I’ve been driving a 2006 Liberty with 110,000 miles and have had no problems for about 6 months. I didn’t get a tune up at the behest of the previous owner who had showed me records of the last time he had it tuned up. I didn’t notice that he hadn’t flushed the radiator, however. Since the cold weather started, I’ve been very cautious and making sure not to cold start. On my way home from work, I was stopped at a red light, started to accelerate and heard and felt a POP that felt like the transmission slipping or something to that extent. I noticed the car started to overheat. I pulled over, and being the rushing idiot that I am, I decided to open the radiator cap. I didn’t hurt myself but coolant leaked everywhere and along with it were chunks of rust. I had a lot of trouble turning it over to get it home but ended up doing so and it didn’t seem to run any worse, sans the overheating and cloud of coolant. I’m so nervous to take it to a mechanic and see the monetary damage. From the description, does anyone know what I’ll be in for? Did I damage it further by repeatedly trying to turn it over?? Please let me know if my anxiety is justified.
You did not hurt it by trying to turn it over, you possibly hurt it by running it after the coolant leaked out. Engines react poorly to overheating, tend to damage head gaskets. Before you run it again add coolant,then get it to a mechanic. If you do not have a regular one, check Mechanics files from the tab above to find one. The POP may have been a radiator hose falling off or bursting, hard to tell with out looking at it. Best of luck to you.
@thenogo316 Babying it was the intention. I only drove about 3 or 4 miles in between temp spikes. The rust coloration and residue is really what scared me. I’m really hoping that the integrity of the cooling system isn’t compromised. I sent it to a local shop I trust on LI from BK and am waiting to hear the damage report. If I had the time or the technical inclination, I’d flush and replace the thermostat myself. Thank you guys ( @SteveCBT as well) so much for the quick responses and slight alleviation of my anxiety. I’ll keep you guys updated.
When coolant is used long after its expiration, it turns a muddy goopy brown. I suspect that the coolant in your vehicle is original from the factory. A drain and refill will take care of that. I suspect that your mechanic will flush the cooling system and if I had a shop and you brought it to me, thats what I would do just to expedite everything. But on my own vehicle, I would just drain and refill and schedule another drain and refill for the near future.
The pop that you hears is what is most concerning. The coolant exchange will not be that expensive but the pop could be a hose that let go, again cheap, a broken water pump, more expensive or something really expensive like a blown head gasket. Good luck and hope for the best.
I was driving my dad’s Ford truck one time on the freeway and heard a big “pop” and it turned out it was the upper radiator hose had burst. Steam started coming up from under the hood, so I pulled off the freeway and stopped asap. Replacing that hose fixed the problem straightaway. A flush/drain of the coolant system should take care of the rust in the coolant. One thing you should probably do as soon as possible is check the coolant freeze protection. Sometimes if it isn’t protecting down to the temperatures the car is experiencing ice slush will form and that can damage cooling system components and slough rust scale into the coolant.