Q: Radiator gets steaming hot, but the engine itself does not overheat?

asked by on January 11, 2017

When driving the other day I shut the truck off and got out and noticed steam coming from under the hood. I opened the hood and looked and it was coming from the radiator. The radiator was hot to the touch and steaming. However when driving and sitting idle, the engine temperature gauge never goes over the normal operating temperature mark and does not overheat. What could cause this?

My car has 150000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

You should identify where you seen the steam coming from on the radiator. The radiator most likely has a leak on one of the tanks of the radiator. If it cannot be located then have the radiator pressure tested to find the leak and replace the radiator if it is leaking.

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