White smoke from under car hood, with possible coolant leak?

Question

Out of nowhere, my car started to overheat on the freeway. I pulled off and into a parking lot, and checked under the hood. There was white smoke (no strong/sulfuric smell) coming from near the battery and the coolant tank was almost depleted. I cleaned and added coolant to the reservoir tank very recently, so there's probably a leak somewhere.

After about an hour, it cooled off and I added more antifreeze. It was running fine at first, but then started to overheat and smoke again right as I got home.

Any ideas as to what's wrong? It's sort of old ('96) so I don't know if I should even pay someone $500 to fix it or if I should just give up and start looking for another car.

Answer 1

It could be a lot of things. I would start by checking the thermostat, the hoses for any leaks, radiator. Be careful not to drive it too far with the engine running hot or you will blow a head gasket.

Answer 2

That was steam, like you see in the kitchen when a pot boils over. You were smart to wait for the engine to cool before adding coolant. Coolant is leaking and there are lots of places leaks can be. Burst hoses are the most obvious leaks, bad gaskets such as the cylinder head gasket can let water escape to places you don't see it getting away, or out the tailpipe. A worn-out water pump can leak water and that leak is hard to see, but you can feel the moisture coming out the weephole under the shaft housing of the water pump, unless your car's water pump is buried under the cambelt. If you can get it fixed for only $500, that may be a bargain.

Answer 3

Firstyou put antifreeze in it. Park it on pavement, then start it and let it run. Keep watch underneath car. At some point, it will start leaking. [you hope]. Then look above it and you will find your leak. If no leak, check your oil level. If oil is foamy, you could have a blown head gasket, or something similar. I am betting on the leak. Good luck.

Answer 4

Have it diagnosed then make your decision. It could just have a pinhole leak in the radiator hose.

Answer 5

This EXACT thing happened to me a few weeks ago. My water pump was broken. check to see if that is your problem. But if you keep driving it without fixing it, it will ruin your car. My repair costs were about$ 350

Answer 6

the bottom radiator hose probably has a hole in it