I recently took my car (Hyundai Tiburon 2001) to a dealer mech. for an
overheating problem.. He stated that the thermostat in the radiator was
bad and was replaced. I drove the car 60 miles on highway the next day
and all was fine. The day after that I was driving locally and it over
heated, I pulled over and saw that I was trailing antifreeze and it had
puddled under my car.
When I popped the hood I saw that the overflow cap was sitting on the
side of the container,, not on the overflow tank. all of the
antifreeze had leaked out of the overflow onto everything and onto the
ground.
Now my question, could this have been a mechanic error and they didn't
replace the cap correctly or not at all. Or could something else cause
the car to overheat to the point where the overflow cap was blown off
in the process.
Other question, will the antifreeze that leaked onto various hoses etc.
eat through said hoses or is that nothing to worry about/
Thanks for your help!!!!!
Karen
N8N - 11 Nov 2005 16:48 GMT
> I recently took my car (Hyundai Tiburon 2001) to a dealer mech. for an
> overheating problem.. He stated that the thermostat in the radiator was
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> the car to overheat to the point where the overflow cap was blown off
> in the process.
It is possible that the overflow tank was overfilled and that when the
engine got hot that it blew the cap off. This does not necessarily
mean that anything is amiss... another name for an "overflow tank" is
"expansion tank" as this is a perfectly normal process.
> Other question, will the antifreeze that leaked onto various hoses etc.
> eat through said hoses or is that nothing to worry about/
Not really. If it bothers you wipe everything down with a damp rag.
good luck
nate
HLS@nospam.nix - 11 Nov 2005 18:01 GMT
Agree with Nate, the antifreeze will not damage your hoses.
And, the cap being off could have been mechanic error...or not.
My concern is that it overheated again on you. Either the
thermostat was not the problem or something else happened.
Have you solved it?
N8N - 11 Nov 2005 20:19 GMT
> Agree with Nate, the antifreeze will not damage your hoses.
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> thermostat was not the problem or something else happened.
> Have you solved it?
ugh... I misread. I thought she said it *didn't* overheat.
I'm thinking head gasket... what happens when you take the cap off the
radiator, if you have one? (don't do this hot, unless you really know
what you're doing.) If you take the cap off, and start the car, do you
see lots of little air bubbles in the coolant? If you get your nose
down there and sniff, does it smell like exhaust? Do you have any
"mayonnaise" in the oil?
nate
Alex Rodriguez - 11 Nov 2005 20:01 GMT
>I recently took my car (Hyundai Tiburon 2001) to a dealer mech. for an
>overheating problem.. He stated that the thermostat in the radiator was
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>Other question, will the antifreeze that leaked onto various hoses etc.
> eat through said hoses or is that nothing to worry about/
Inspect the cap and the neck where it attaches. My guess is you will find
both in good condition. That would indicate this was caused by mechanic
error. I wouldn't worry about the coolant getting on other hoses.
---------------
Alex
Matt - 12 Nov 2005 18:40 GMT
> I recently took my car (Hyundai Tiburon 2001) to a dealer mech. for an
> overheating problem.. He stated that the thermostat in the radiator was
> bad and was replaced. I drove the car 60 miles on highway the next day
> and all was fine.
Fine as far as you know. Did you look under the hood?
> The day after that I was driving locally and it over
> heated, I pulled over and saw that I was trailing antifreeze and it had
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> antifreeze had leaked out of the overflow onto everything and onto the
> ground.
Are you saying that the overflow tank was empty? That would indicate
steam or exhaust pressure which would also explain the loose cap.
If the mechanic had overfilled the system, it would cause loss of excess
coolant, and maybe it would cause the cap of the overflow tank to pop
off, but it doesn't explain either instance of overheating. Also it
seems like an unlikely error.
Just how much coolant did you lose---how much did it take to refill the
system?
Matt - 12 Nov 2005 18:46 GMT
> Other question, will the antifreeze that leaked onto various hoses etc.
> eat through said hoses or is that nothing to worry about/
The spilled coolant may attract dirt and turn into grime. I would
gently turn the garden hose on everyplace where it might have spilled.
Also puddles of coolant are dangerous to birds and pets.
Steve - 12 Nov 2005 18:52 GMT
It could be a mechanic error, or not. IF the cap were truly "blown" off,
then the ears that allow it to lock onto the overflow bottle would be
bent. Are they? Does the cap refuse to go back on correctly?
I agree with the other poster that the biggest worry is the reapeated
overheating. You could have a warped head and the combustion pressure
getting into the cooling system could have blown the cap off. I've seen
it blow the end out of a radiator when a head gasket lets go...
> I recently took my car (Hyundai Tiburon 2001) to a dealer mech. for an
> overheating problem.. He stated that the thermostat in the radiator was
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> Karen