I have a 96 plymouth mini van, it was over heating so I had a new thermostat put on and that took care of the problem, but that wasnt the only problem, its leaking antifreeze, but its not leaking onto the ground, I have had 3 different people look at it. You can smell it burning off of something when I'm driving it, but there is never a wet spot on the ground after I park it. We have checked the oil thinking maybe it was a head, but there is nothing but oil there. We have checked the floor boards to see if it was the heater core and nothing there either. I am having to put on average a gallon of water in it every other day or 2. I am a single mother who just lost her child support(he dissappeared) and our company just cut everyones hours I can afford to take it someone where right now. Anyone have any ideas????
2007-11-20 15:26:18 · 7 answers · asked by goncrzy1 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
If it is a 3.0L engine (you do not say) a leaking water pump may be your problem. The water pump is not visible, and the leaking coolant would evaporate on contact with hot engine surfaces rather than drip to the ground.
If you have a 3.3L, I hate to say it, but it sounds to me like you have a head gasket problem. Is there a lot of white smoke from the tailpipe? The coolant could be getting into the combustion chamber and is being expelled as steam through the exhaust!
Have the cooling system pressure tested.
2007-11-20 15:41:08 · answer #1 · answered by fire4511 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I believe that everyone is on the right path.
It all depends on where the smell is coming from.
If it's coming from under the hood you could have a hole in a hose spraying antifreeze onto your exhaust manifold.
You did say that you HAD an overheating problem caused by a bad thermostat.
How bad did it overheat?
If it overheated too badly, you could have damaged either the head, or the head gasket.
It is possible that a crack in the head, or it's gasket, is spraying coolant into the cylinders. If so you will be able to notice the smell of coolant in your exhaust smoke.
It could also be possible for a crack to be spraying coolant on to the exhaust manifold as well. Then the smell will be coming from under the hood as with the bad hose.
In all cases, the coolant will vaporize before it ever hits the ground.
Fill your radiator and place the cap tightly back on. Then start your engine ,or better yet, have someone else start it, while you stand behind the van.
Watch to see what comes out the tailpipe.
If it's white smoke, take a small whiff of it. If it smells like burnt coolant, then you have a head, or head gasket problem. I would suggest at this point that you get it to a decent mechanic to better diagnose the problem.
If you don't smell anything, then allow the van to warm up. Now would be a good time to pop the hood and prop it up. Once you hear the cooling fan kick on, or you start seeing steam from under the hood, shut the motor off and SLOWLY walk to the front of the van.
Look around and see if you can see anything squirting, spitting, or seeping from anywhere.
Look around for wet spots that would indicate at least an area where the problem might be.
Be careful, but as someone has already said, take flashlight and go over every surface you can shine that light on. Yes, even under the van.
I hope it's just the hose. Good Luck.
2007-11-21 00:15:51 · answer #2 · answered by Screamin' Eagle 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Can you smell the antifreeze strongly in the passenger compartment? Are your windows fogging up in the defrost mode? Chryslers are bad about heater cores. My best advice is to pinch off or bypass the heater core hoses and see if the problem goes away, If your van has the 3.0L V-6 over head cam engine the water pump or gasketscould be leaking or the o-ring that seals the tube that runs from the back of the pump, to the other side of the motor , under the intake manifold. This will leak the coolant to the DEEP valley under the intake where it just sits there and burns off.
2007-11-20 23:48:16 · answer #3 · answered by Jeff B 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sweetheart, first let me say that I feel bad for you for two reasons. First, because you're a single mom, second, because you have to face that challenge in a Plymouth minivan. I had one, a year older than yours, with the exact same problem. It's either a cracked cylinder head or a blown head gasket. The coolant is leaking into the cylinders, and burning off. You will lose coolant, but never see a leak. I went through three heads and head gaskets before I got rid of it. That being said, you need to make yours last, because of your situation. There's no cheap permanent fix. However, it is possible to put some kind of cooling system stop-leak in the coolant that will temporarily seal the cracks and/or the head gasket leak. It's not the best way, but after my mechanic did it, it worked well enough to get by until I could trade it in. Do this and carry a gallon of premixed coolant that is made for your vehicle. Putting straight water in it will make the problem worse, since it will corrode the cylinder head. Unfortunately, replacing the head is about a 600 dollar job, and the head gasket is probably around 300. I wish I had better news for you, but so you don't feel alone, my Dodge minivan was a prime cause of my divorce because of the financial problems it caused me.
2007-11-20 23:45:34 · answer #4 · answered by Me again 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I have experienced this symptom and found it to be coming from the water pump. A steady drip-drip-drip from the weep hole (caused by a failing bearing) can be swept around by air from the fan, belts, spinning pulleys, etc. and never collect in a single spot long enough to drip to the ground. Often, the leak only starts after the engine is fully warmed up so evaporation occurs quickly and you can only detect the odor.
Get underneath in dim light or darkness and try using a little flashlight with a focusing feature. But watch out for moving parts as you explore the area under the water pump.
2007-11-20 23:42:08 · answer #5 · answered by Johnny Rotton 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
"High Pressure Coolant!" Some or Radiator Hoses! Some Engines still have a "Small Bypass Hose" next to the Thermostat! When Replacing Hoses Replace the Clamps!
2007-11-20 23:40:08 · answer #6 · answered by sidecar0 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
It is going to have to be pressure tested because it is leaking on to hot parts and steaming away. Just make sure you do not let it run dry or over heat it. After that it will get real expensive. Good luck
2007-11-21 00:01:06 · answer #7 · answered by The Mechanic 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋