Every day for the last month or so, my radiator has been running itself bone dry. Even a short trip on a cold morning will overheat my car. The thing that's puzzling me is that I'm not blowing any smoke or steam, my engine oil isn't milky, there's no oil in the coolant that I can see, and I'm not leaving puddles behind. After I've pulled over to combat the overheating and switched off, there is a sizzling noise coming from the right side of the engine, near the belts. When the engine is running, what sounds like a bubbling noise can be heard from the same place. I'm thinking maybe water pump, but I'm not 100%. I have replaced the thermostat, with a Dayco 82*C type, about 18 months ago.

There is also a really strong smell of hot coolant when I'm driving.

Anyone got any ideas?

Cheers,

Andy

Sounds like you are close to finding it yourself, the hissing and bubbling is probably the source of your dramas, you just hafta have a look a bit earlier b4 all the water is gone.

Use a strong torch and try putting a small mirror in the tight spots, even if you cant see the problem the mirror will fog up if its near a leak. :D

If it is the V6 then more than likely its the waterpump. They corrode out on the back of the waterpump and dump coolant into the V section of the engine block which beign so hot, sizzles away and evaporates teh coolant whilst at the same time, it is probably a small leak which is being evaporated away before it gets to the ground. And once low on coolant, when you have stopped does not have enough pressure to force the liquid out anymore to leak onto the ground.

Thanks guys, I guess I'm doing some unbolting over Christmas...