Steaming Engine? Check Cooling FanQ:I was coming home from bowling the other night, and my engine started acting up. It was either steaming or smoking. I was worried, so I popped the hood and opened it up. You definitely could smell antifreeze burning, and the smoke was coming from the radiator. Do you think I have a bad radiator and need to replace the entire thing? Oh, yeah, I have a 1991 Pontiac 6000 LE with a V-6.
Ray: I'd start by checking the simple stuff first. The thing I'd suspect first would be the cooling fan.
Tom: Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that your cooling fan bit the dust at some point. Like in 1998. Or last week. You might not have noticed because as long as you're moving, air is flowing through the radiator and helping to cool the engine.
Ray: It's only when you stop, say, at a railroad crossing, to let a 200-car freight train go by, or to chat with your buddy, that you really need the cooling fan to simulate the airflow you normally get when the car is moving.Tom: So, while you sat there chatting for five, 10, 15 minutes, with no cooling fan, the engine was getting hotter and hotter. Finally, it overheated, your coolant boiled over, and that boiling coolant blew a hole in a weakened hose or maybe even the radiator itself. That explains the steam, the smell of hot coolant and the puddle under your car.
Ray: Now, it's possible that with a car this old, you may need a cooling fan, a new hose, a new radiator AND a new engine as well. So there are no guarantees here. But start with the simple, inexpensive stuff first, and take it a step at a time.
Ray: I'd start by checking the simple stuff first. The thing I'd suspect first would be the cooling fan.
Tom: Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that your cooling fan bit the dust at some point. Like in 1998. Or last week. You might not have noticed because as long as you're moving, air is flowing through the radiator and helping to cool the engine.
Ray: It's only when you stop, say, at a railroad crossing, to let a 200-car freight train go by, or to chat with your buddy, that you really need the cooling fan to simulate the airflow you normally get when the car is moving.Tom: So, while you sat there chatting for five, 10, 15 minutes, with no cooling fan, the engine was getting hotter and hotter. Finally, it overheated, your coolant boiled over, and that boiling coolant blew a hole in a weakened hose or maybe even the radiator itself. That explains the steam, the smell of hot coolant and the puddle under your car.
Ray: Now, it's possible that with a car this old, you may need a cooling fan, a new hose, a new radiator AND a new engine as well. So there are no guarantees here. But start with the simple, inexpensive stuff first, and take it a step at a time.
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