lately ive beebn having problems wit my radiator and coolant system. i cant drive far or drive fast without having smoke coming out of my radiator and it smells like coolant. but the thing is that my car really isnt over heating, i touched the engine and it was normal but when i touched te radiator it was much hotter. just now i put some coolant in and filled it to the top and i drove maybe 3 miles and my car started smoking big time from the radiator and coolant sprayed all over. i would say that i lost almst bout half my coolant just right now. it seems that my coolant only last about a day before i have to put another whole bottle in. so what could be my problem with that?


and another thing is, when i put the car in reverse trans fluid leaks everytime i back up. sometimes its not a lot and other times it looks like my car just pissed like a race horse.


if anyone can help i would appreciate it

 

Hope you like to get your hands dirty! Did you put the car up on jacks yet to really see where the leaks are coming from? Not to give you a hard time but if ANY of my cars where leaking 2 drops of trani fluid, I would have her on blocks, with a bright light under her her and my A$$ on some carboard searching till I figured out at least where the leak(s) are coming from...

 

yea i just replaced my spark plugs and starter yesterday so i do get my hands dirty lol. and no i havent put it on blocks yet, but i will take your advice and look to see where exactly its coming from. when i find out where its at ill post it up on here for more help.


thanks a lot for your time and help. i really appreciate it.

 

might want to check for rotted or broken hoses, looses radiator hoses, if its leaking that badly im sure the leak is quite visible, how hot does the temp get, do the fans come on or not.

 

ok ill check for that. and frm what i noticed i see drops of coolant coming under the passenger side of the car, it may be the smaller hose at the bottom, and my fan does come on but my temp gauge broke for some odd reason so i really cant tell if my engine is over heating. i plan on getting another today. and i was thinking if my radiator cap could be part of the issue? i realized that my cap is fairly loose and very tight. i could tilt my cap on one side and the other side will liftup and im able to see inside a lil bit.

 

have you checked the thermostat? maybe its getting stuck and not letting water through!!
also if its coming from the passenger side check the side where the heater core tube is! make sure the hose aint ripped from there!

 

This advice may help. I went to advance auto and obtained a radiater for a 1983 box van which fit perfectly. It is a 4 core/ steel radiator that cooled my car down in traffic in louisiana.That was 7 years ago Now I've got moocho more horse power and my coolant system has not gone wrong. If you can look at the between beam dimensions for the radiator. Fit the biggest row you can!!!I actually had t beat both sides of the uniboby with a hammer, about a 1/4 inch to get to fit. Other than that never had a problem. Just email me if you need a part #.

 

Any luck with the car?

 

Your radiator could have a small leak.

Last year I was being stupid and was driving to school and went "Real fast" and revved it real high before shifting and when I got to school I noticed that my car was dripping very slightly. I couldn't find where it was coming from on the radiator but I knew it was from there. So I didn't fix the problem and just kept driving it like that, then one day about a month later on my way home from work my car was overheating (no fan actuation) and all of a sudden I see a huge puff of smoke start coming out from under my hood.

So I opened the hood and though I couldn't see it I had a bad hole in the side of the radiator, water would just go right through it. So I had to get pushed home and bought a new radiator and installed it the next week.

You can do a cooling system check on your car, but other than that there isn't much you can do to find the hole in the radiator.

A stock replacement is only about $100 at autozone.

 

sorry it took me forever to write back. i was having problems with my other account.

as for my radiator it stop leaking and shooting out coolant all because my radiator cap wouldnt close all the way which wasnt having enough pressure to hold down the coolant and what not. so i replaced my old one and now its not smoking anymore and its holding down the coolant.

as for my transmission leak, its coming from under the middle of the car. it seeps through the bolts from the silver looking pan, im guessing its the pan gasket?

and i have one more problem,my car tends to have rough idling. sometimes it will idle 5 rpms n will sound like its going to die on me, which it does some of the time when my foot is off the gas. how can i fix that?

 

>>>>>>You will thank yourself the sooner you address that trani leak<<<<< Trani's are very sensitive and expensive<<<< Buy a new filter and gasket for the pan( under 30 bucks could save $1,600 EST.) Let us know........

 

I'm not familiar at all with TPI, maybe someone else who is can jump in. So I can't help you too much with your rough idle, which is probably a fuel delivery problem.

You've got an auto tranny correct? Only autos have that transmission pan on bottom that you can remove.

Are you sure that it's leaking from the bolts? Could it be just collecting there and dripping from the bolts? If that's the case it could be coming from somewhere higher on the transmission case and you need to find it up there.

If it is indeed leaking from the bolts you could have a bad gasket, I'm pretty sure those pans have a gasket and it could need replacement.

That and the bolts are pretty much all it could be if it's leaking from right there.

 

what will be the best filter to get? and are there different types gaskets to get ? or are they all the pretty much the same?



kkingsrulee-it is an auto, and has for the leak i really couldnt find it anywhere else, thats the only place ive seen it at, ill prolly have my friend check it out for me to see if its more serious. and for the rough idle, you think my fuel filter can cause it to do that? i already have a new fuel filter to put on so hopefully after i change my old one it will be go back to normal


thanks again for all the help

 

I guess my biggest concern is that when u replace the trani filter is that you make sure the new one is "seated right"..... DO NOT run her hard untill you make sure the trani fluid is where it needs to be... I don't want to insult your inteligence, but you check the trrani fluid at temp (more specific: read owners manual) Don't want to sound like a know-it-all but a new trani done right at the shop is way to pricey.... leaky Trani fluid = Not Good!( I can't spell >LOL ) Hpoe stuff works out for ya.......

 

Yeah, you should definitely check the transmission case and make sure that's where the leak is coming from.

Yes, a dirty or clogged fuel filter could cause stumbling rough idle, you should probably replace that.

I don't know much about automatic trannys but I know you should replace the filter every time you change the fluid, and you need to drain the fluid from the torque converter also.

 

I am 36 and only speak of 20 years of doing my own work..... Let's stay on track and senior members chime in if I'me way off base......"SEAT" the new trani filter correct >> DO NOT drive her hard untill you correctly check the trani fluid.... Fluid/Filter change is NO ticket out of tani issues But could save you tons..... GOOD LUCK my freind!!!!

 

ok thanks a lot for all the help, i will do everything you guys had told and hope for the best that its not major.