I noticed my car was quot;in the redand was about to overheat as i was driving, so at first I thought maybe i needed more coolant. I turned off my car and heard a fan noise under my engine for like a minute then it stopped. I checked the radiator and it was empty (no coolant) so i put water in there to get to the store to buy more coolant. By the time i bought some the water was already gone (this was only like 10 min) so I put the coolant in drove home again i noticed i was overheating, i checked again and all the coolant had leaked out too..it was all gone, that QUICK! So i asked a couple of men about it, and they say it sounds like it could be a hose or either a water pump. I don't know which it is, i can't drive it anywhere b/c it keeps overheating and i don't want to get it towed for $75 just to get a new hose. So is there a way i could tell what the problem is? Thanks!
if its leaking somewhere you should be able to see where water is leaking from the motor, if its leaking from a hose, then replace that hose, if its leaking out of the water pump then its either the pump or the gasket, if its leaking out of a freeze plug you will need a tow so get the freeze plug replaced, if there arent any leaks then you will need it towed to either get new intake manifold gaskets or a new head gasket. price could range anywhere from under $20 for a hose or up to a couple thousand for a new head gasket.
fill it , start it , watch it, see where its leaking, if you still can see it , see a mechanic, but dont over heat it , you could damage the engine
don,t start it but fill it up and take each hose and twist it some. if it,s a hose then it will start to leak. water pumps usually leak a lot when it,s running.
Yes - look for the leak!!!! With the car off, look for stains on the radiator, or puddles of greenish fluid anywhere. If you see puddles, look for the hoses/connections above them. If you see a stain near the water pump mounting on your car, you are likely having a water pump issue (or a hose clamp has worn a hole in one of your hoses mounted to the pump) If you don't see anything, add water to your car, and look for immediate leaks. You should see something. Check under the car for puddling. Turn off the car and immediately check under the hood - many times your coolant will remain pressurized long enough to continue leaking after its shut off for a little while.
We can't actually tell weather it's the water-pump, radiator, heater hoses, radiator hoses, heater core or clamps without a close inspection. If you're not use to laying on your back under your car held up by jack-stands, hire a private mechanic to do it for you. He will have a simple test instrument to pull off a *cooling system pressure test. A leak source will be apparent in seconds. It's a very inexpensive test also. Get her done before you burn up the motor.
