight, look down at my temp gauge and the needle is past H. I pull over to a gas station, pop the hood, but don't see anything noticeable.

I let the car cool down for 5 mins. Start her back up, and drive 3 miles back home. By the time I'm almost home, the needle is way past H.

I'm in my driveway, pop the hood, and look underneath the car. Antifreeze is leaking on the driver side.

I don't notie any cracks or leaks coming directly from the radiator, BUT the radiator overflow canister is FULL, and leaking. I unscrewed the top cap and am now letting it sit.

What happened? What do I do to fix?

TIA.

 

i dont know TOO MUCH bout fixing things but.....common sense to me says to empty half of your reserve coolant bottle, let it cool and see if it raises past H again? (shrugs) Just a thought.

 

Please, stop giving advice then...

OP - Clearly there is "X" amount of fluid in your system. If your coolant resivoir is over flowing it is being displaced with something. That something is almost always air... With that being said you most likely have a blown head gasket. There is a high possibility that your water pump was leaking and caused your headgasket to blow or vica-versa due to coolant loss.

 

Check the cheap things first. Make sure your radiator fan cycles on and off, make sure the coolant is flowing, make sure that the cooling system had enough coolant to start with, check for other leaks that could cause low coolant levels etc.

If nothing else seems to be a problem, have a mechanic test your coolant for exhaust gasses/compression test to see if your headgasket is leaking or blown.

 

Whenever your raidator overflow is overflowing or you hear bubbles in it that means you have a bad headgaskets. My GSR was doing the samething as yours and on top of it I was losing coolant but there was no leaks that I can see. Well, I did a leakdown test and come to find out my headgasket was bad. Only way is to do a leakdown test. From the sound of it. You have a bad headgasket.

 

When the car is cold fill the radiator start the car and watch for bubbles. If it
bubbles over you have a bad head gasket, if not could be thermostat or pump.

 

x2

 

so just went out and checked on the car.

coolant in the reservoir tank went back down and now its empty.

i opened the radiator cap and didn't notice any typical 'white rings'. didn't appear to be oil in the coolant.

i pulled the spark plugs wires and they all were dry and didn't see any oil down near the spark plugs.

i'm thinking about starting the car and seeing if it runs hot again.

is my head gasket really blown or is something else the problem? faulty water pump maybe?

 

Are you sure your fan is coming on?I'm gonna go with everyone else and also say its a head gasket..pull your header and check for coolant

 

OP - can you not read? Read my post - I said what you are wanting to know. Most likely either your water pump failed or your head gasket blew. Simple as that.

 

i did read your post but im trying my best to eliminate the possibility that it is my head gasket since that is an expensive fix.

would draining the coolant from the radiator and re-filling do anything? wouldn't that bleed some air out of the system?

 

Listen to n3va3vasatisfi3d he know what hes talking about..if you really feel you need to rebleed the system do it correctly and you don't have to drain and refill your coolant

 

Everyone is jumping to conclusions.

First off get it pressure tested for leaks, you might have a bad radiator, or a leaking hose.

If that passes, get a block test to test for a bad headgasket, both are simple tests.

I do not like that you let it cool for 5 mins and drove it again, that could cause major problems.

A few things if it is getting hot while driving I would do the thermostat first, if the pressure test comes back with no leaks.

 

Not really... Key being he is leaking coolant from the driver's side and overheating. What is over there? Headgasket and water pump... If no assumptions were made there are some basic "hill-billy" and "sophisticated" tests you could perform.

1.) Fill the coolant system and resivoir. Start the vehicle. As it idles watc the resivoir for bubbles. It may stay the same or get worse... Headgasket.

2.) If no bubbles occur but the coolant resivoir overflows... Headgasket or Water Pump bust most likely the latter.

3.) Leak-down test.

4.) Compression test. (Can usually rent the tool at parts stores.)

5.) Exhaust gas in coolant test - you can get this paper at hobby stores. (It's not effective when the coolant is old or dirty; kind of like pregnancy tests...)

6.) Coolant system pressure test. (Not exactly preferred - but will help find a hose leak or similar problem. Same thing can be accomplished by running the vehicle. If that is your problem the coolant system typically still builds ss pressure as the rest of the components still function.)

Regardless, I can assure you your problem is going to be one or the other or a combination due to the nature of your problem. Test all you want, let the games begin.

 

I'd still like to know if the radiator fan is coming on. It's a common failure.

 

This may be but what relevance is it to his problem? We are in winter temperatures and he experiences this problem while driving too... All signs point to something besides a faulty thermostat or radiator fan... Oh well - good luck figuring it out.

 

i agree with n3va3vasatisfi3d, im actually ase certified, and i cant add anymore to what he said because he covered it all. how many miles are on your car? and did you ever do any scheduled maintenance

 

Read again, fellas. He said his gauge pegged out while sitting at a stoplight. To me that says fan not working, unless he was already that low on coolant. With no fan, I think you'd need to be cruising at a constant 40mph to have enough air flow to keep things cool, even with the cooler temps out.

Op needs to clarify some things for sure. Was the driver's side coolant leak coming from the overflow reservoir or the water pump seal? Or both? Ha, chicken or egg? :]

 

Please, reword your request for me to read for it is you that needs to read. Clearly the problem was there while driving as well... relevance?

 

The bottom line is he needs to be more precise when it overheats, while driving? at idle only or both?

What kind of maintenance was done, coolant changes, thermostat ever done etc.

 

Right, but who's to say he wasn't crawling at a snail's pace through stop and go traffic having never exceeded 20mph during that 3 mile journey home? We be splittin' hairs now haha.