Q: No heat, antifreeze leak, overheating engine
Started with slow antifreeze leak, dad put stop leak in and filled antifreeze up told me to watch it. About a month later heat quits blowing hot air inside, we refill with antifreeze at 9pm and dad puts another stop leak in cool radiator. Heat gets warmer for a very small amount of time then cool air returns. Won't stay hot or get any hotter than warm. Heat blows cool air no heat at all by early morning. Cars starts running a litle over 210 but doesnt get too hot. By 11am the very next morning I check antifreeze and it has all emptied out of over flow tank but 1/4 is left. So in 15 hrs 3/4 of overflow was lost. Car starts to smell of antifreeze, leak is confirmed and car starts running hot to danger hot. Wasn't run hot, as soon as it hit the red. Car was cut off to cool. Leak is all over the top hose seems to be issue. But when running steam is everywhere coming from the left hand side mostly on the fan cover, little on radiator. Leak visible all over top hose. Pouring on ground..
My car has 232862 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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Hi...stop leak products should never be introduced into a car engine’s cooling system simply because such aftermarket products are not a factory authorized or factory sanctioned repair technique. Some factory service manuals are indeed emphatic on this issue. A stop leak product is, in essence, a foreign contaminant and thus has the potential to plug up cooling passageways, the radiator and so forth. The only recognized technique employed by professional mechanics when it comes to a leak in the cooling system is to repair the leak, period. At this point, by far the cheapest and most effective strategy for you will be to have a mechanic identify the leak(s) (via pressure testing, if need be, on a cold engine), repair the leak, and thoroughly flush the cooling system to hopefully remove all traces of the stop leak product. The cooling system has to then be refilled with new coolant, while purging all air, and tested. On a vehicle with over 200,000 miles, it is possible the leak occurred along with other cooling system faults such as a failing thermostat, water pump, and possibly partly clogged passageways, particularly in the radiator. All of that will have to be evaluated to ensure that no further overheating occurs. To get this resolved promptly and professionally, by all means please feel free to request a leak diagnostic and the responding certified mechanic will get you squared away. If you have additional concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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