overheated

I was driving home today and I see smoke coming up in my drivers side window so i think thats not good and start lookin for a place to pull over, just as i roll into a parking lot the engine temp light comes on. so i pop open the hood and smoke is coming out of the overflow hose on the radiator n liquid is drippin outta it. I wait for it to cool down and check and theres plenty of fluid in it, all the hoses look fine...what is wrong with my poor baby. Shes slowly dying more and more just recently she started runnin really rough and when i stop she just sputters off n dies...

 

Could be a blown head gasket. Run a compression check.

 

could be the "t-stat" stuck. take it out and try it again. i have gotten them bad "new"..frank...

 

Ild go with head gasket too just like Mavaholic said
Robb

 

Yep! I'd check the thermostat. If that doesn't fix it. It's probably the head gasket...

 

Ths smoke you're seeing could be exhaust being channeled through the cooling system, a direct sign of a blown head gasket. I had a situation similar with a Mazda and how we found out for sure was to have an exhaust analyzer probe held in the filler neck of the rad to see if we got a CO reading.

I'd stop driving the car until you get to the root of the problem especially if it's overheating. You don't want to damage the heads or the engine itself more than it is already.

 

Pull the dipstick - see if the oil appears to be normal. A milky white looking oil = blown head gasket.

I hope it's just the thermostat.

Goo luck.

 

Yep check the easy stuff first , Its very common for the T-stat to fail an besides there cheap to replace , if you pull it out , get you a little pot , ( the kind you cook with ) , Drop the ole T-stat in there an some water an a Thermometer,Start heating it up on the stove , An what ever Temp your T-stat is it should start opening at that degree , if not shes bad ! You got a RAD. pressure tester ?? , if so put it on an start the car if it builds pressure really quick , then its safe to say you got a blown head gaskit , Check an mke sure you aint got nuthing blocking the RAD. I had a guy come in a few weeks ago over heating , Found a trash bag in the grill, he said he recalled some stuff flying outta a truck that morning on his way to work , Ive even found Big Barn Owls wedged in the Rad --STINK !!!!!

 

also could be water pump not moving water around......got hot to boil over....

just worth looking at..

good luck