Archived 2004 Ford Taurus. Coolant blowout on highway. (AskAMechanic)
submitted ago by Firinmahlazer
Posted by: Firinmahlazer
Posting time: 4.1 years ago on
Last edit time: 3.9 years ago on
Archived on: 2/12/2017 1:51:00 AM
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7 upvotes, 0 downvotes (100% upvoted it)
Archived 2004 Ford Taurus. Coolant blowout on highway. (AskAMechanic)
submitted ago by Firinmahlazer
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[–] goodluvin 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
First inspection: If hoses look fine guessing the radiator has a decent hole in it. (Shouldn't be too expensive.) (Small hole under decent pressure would spray fluid on top of the engine.)
This is what I would do:
Get a flashlight. Fill the coolant back up (directly into the radiator and because it will leak out might use 100% water).
Keep hood open and start the car up (run only for a short time). While running, inspect and look for the leak. (guessing its a radiator leak.)
If ton of fluid everywhere, should be a big leak.
Careful not to overheat the car.== Temperature gauge doesn't work well with no fluid in the system. May read normal or low without any fluid which will destroy the whole value of the car.
Youtube is a great resource.
edit: If temperatures dropped over night and coolant mixture had too much water vs radiator fluid, the mixture may freeze(expanded) and split the radiator. Obviously, 100% water will raise the freeze temp. Be careful of low outside temp.
[–] Firinmahlazer [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Thank you. My first step is getting home. I may skip having a dealer diagnose it and have it towed home to do it myself. That makes me feel better about it not being a head gasket. The problem is there's so much fluid I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Especially if it's a hose under or near the plenum there's so much shit around it.
[–] goodluvin 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
You might be able to do the fill test in your work parking lot. Maybe simple as loose coolant cap.
But cheap tow would be easy choice to take.AAA (Tows can get expensive. Dodgy crowd.)