So today im driving and as i approach a stop sign i suddenly realize my car is smoking from the drivers side. Pull over real quick to pop the hood and when i did there was coolant spurting out everywhere. Just got home and took these photos. Im not sure how it happened or what lead to it but any advice on how to fix it or how this may have happened would be greatly appreciated.

I have a 2002 max se
Its the larger hose located on the right side of the radiator

 

Just replace the hose and fill the radiator. Then with the cap off, burp the engine by running it until the thermostat opens and then top off the radiator.

 

How many miles on the car? Did you overheat/coolant temp gauge needle rise a lot? I suppose if they are 13 years old then a failure can sometimes happen. Most people will probably never have it happen to them, but it's good insurance to replace them if you're replacing say the thermostat or radiator on a 10+ year old car. I'd recommend replacing the other radiator hose at this point as well since you're doing this one.

 

Make sure to give the engine bay a good wash too. Coolant is corrosive.

 

I just hit 200,000 on my max. The cars temp was never bad until the hose burst lol im coming to the conclusion that it probably was just an old hose. Dont think ive had it replaced since ive had the vehicle -_- (3 years owned).

 

Best way to clean?

 

I used the engine degreaser at the neighborhood car wash, just don't pull the trigger when rinsing, don't want too much pressure under there...I did this 1yr ago, and it still looks the same, not bad for $5

 

ditto! replace the hoses, they are inexpensive to replace and good insurance to do, because hoses are not design to last the life of the car, they are rubber, they do break down over time due to age, environmental exposure and chemical reaction from the coolant. Same goes for the antifreeze, chemistry of it break down overtime from age and mileage which they recommend to replace very 5yrs or 50k miles. I do, since it goes a long way keeping your car properly care and cooled and not worry about other issues such as blown head gasket or radiator is corroding away from old antifreeze.

 

Thank you .org for your support!!!!

 

No, it isn't. It actually has corrosion inhibitors in it. Does it look nice in your engine bay? No, but it won't harm anything. Well...it can promote corrosion between two metal surfaces as it tends to retain moisture. So, by itself not corrosive...but it can possibly promote corrosion in the right circumstances.