Radiator Problem!!

[kwheels636]

So im driving down the road today, and BOOM! all of a sudden my car starts overheating, and a loud sound coming from the engine is heard... so i pull over to see that every drop of my radiator fluid is on the road, stretching from where i noticed the overheating problem!
What is the problem? I was thinking the hoses burst, but is it worse? I just want to know a little bit about it so the shop doesn't screw me.
Thanks!

[RF Overlord]

kwheels, there's no way for us to tell from the little info you've given. DID a hose burst? You should be able to see that. Did your water pump seize? Did the serpentine belt fly off? Did a piece of road debris put a hole in your radiator? Did the coolant reservoir pressure cap blow off? You should be able to tell all these things just by looking...but it could also be many other things, some of them much worse...

[OO91]

Same thing happened to me 3 weeks ago. I took her off of cruise control and heard and felt a flapping in the engine compartment. The hose sprayed and messed up the serp belt. I had it taken to the dealer, got it all fixed for about 400 bucks (plus they fixed my heated seat- under warranty) that included a new thermostat, belt, battery, and an oil change. Although I will say that I am stilll p i s s ed at the fact that some a-hole at the dealer scratched up the drivers seat bottom. My first scratch! As if the tow truck dragging the rear bumper on the ground during loading wasnt enough for one week!

[kwheels636]

lol sorry about the lack of info! When I looked the hoses were flat, deflated looking, so I think they blew. But the cap was still on. I don't think it was road debris because i was in a drive through and a parking lot, barely going over 10 mph. I just noticed sitting idle that it was getting hot drove a few feet, then really hot. lol does that tell you anything? I really hope its just blown hoses

[kwheels636]

The mechanic I went to see told me its the fan, and the reason why it was leaking is because it was overheating, causing it to expand and spill over. Is that kind of fix expensive? I guess it makes sense, but im still worried about getting screwed.

[Zack]

Yes, fans do go bad.

List is $436 for the fan assembly.

Try and use someone else's vin thats stll inwarranty if you can.

[Marauderjack]

www.rockauto.com has an aftermarket assembly for $260.00!!!:beer:

My luck with parts from them has been good but never bought a fan assembly??:cool:

Marauderjack:burnout:

[Bobmiddle]

if it is the fan you might want to do the fix yourself and save some money. it should be an easy in out procedure. best of luck

[Marauder386]

Just an idle thought...what would be a good replacement radiator for ours ? One that is slightly larger but still fits in the stock location, more flow for both air and coolant ... yadda yadda.


Sorry fer dah hi-jack ...


:cool:

[lifespeed]

Just an idle thought...what would be a good replacement radiator for ours ? One that is slightly larger but still fits in the stock location, more flow for both air and coolant ... yadda yadda.

I'm not yet familiar with the late-model cars, but on my 1997 I had a radiator shop build one using two right-side tanks (thicker)and an F150 aluminum dual-row core. This required altering the left-side mount location, and cutting down the electric fan shroud thickness to arrive at approximately the same installed location from the motor.

It sounds like this is a modification likely to be needed for heavy duty or towing use. It certainly was needed on my '97 Crown Vic.

[kwheels636]

still no idea whats going on with the ride, the shop i go to is scratching their heads, and i hate to go to the dealership :(
anyone else have random overheating with no leaks and a working fan?

[Marauder386]

still no idea whats going on with the ride, the shop i go to is scratching their heads, and i hate to go to the dealership :(
anyone else have random overheating with no leaks and a working fan?


... a thermostat on lithium ? :D

Seriously, I am just taking a guess here ...


:cool:

[johnjamis]

I had this same thing happen last winter. The shop changed my thermostat. It seemed a little better but still was running hot. A mechanic friend said the fan was not operating and he reseated the connectors and tapped on the fan and relays with a hammer handle. The problem never occurred again.

[RF Overlord]

kwheels, here's a short list of the things I know that can cause overheating, in no particular order:

Bad thermostat
radiator core plugged
debris between radiator and A/C condenser (blocking airflow)
air bubble in cooling system
low coolant level
bad reservoir pressure cap
blown head gasket
fan inoperative

If your shop is scratching their heads, they've either checked all the simpler and more obvious things, or you need to find a shop with better cooling system training.

[ckadiddle]

I had an issue maybe a year ago. Needle suddenly going into redzone. By the time I got pulled over it would be back to normal again. After it happened the second time, I took it to the dealer. Some sorta fan control thingy was bad. Fan assembly was replaced. Expensive but was covered under my ESP.

[kwheels636]

yeah thanks, they are now leaning towards an air bubble in the cooling system, or just replace the thermostat. im sure the thermo would be cheaper... but i had to bring it to dealer so i know either way im gonna get rapped :(

[MarauderMark]

i had the dealer put long screws into the shroud when they did my head gaskets and they went through the radiator and when i took it to dr he showed me the holes .So dr put in this in http://reinhartautomotive.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=12345&Product_Code=MM-HFR&Category_Code=9

[kwheels636]

well it turns out all i needed was a new thermostat. Thank god though because only bad comes with engine overheats!