Driving home the other day & was stopped at a light & saw smoke coming from under hood, checked temp gauge & it was 3/4 the way up. Was very close to home so as light turned green I kept going. Temp gauge continued to climb and I was two seconds from pulling over when the temp gauge started to go back down & within 30 seconds had gotten back to normal (a little below halfway). Made it home and popped the hood and saw a good bit of coolant in the engine compartment that was smoking.
After it cooled down, I tried the quick cheap fix & added a sealant to the overflow of the radiator, filled to the 'full' mark with 50/50 & ran the engine with AC blasting. As it was heating up I saw a few leaks that stopped before my eyes (which was gratifying!), however smoke continued to come from the radiator and I thought that there may yet be some holes but it was difficult to tell for sure as a good bit of coolant had gotten out of the leaks and may have just been burning off.
Waited until the next day & a rainstorm had washed everything out and started her up again. As the engine warmed up, a bit of smoke was coming off the radiator but no coolant ever dripped below the engine and the engine never got above it's normal temperature for the entire 1/2 hour that it ran.
The next day I took her out for a drive & after she warmed up to her normal running temperature, the gauge held constant for about 10 minutes during while driving around the neighborhood before it started to rise again & more smoke came from the engine compartment. Immediately stopped the car, opened the hood but could not see any specific coolant leak or source for the smoke. Coolant level was maybe a bit lower, but my mind may be playing tricks on me.
I think the temperature gauge is okay, but don't know whether to just replace the radiator & hope for the best, or if there might be some obstruction which I don't know how to remove.
Help!!!!
After it cooled down, I tried the quick cheap fix & added a sealant to the overflow of the radiator, filled to the 'full' mark with 50/50 & ran the engine with AC blasting. As it was heating up I saw a few leaks that stopped before my eyes (which was gratifying!), however smoke continued to come from the radiator and I thought that there may yet be some holes but it was difficult to tell for sure as a good bit of coolant had gotten out of the leaks and may have just been burning off.
Waited until the next day & a rainstorm had washed everything out and started her up again. As the engine warmed up, a bit of smoke was coming off the radiator but no coolant ever dripped below the engine and the engine never got above it's normal temperature for the entire 1/2 hour that it ran.
The next day I took her out for a drive & after she warmed up to her normal running temperature, the gauge held constant for about 10 minutes during while driving around the neighborhood before it started to rise again & more smoke came from the engine compartment. Immediately stopped the car, opened the hood but could not see any specific coolant leak or source for the smoke. Coolant level was maybe a bit lower, but my mind may be playing tricks on me.
I think the temperature gauge is okay, but don't know whether to just replace the radiator & hope for the best, or if there might be some obstruction which I don't know how to remove.
Help!!!!
