G'day everyone, glad to be a part of this great site.

This is my first post and I'm really glad I found this site because I'm in a real rut about my car at the moment. I bought my Magna (96 TE auto) about 6 months ago from a friend (not dodgy) and it really has been great mechanically for me since I bought it. There was a slight issue with the muffler being a little loud but apart from that the car was A ok.

Last week I went to the shop (10 mins there back) and as I pulled into my driveway I noticed the temp gauge was very close the high, I and switched the car off, then I noticed smoke coming from the bonnet and started to freak out a little as one might do. I popped the hood and something was making a nasty sizzling sound like some kind of fliud boiling, best way to describe the sound would be like the sound of sizzling bacon on a frypan. I then noticed alot of fluid leaking from below the engine near the radiator.

I thought to myself, she must be very low on coolant, so checked inside the radiator cap and yes she's bone dry. I also noticed that inside the radiator and also on the cap itself that there was alot of brown residue, like a mud like colour residue. So went to the servo and picked up some coolant and filled it up. Went for a drive and after about 5-10 minutes of driving, I stopped at a red light and noticed smoke again coming from the bonnet. Drove straight home and ever since it's been in my garage.

I've talked to a few people, they think it might be a head gasket. Some said I just need to flush my radiator out of the gunk that's inside. Another said my radiator is blocked and there's no fluid getting to places in the engine. I really should take it to a mechanic but if it's a fixable home job then I could save some $

If anyone has had the same problem or if anyone has ANY information I would be so appreciative. Good to be a part of the Magna forums.

Cheers, Chris

So there could be a few things, ranging from not so bad, to very bad.

Your radiator was run dry, that is bad because when a radiator has no coolant in it, it doesn't cool the engine at all. You need to drain the muck out of it, fill it to the top with water and run the car in your driveway (preferably on a flat surface.) When the car gets to operating temperature, you will find coolant leaking from 1 of 3 common places.

From the radiator cap - buy a new radiator cap and see if it holds pressure.

From the radiator itself - get a radiator from a wrecker, or buy a new one.

From the left side of your engine (looking into the engine bay) - Your water pump is leaking, take your car immediately to a mechanic. This is an expensive job.

Open your oil cap and check the inside of the cap, if it is looking milky, you could be in serious trouble because you probably have a cracked cylinder head.

Running a car bone dry from coolant is a bad idea any time. Don't do it. If you don't have coolant, use water temporarily.

Thanks dreggzy, i'll check those steps. I just took 2 images of the the radiator cap and inside the radiator. From the looks of things, it's very rusty in there and needs a good flush. Any thoughts?

http://s17.postimg.org/i0wl3578r/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/i0wl3578r/)

http://s22.postimg.org/7c7abc3y5/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/7c7abc3y5/)

Yeah there is going to be more rust than that mate. Your whole system needs to be flushed to see the extent of it.

Yeah there is going to be more rust than that mate. Your whole system needs to be flushed to see the extent of it.

Ok. So should I just do the basic flush of unscrewing the bottom radiator valves, let all the gunk out, put the valves back on, fill radiator with clean water, start engine with heater on until it heats up, then drain again and fill with fresh coolant?

Or are you talking about reverse flushing the radiator? I'm a bit of a novice so I don't really want to be taking the whole radiator out of the car. My dad said I should just get a new one because it might be cracked which is causing the steam but gong to see if the basic flush works first. Thanks for your replies

Just try the free way first. Don't use coolant.

Drain the radiator and all of the coolant from the car. From the radiator drain valve underneath, the coolant hoses, and the block. Empty the system completely. Fill it right up with clean water and flush it like you normally would (ie with the cap off till all the water escapes). Top it up as necessary so you have a full system.

Move the car somewhere dry underneath and run it up to operating temperature. Watch the temperature guage very closely and look under the car constantly for leaks.

When you see where the water is leaking from, post up in this thread and I can tell you what is wrong with the car.

Just try the free way first. Don't use coolant.

Drain the radiator and all of the coolant from the car. From the radiator drain valve underneath, the coolant hoses, and the block.

Ok, I admit, I am a bit of a novice when it comes to under the hood, I can drain the radiator valves underneath but I dont really want to be pulling out hoses etc. I need step by step instructions to do this, can anyone help thanks

Ask your friend who sold you the car when he last changed the coolant (if ever).

Let car cool, fill up with tap water.
Run engine until warm.
Drain from tap at the bottom of the radiator. Pour down drain, not onto your driveway or lawn.
Let cool. Refill. Warm up, etc.

Repeat until water comes out clean. Remove and wash out overflow bottle.
Fill radiator and overflow bottle with coolant. I use concentrated coolant so that I can get the right concentration despite there being a lot of tap water in there already.

If it still overheats you may need a new radiator cap or thermostat.
If coolant gets blown back into the overflow bottle so that it overflows onto your driveway, and the radiator level goes down, you have a more serious problem.

Just ran the car for 10 mins, the temp gauge didn't move from cold. Felt around a bit under the hood, the hose from the radiator to the engine was cold on top (about 3 quarters of the way down to engine) and very hot underneath, also noticed a ticking and quite noisy timing belt :/

Possibly blocked/stuck-shut thermostat. Had this happen on a TP, not sure if it happens on 3rd Gens much. Otherwise maybe water pump?

Open your oil cap and check the inside of the cap, if it is looking milky, you could be in serious trouble because you probably have a cracked cylinder head.

Not a sure fire method of detecting head gasket failure/ cracked head etc as cars that do lots of short trips and don't get to operating temperature for a long enough period can also develop milky and condensation deposits underneath the oil cap. Vee

Great news! Just decided to run my car with the hood up and check exactly where the steam was coming from. So it was on for about 10-15 minutes and bam, steam! So turned her off and looked and noticed the steam was coming from below the top radiator hose, so what has happened is there is a leak on the hose from the radiator to the engine (leak on engine side) and the hot coolant is dripping all over the engine, and you gussed it, causing a shit load of steam. Great news, cheers guys

Cool. Nothing better than a cheap, easy fix!

Its such a relief BUT I'm a little worried about the engine, I drove it when it was very hot (temp gauge all the way on H) for about 10-15 mins to get home. Could this melt or warp anything in the engine or should it be ok after only 10-15 mins?

If it still runs then at least nothing's welded itself solid, might be ok. I'm not sure if there are any known problem areas to look for as a result of overheating. I'd do an oil/filter change as a matter of priority though.

Not a sure fire method of detecting head gasket failure/ cracked head etc as cars that do lots of short trips and don't get to operating temperature for a long enough period can also develop milky and condensation deposits underneath the oil cap. Vee

Correct, however it is an indication.

It could just be a split radiator hose or heater hose too. If it's making sissing noises then more than likely water is escaping onto a hot surface. See if you can trace any leaks, the brown water will have left stain marks anywhere it hit.
But with that gunk in the radiator, a good couple of flushes wont hurt either.

It is a split radiator hose, there'd a split about 2-3 cm long I can barely stick my finger in. I need to drive to town which is about 5 mins each way, would brown packaging tape stop the leak for this trip or will the coolant burn straight through when it heats up?

You could always bring a few large bottles of water. Depends on the size of the leak.

Use the tape, and drive slowly.
Let it cool down when you get there, check water level.


Honestly . . . .

Also consider leaving the radiator cap off or not fully sealed, it will reduce cooling efficiency but will prevent pressure building up. As mentioned earlier, bring lots of water and be prepared to pull over for a top up (bring the tape too, duct tape would be better).

Just took it for a half hour spin and the temp gauge never went past middle, so great. Not one speck of steam. Getting new hose monday. Cheers for all your help guys really appreciate it. love these forums