My car is over heating. I have a visible leak. Beginning at my radiator, there is a hose connected to it. All of the components up to this point are fine. At the end of that hose is where the coolant leak is occuring. The piece is metal and seems to be held in place by a single bolt. What is this piece called

There are many places that coolant can leak from, other than the water pump and radiator. As vehicles age, so do their components. Obviously, your water leak is elusive; otherwise it would be obvious where the leak is. If you can see coolant leaking onto the ground, then there are a few other things to check. Look for bypass pipes that may be on the engine. These can leak at joints. Also, heater hose connections can loosen or corrode, causing leaks. Radiator hose connections as well. Another common elusive leak in older vehicles is the heater core. When these leak, often they leak either onto the passenger side floorboard, or they may leak into the condensation tray for the A/C coil and just drain out onto the ground, leaving no other trace of where the leak came from. Lastly, engine blocks and cylinder heads have metal disks installed called freeze plugs. These are placed to prevent the casting from cracking should the coolant freeze and expand inside. These disks corrode and rust out over the years and can leak. Some are in areas that are not easily visible and can hide well.

Before you go replacing a radiator, you need to check out why the quick overheat. Most likely due to low coolant which indicates a leak. Yes the core could be leaking...but it is not the most likely problem. If there is coolant dripping from the lower hose, it could be a simple matter of the lower hose clamp just needing to be tightened. They do work loose occasionally. Check the clamp, and tighten if needed. With the vehicle cold, check and refill the coolant in the both the radiator and the reservoir bottle. Run the vehicle to normal temperature and observe all connection points. IF no leaks are seen, use the vehicle normally and monitor coolant level for a week or so to ensure that you have solved the problem. If you are still loosing coolant, but have no visible signs of loss (drips or puddles under vehicle), then the problem could be a worn out water pump. They often tend to leak only when running and the lost coolant often evaporates on the engine block out of sight.

Hi. I assume that you already checked the thermostat valve. I believe that you have a beginning of head gasket problem or a small crack somewhere. The best test for head gasket, even being a time consuming test, is to remove all spark plugs, fill up the radiator, put one cylinder at top dead center, which means the cylinder is in explosion position, install a cylinder leak test hose attachment (from a cylinder leak tester that you can purchase a Harbor Freights) and connect a compressor hose. Observe if air bubbles comes from the radiator. Sometimes it takes longer to show up so be patience. I've had an Honda Civic that was taking over 5 minutes to shows bubbles. If it does, your head gasket is beginning to get bad. Good luck.

Hi there,

Unfortunately, there is no overheat prevention as such....

What usually happens when an engine gets abnormally hot, is a condition called "Vapor Lock". This means the gas 'boils' before it can reach the combustion chamber and is triggered by an extremely hot engine.

When gas boils, air bubbles form in the fuel, causing the air/fuel mixture to be "too lean" (ie too much air & not enough gas). Consequently, causing the engine to stall. When Vapor Lock occurs, all you can do is wait until the engine cools to an acceptable temperature, so the engine can start.

So, the BIGGEST concern here is.....Why is your engine overheating?

Firstly, you should have the codes read from your vehicle's OBDII computer.. then address which circuits/components need attention.

Secondly, you need to check the following cooling systems components:

- Radiator cap (is it sealing correctly?)
- Coolant (do you have at least 50% coolant mixed with water? Coolant has a high boiling point)
- Thermostat (is it allowing coolant to reach the engine?)
- Coolant Temp Sensor (your computer relies on correct data from this sensor)
- Hoses (make sure none of them have collapsed or soft)
- Radiator (ensure passage are not blocked)
- Water pump (check operation and/or leaks)

You would be best to have your cooling system "pressure tested" - this will identify any fluid or air leaks in the system.

Good luck...


"If this has helped you in any way, please rate this solution with thumbs up or kindly leave a testimonial"

1988–91 Models

1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2. Properly drain the cooling system into a suitable container.
3. Disconnect the fan motor and motor connector.
4. Disconnect the upper and lower radiator hoses.
5. Disconnect and plug the automatic transaxle cooling lines at the radiator, if equipped.
6. Disconnect the coolant reservoir overflow hose.
7. Remove the radiator attaching bolts and brackets.
8. Remove the radiator with the cooling fan attached.
9. Remove the cooling fan and shroud from the radiator. NOTE: Check all cooling system hoses for any signs of damage, leaks or deterioration and replace if necessary. To install:
   
10. Attach the cooling fan and shroud to the radiator and install the assembly.
11. Attach the radiator bolts and brackets. Tighten the radiator bracket bolts to 7 ft. lbs. (10 Nm).
12. Connect the coolant reservoir overflow hose.
13. Connect the automatic transaxle cooling lines to the radiator, if equipped.
14. Connect the upper and lower radiator hoses.
15. Connect the fan motor and thermo-switch wire connector.
16. Refill the system with the proper type and quantity of coolant, check for leaks and bleed the cooling system.
17. Reconnect the negative battery cable. Fig. 7: Cooling system components — 1988–91 engines
    

1992–95 Models

1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2. Properly drain the cooling system into a suitable container.
3. Disconnect the fan motor and motor connector.
4. Disconnect the upper and lower radiator hoses.
5. Disconnect and plug the automatic transaxle cooling lines at the radiator, if equipped.
6. Disconnect the coolant reservoir overflow hose.
7. Remove the radiator attaching bolts and brackets.
8. Remove the radiator with the cooling fan attached.
9. Remove the cooling fan and shroud from the radiator. NOTE: Check all cooling system hoses for any signs of damage, leaks or deterioration and replace if necessary. To install:
   
10. Attach the cooling fan and shroud to the radiator and install the assembly.
11. Attach the radiator bolts and brackets. Tighten the radiator bracket bolts to 7 ft. lbs. (10 Nm).
12. Connect the coolant reservoir overflow hose.
13. Connect the automatic transaxle cooling lines to the radiator, if equipped.
14. Connect the upper and lower radiator hoses.
15. Connect the fan motor and thermo-switch wire connector.
16. Refill the system with the proper type and quantity of coolant, check for leaks and bleed the cooling system.
17. Reconnect the negative battery cable. Fig. 8: Cooling system components — 1992–95 engines
    

Had this happen on a Toyota 4 cyl. It was leaking out of the head gasket by the firewall, drove me nuts! Engine now being rebuilt.

make sure your over flow/add coolant bottle is clean...check that the hose from bottle to radiator isnt clogged...also fill add bottle fluid level between add and full mark

Likely you are in the beginning stage of a heater core leak. at this point, you may be able to temporarily solve the problem by using a good system sealer (I'm partial to the kind that comes as a silver powder) Since we don't actually know the condition of the core, temporary may mean a week or several years, but replacement is expensive and time consuming so I'd definitely give it a try.

You have a leak in your radiator or radiator hose.
That is the reason why your engine tuns hot very quick.
Because there is not enough cooling liquid.
Also the reason why when you refill it can steam because the water leaks on the hot engine components.

PS NEVER remove the radiator cap when the engine is over heated or hot,
you will lower the boiling point because of the reduce in pressure and that can make the cooling liquid spout out as hot steam,
with the risk of severe burn injuries.

Your cooling system is what keeps your car from having a meltdown. If you didn't have some way to cool things off, your engine would turn into a solid block of useless metal in no time flat. All of the parts that make up the cooling system have one goal of moving coolant around the engine so it can absorb and dissipate heat. The basic system is made up of the following components:

1. radiator
2. radiator top hose
3. radiator bottom hose
4. water pump

from your problem u stated
Checking for the problem I saw some a lot of antifreeze on the bottom of my engine covering or whatever it is (not the hood).
looking at the parts involved its probably not burning in the engine unless the car has overheated to much, it sounds likes its one of ur delivery or return hoses from the motor that is leaking. do a close attention to detail to your hoses and components related to the cooling system, u may not see the leak from the top since gravity will draw the fluid down