leaking coolant

[kwak123]

on the way home today, car thermometer started to spike and at the next stop light, steam came from the engine bay. I grannied her home, got down, looked around for leaks, couldnt find any cracks in a hose or seal, but only checked for probably 15-20 minutes, but there was a pool underneath my car that gathered after a few seconds of being parked, it appeared to be coolant, and there was some motor oil mixed into it as well, then moved the car into the garage. also, after coming back otu to check for leaks (about an hour and a half later), there were no new puddles underneath the car.

i can check more thoroughly any hoses/seals, but could an old water pump have any similar symptoms?

there is no engine code. radiator cap shows no signs of warp. also, the fluid was sprayed everywhere, all over the hood, the engine, etc. etc., thought it might be a boiling-over problem, but it seems to spew fluid before the car has even run down a neighborhood for a couple minutes.

 

[20-CG5-01]

Squeeze the hose also to see if there is any small cuts.

My top radiator hose had a small cut that you wouldn't be able to see unless if water came out from it.refill the car with diluted water only and when it is full, burp the car and squeeze around the top and bottom hose.

If there is no leak on the radiator hose then find other options.

I wouldnt use coolant just because you'll be pouring $15 down the drain and you dont want coolant to be leaking everywhere.

 

[x5carl3tMurd3rx]

check the two main hoses and also check the little curly heater hose thats under the intake back near the fire wall. When mine broke it was hard to find since the heater hoses are kinda buried back there, if there are no clear leaks replace the radiator cap, they're cheap to replace and are hard to tell if they're bad. also if none of the hoses are torn thats my next best guess for a leak that would result in coolant all over the underside of the hood.

 

[tegpower18]

Fill with water check all hoses,Check overflow resevoir for coolant and oil,check timing cover area could be possible water pump going out,try to borrow a coolant pressue tester and put the system under pressure to see where it is coming from.

 

[001Stunna]

Where on the underlining of the hood did it spray? If it was close to the front of the hood then i'd say possibly upper coolant hose. I had my upper coolant hose leak on me and it was due to a tiny 2mm slit on the upper left side. Inspecting it when it wasnt pissing coolant would make anyone think it was fine.

There is the upper/lower rad hoses, heater inlet and outlet hoses, coolant hose that runs from the thermostat to the back of the engine, coolant hoses to TB, and hopefully not the case...waterpump

As others have suggested, top up the radiator and coolant overflow bottle with water. Run the car and be on the lookout for leaks. Have someone from the inside, or do yourself from the buttefly valve and rev the engine a bit. Be careful and do not shove your face into areas as you might just get hot water/coolant sprayed at you.

 

[kwak123]

check the little curly heater hose thats under the intake back near the fire wall.

Thanks for all the input guys, i just didnt have time to work on the car, but finally got under it, turns out this hose was broken, spraying fluid everywhere, thanks a lot man!

to all others, thanks a lot guys, i actually ended up replacing a lot of those as precautionary measures before really delving into the diagnosis.