I was on the way to a job interview this morning, after driveing for 1-2 miles, when I notice my Temp needle is going up, about the 3/4 position. I immediately pull over and have my GF come pick me up. After the interview (which went well except for being late), i got back to my car and checked the radiator. It looked pretty empty, and I was able to pour about 3/4 of a gal of water in there. I drove the 2 miles back home and my gf was following me the whole time. She said there was a pretty steady drip. My overflow tank is 100% full, and it's wet around where the overflow outlet is, so i think it is leaking from there. I had no heat this morning before i filled the radiator. After filling, I had modest heat.


2 Months ago, I had the water pump and radiator replaced. Problem is, the shop that did it is up in san jose, 500 miles away. What can I do to diagnose this?

 

How do you know your radiator looked empty?
Did you dip stick it or eye it with a flashlight?

You say your resevoire is 100%....?


Isnt the amount of how much is in the overflow, pressure controlled by how much fluid is in the radiator?

Take pics of the wet areas....

 

My rad looked empty because usually when i take the cap off i see it filled all the way with green coolant. Today i could see nothing, only the silver of the inside of the rad. The overflow tank is at 100%. Should the coolant flow back into the radiator when the system cools off? I will take pictures tonight.

 

Was the overflow full? That is where you should fill from. If its 100% full the the excess coolant is going to go somewhere, and it will go right out the cap.

 

did u try to contact the shop in san jose and tell them the problem?

 

i will be contacting them first thing on monday.

 

Im a little tired, but the resevoir is full and the radiator is empty? This doesn't make sense to me. Filling the resevoir should run into the radiator, if its not it sounds like the hose from the resevoir to the radiatior is completely clogged, causing the water pump to empty the radiator into the overflow, filling it to much and causing it to leak. Check that hose first. Or fill the radiator and see if it does it again, just pumps it into the resevoir. It makes alot of sense when I'm this tired. I know I'll read this tomorrow and it will be total jibberish.

 

wow i hope you get that job so you can get it fixed
if the res is full all the way to the top then its a clogged feed hose.
but if your radiator was empty check all of your hoses and make sure all the clamps are on tight. also in a worst case cenerio you could have a small crack in the radiator itself that only opens up when the car warms up. I had the same problem in my old acura integra. thats why I bought my max.