I just changed my radiator hose because it had a giant hole in it and changed my thermastat. It's a 1996 oldsmobile achieva sl and now my radiator is smoking. It's no the cap. Is it the water pump? Oh when I went to change my thermastat the old one was missing. I don't know where it went.
Radiator smoking what's wrong?
Is you radiator just smoking or is it also loosing coolant? If it is loosing coolant it has a leak. A slight amount of smoke might just be the spilled coolant boiling away. If it is smoking heavily it could be overheated or leaking. Did you install the thermostat in the proper orientation. Some of them can be installed backwards and they will no function this way.
Radiator smoking what's wrong?
need to refill antifreeze/water,run parked for 15 minutes.,shut off,wait10 mins. check reservoir again,might need to add a little more.
If the radiator got wet after installation then its going to smoke til the fluids are evaporated. As far as the thermostat, its probably missing due to the previous owner not wanting to deal with what was/is the real issue of the car at that particular time. Make sure that the thermostat is in the correct way cause it could be overheating due to the thermostat being in the wrong way. I would just place the new thermostat in the engine. To diagnose a water pump, it generally leaks out the port hole of the water pump.
it could just be the fluid that dripped from old hose is burning off get some brake cleaner and spray radiator off if continuous see machanic
You should tell it to quit because second hand smoke is bad for you.
My guess is a leak in the radiator or a little bit of antifreeze on the radiator is boiling off. You'll have to figure out where the smoke is coming from and see if it's a leak or not. If the hose went, I wouldn't doubt that the radiator is getting old as well.
Good luck.
In warmer climates, your engine will run fine without the thermostat. It's function is to get hot water into the heater quicker. Could the 'smoke' just be water on the engine evaporating from the broken hose ???
I have a 1997 but that's not important. For some reason that engine gets great mileage but eats heads. Have the coolant system pressure tested for a leak. If it's external you're lucky. They removed the old thermostat to keep the coolant moving(so it wouldn't get warm/hot). By the way mine had a new engine put in before I bought for the same reason.
Edit: Hope the other folks are right.
If the smoking isn't from spilled coolant, it sounds to me like your cooling system isn't working properly. The fact that the thermostat was missing makes me suspicious. Normal operating temperature of your coolant should be between 160-200 degrees. If your radiator is getting hotter than that, you have a problem. When temperatures are consistantly above this range you will looking for a new head gasket and a possible new engine. Although you didn't mention it, my guess is that your electric fan isn't coming on at the proper temperature - if at all. Another problem may be that your radiator core is clogged or your water pump may be failing. Although there is an %26quot;idiot light%26quot; or gage on the dash to idicate an over heating condition, many times the electric sending units on the engine fail or the light on the dash burns out.
Gages can also fail. Get it diagnosed soon to save yourself a bigger expense later. Good Luck!
