My car (camry 2007 2,4 LE) was overheating last night. At a stop sign it would not accelerate and I had to turn it off then on for it to work. After stopping I discovered that water had been blown out of the radiator and the radiator cap was gone. Surprisingly the temp showed at the lowest even below the C point. I put some coolant in it the next day and it turned off the check engine light and the temp seemed to stay stable. After driving it the temp was still stable but there was a big water leakage. I could not locate the leak properly but it seemed to come from the radiator hose or the ac water.
Any suggestions as to what damage could the car have sustained?
there is a lot going on here, and we’re gonna need some more info-
-how many miles on this engine?
-What happened to the radiator cap?
-how long did you let it sit after you shut it off before you drove off?
-How far did you drive after it wouldn’t accelerate?
-How much coolant did you add? With no coolant in the engine, the Coolant Temperature Sensor has nothing to read- it reading cold is not a good sign.
Suggestions to damage:
Cracked engine block
Cracked or warped heads
Blown head gasket
ruptured coolant hose
leaking water pump
Pretty sure this is going to have to go to a mechanic that can put hands on it and really determine the extent of damage.
It’s very likely you have done catastrophic engine damage from what you write here.
or, you have a blown coolant hose, and $10 will fix this.
There is 129000+ miles. I found the radiator cap between the radiator and the front bumper. Barely minutes and I drove for a couple of minutes. I filled it full with coolant after I fully stopped. I am guessing that is why it was reading cold. The car was running awfully quiet but after putting coolant it started sounding the same. Yesterday it had an engine light on but today I tested it and it was off and the temperature seemed fine too. I believe it is the lower coolant hose. I noticed earlier in that area a tube was leaking strongly (water was coming out of the leak whole with a lot of pressure and it seemed to come from the coolant hose.
It might be stupid but I drove the car to work today and it run fine (sound wise and dashboard simbol wise)
Unfortunately, it’s very possible that you inadvertently did a lot of damage when you did that. When cold liquid hits the hot metal of the engine, it can crack things. That may be why you now have a large coolant leak. If you’re lucky, this didn’t happen. Replacing the hose that you think is leaking isn’t hard or expensive, so I’d do that, then fill it with straight water and run it up to temperature and see if anything leaks.
If it does, then that’s why you filled it with straight water - so you wouldn’t leak poisonous antifreeze all over. You should be able to tell where it’s leaking. If it’s another hose, replace that hose and start over. If it’s from the engine itself, then you’ve cracked it and it’s probably not worth repairing.
If it doesn’t leak, then drain the water and fill it with the proper coolant mix and drive on.
Sorry english isn’t my first language and I don’t explain myself good sometimes. I waited until the engine was cold, I didn’t immediately put any coolant in. But I do believe I might have made the leak worse by driving it, or the heat caused it to leak like that.
I wouldn’t use the word “stupid,” but a much, much better decision would have been to keep the car parked until the leak could be stopped and things checked over thoroughly.
Driving the leaking vehicle runs the risk of destroying the engine or if it’s damaged, doing more damage. Plus, you could find yourself stranded and having to arrange a ride and a tow. CSA
It’s not unusual for a rubber or plastic part in the cooling system to burst, especially during an over-heating incident, and create a coolant leak. Ask your shop to figure out what’s leaking. That’s job one. Good chance it will be a simple fix. I had a problem like that on my Corolla — the radiator fan stopped working without me noticing – and it heated up enough in stop and go traffic to slightly separate the metal part of the radiator from the plastic part, creating a leak. 20 year old radiator, so not unexpected. Once the radiator was replaced ($90 parts cost + 1.5 hours labor) the problem was solved.
Hey guys I replaced my radiator hose and everything seems to be running fine. I put some more coolant in it and it’s not overheating anymore. Thank you for yall’s advice!
