Scott Long
Registered User
I was running errands the other day and ran into the credit union for about 5-10 minutes. When I came back out I noticed the windshield had a crack from left to right about 3-4 inches up from the bottom and runs clear across the entire window. The car was already warmed up and had been driven for about 20 minutes with the defrost blowing hot air on the windshield so I don't know why it would have cracked.
Stopped by a glass shop and got a quote for $185 installed for a new windshield. Cheaper than I thought but I didn't want to have to spend any money on the car right now.
Then the next night I was heading down to Indiana to go to a bar with my friend who lives there. I got about half way there and notice my temp gauge starts climbing up slowly higher than normal. This is odd, so I turn on my low speed fan. I have it on a relay w/ switch. The temp is in the low teens outside and I let the car warm up for about 15 minutes before I left. I've been driving for about 30 minutes. Anyhow its still getting hotter so I plan to stop at the next gas station (I'm in the middle of BFE on a 2 lane backroad/highway.) I notice if I get on the gas the temp guage goes down until I let off the gas and then it climbs up. Very odd.
Make it to the gas station and turn the car off, pop the hood, left the fan on. I tried to squeeze the upper radiator hose and it was hard as a rock. I have a pressure release radiator cap so I pop the safety valve and a lot of coolant goes into the resovoir. I slowly open the cap and it's still spraying all over the place so I pop it off and stand back. There is anti-freeze literally spraying out of my radiator about 3 feet up in the air and its all over the motor/ic/battery/fenders.... I'm pretty ticked off at this point.
I let it sit about 20 minutes and go buy a gallon of 50/50 from inside the gas station and fill the radiator up it took almost the entire gallon. I put the cap back on and start the car up. This time the temp gauge is back down on C and I let it run about 10 minutes and it is sitting nice and normal. I decide I'm going to take it home and not chance going out of state with it possibly having issues.
I make it home about 30 minutes later, fan off the entire trip, heater is warm, and the temp never got above normal range where it always sits.
Very strange.
My windshield is fogged up though. I figure it popped a leak in the heater core since you can smell antifreeze in the car.
The next morning I check it and its full of anti-freeze so I start it up and drive to auto zone and get a new radiator cap just to be safe. Then I remember the smell so I grab a bottle of bars liquid aluminum. I pop the hood while its running and there is steam coming from the radiator down behind the fan (radiator is 1 yr. old) so I take it home and let it cool down and then add the stop leak and let it run for about 30 minutes while I shovel out the drive and walk way. I pull it out of the garage and drive it around a bit, temp is fine steam in windshield goes away.
For the past few days it's been fine, I check the radiator each morning and it's full. However the temp guage still goes down to the bottom every time I accelerate above 1/4 throttle, then it bounces back up. This has me worried. Is the sender bad, or maybe an air pocket trapped in it? My vent is stuck shut, I tried to remove it but it started to twist the entire pipe so I left it alone. I could pull the t-stat housing and put it in a bench vise and open the vent but it's not leaking and the t-stat is like a year old so I don't want to mess with it.
I also wonder what would have caused the car to get so damn hot. I tested the anti-freeze a few weeks ago and it was good to -34 so I doubt I got ice in the block. It's not leaking steam anymore since I put the stop leak in it. So hopefully it's all good now. I don't want to pull the dash for a heater core job and I really don't want to buy another radiator.
I'm stumped as to why it overheated. If the radiator or heater core was leaking it wouldn't pressurize the cooling system but it had so much pressure I thought the upper hose was going to burst at the gas station.
Stopped by a glass shop and got a quote for $185 installed for a new windshield. Cheaper than I thought but I didn't want to have to spend any money on the car right now.
Then the next night I was heading down to Indiana to go to a bar with my friend who lives there. I got about half way there and notice my temp gauge starts climbing up slowly higher than normal. This is odd, so I turn on my low speed fan. I have it on a relay w/ switch. The temp is in the low teens outside and I let the car warm up for about 15 minutes before I left. I've been driving for about 30 minutes. Anyhow its still getting hotter so I plan to stop at the next gas station (I'm in the middle of BFE on a 2 lane backroad/highway.) I notice if I get on the gas the temp guage goes down until I let off the gas and then it climbs up. Very odd.
Make it to the gas station and turn the car off, pop the hood, left the fan on. I tried to squeeze the upper radiator hose and it was hard as a rock. I have a pressure release radiator cap so I pop the safety valve and a lot of coolant goes into the resovoir. I slowly open the cap and it's still spraying all over the place so I pop it off and stand back. There is anti-freeze literally spraying out of my radiator about 3 feet up in the air and its all over the motor/ic/battery/fenders.... I'm pretty ticked off at this point.
I let it sit about 20 minutes and go buy a gallon of 50/50 from inside the gas station and fill the radiator up it took almost the entire gallon. I put the cap back on and start the car up. This time the temp gauge is back down on C and I let it run about 10 minutes and it is sitting nice and normal. I decide I'm going to take it home and not chance going out of state with it possibly having issues.
I make it home about 30 minutes later, fan off the entire trip, heater is warm, and the temp never got above normal range where it always sits.
Very strange.
My windshield is fogged up though. I figure it popped a leak in the heater core since you can smell antifreeze in the car.
The next morning I check it and its full of anti-freeze so I start it up and drive to auto zone and get a new radiator cap just to be safe. Then I remember the smell so I grab a bottle of bars liquid aluminum. I pop the hood while its running and there is steam coming from the radiator down behind the fan (radiator is 1 yr. old) so I take it home and let it cool down and then add the stop leak and let it run for about 30 minutes while I shovel out the drive and walk way. I pull it out of the garage and drive it around a bit, temp is fine steam in windshield goes away.
For the past few days it's been fine, I check the radiator each morning and it's full. However the temp guage still goes down to the bottom every time I accelerate above 1/4 throttle, then it bounces back up. This has me worried. Is the sender bad, or maybe an air pocket trapped in it? My vent is stuck shut, I tried to remove it but it started to twist the entire pipe so I left it alone. I could pull the t-stat housing and put it in a bench vise and open the vent but it's not leaking and the t-stat is like a year old so I don't want to mess with it.
I also wonder what would have caused the car to get so damn hot. I tested the anti-freeze a few weeks ago and it was good to -34 so I doubt I got ice in the block. It's not leaking steam anymore since I put the stop leak in it. So hopefully it's all good now. I don't want to pull the dash for a heater core job and I really don't want to buy another radiator.
I'm stumped as to why it overheated. If the radiator or heater core was leaking it wouldn't pressurize the cooling system but it had so much pressure I thought the upper hose was going to burst at the gas station.