I opened up my hood today before I washed my car cuz I smelled coolant and saw that there is coolant sprayed everywhere on my engine. I don't see any leaks, my car wasn't overheating, so what could this be? Need a new radiator? new thermostat? anyone elese have this problem before?

 

there has to be a leak that u r not seeing, check again, use a flashlight to look deep into small spaces.

 

Im letting it cool down so I can check the hoses. THIS SUCKS!!!! anyone else have this problem?

 

Go to autozone and get a 'radiator pressure tester' free on there loan-a-tool program. It replaces the radiator cap with a big pump so you can pressurize the entire cooling system and easily find where the leak is.

 

Really??? I didn't even know they had that there. Ill call them up right now. Thanks..

 

sounds like you have a small leak. if you were driving the wind/air was blowing it onto your engine. look along the top (metal teeth) and see if you can spot any water/coolant puddling around. check hoses and clamps

 

My first stop would be: Inspect all coolant hoses & clamps.

 

^^^^^ This is exactley what I see. I let it cool down, then I started it up and checked the hoses, but nothing. I used a flashlight, checked under the car and still nothing. I do see coolant puddling up on top of the radiator on the metal teeth..but that it, COULD THIS BE THE PROBLEM??? I think im gonna go get that radiator pressure tester or whatever, from autozone...

 

if the hoses and clamps are secure, then it is definitely your radiator. If you see coolant by the mental teeth on the radiator, then there is most likely a gap betweem the mental teeth and the plastic. I think you should use compressed air and blow towards where u see coolant, if you see bubbles then there's your gap.

 

If thats the case, is there anyway to fix it, or would I need to buy a new Radiator?

 

A new radiator dirt cheap. Autozone sells them at 140.00. Takes about an hour or two to replace. While your at it you should consider a thermostat, new upper, lower, and by pass hoses. And get new Coolant.

Other wise drive the car and try to pinpoint the leak. Do a pressure test to see if its hold pressure.

 

Thats what happened to my radiator, a hairline crack in plastic on the top, JB weld will not hold it lol... I ended up replacing it...

 

if you really do have a gap, then you would have to replace the radiator. It happened to me. Cost me around $220 installed. So if you're goin to take it to the shop, expect to pay around 200 or you can buy it at autozone and replace it yourself. Good luck!!!!!!!

 

my rad guy did mine in an hour for 258.00, i thought that was a bit much but he did it in an hour and i was'nt even late to work. i also had the crack in the top of the plastic, typical problem but apparently the plastic helps with corrosion. and, if your themostat is working, you don't need to replace it. they can last a long time and as long as your not overheating why bother.

 

b/c preventive maintenance can save your engine. Overheating the engine is not good at all even if its for a short while.

 

Yeah, I decided Im gonna replace the radiator and the thermostat(just in case), my car is almost 10 years old now. thanks for the advice guys,

I Appreciate it...

 

once again, if its working you don't need to.its like replacing a tire when its a bit worn even though there's plenty o tread. its unecessary, like my old man said " if it aint broke, don't fix it " and, unless it was overheating before you replaced the rad, ( which mine was"nt ) it should be fine.

 

OK, so I finally changed the radiator and the thermostat. No leaking but it's OVERHEATING LIKE CRAZY!! there no Check Engine Light, so what could it be? Water pump? Any suggestions... If it's the water pump, how hard is it to change?

 

dude, take it to a garage and let them take a look. why second guess that, you overheat your engine and your looking at damaging your block. you may have installed the thermostat wrong or have another serious problem. also, i was thinking maybe your coolant sensor is bad and your ecu is'nt picking it up yet.

 

But if you want to do it yourself........

I'm assuming you bought an aftermarket thermostat that came with the housing as well, so there's not much possibility of putting it in backwards, unless the guy in mexico who put it togethor did normally that would have gotten my vote. Since you removed the fans, make sure they are activating first. If they do then pull the thermostat and put it in a pot of water on the stove and make sure it opens before the water boils, better yet if you have a meat thermometer make sure it starts to open @ 180*, and yes, that's even how the fsm says to check it

 

The water pump is a pita to change out, use free search for procedures. is it over heating and bubbling in ur resevoir- if so you could have a bad head gasket, remove plugs and look at them if there's any trace of coolant on your plugs your gasket's shot also shine a light down your sparkplug tube and look into the cylinder if you see green your leaking into that cylider-don't drive the car. Just inspect all possible fail points before you go ahead and change your pump. Rad cap maybe?