gamemannn

i just found and replace a torn "heater hose" today. notice it was leaking coolant at a connecting point and after inspecting it found out it was in fact tore. prior to this, for like the past month, the car seemed to have been putting out some white steam/smoke in three different places: 1) underneath the car at a bolt near the front; seemed like it was at a connection point for the pipes that run on back to the exhaust tips. 2) at some point near where coolant was leaking out of my heater hose; just to the right of the battery. 3) and out of the exhaust pipes.

i cranked the car and let it run for about 15- 20 mins and the steaming/smoking started and stopped, and hasn't come back in the past 30mins it's been cranked. i think it just burned off some of the last residue that could have been produced by the torn hose.

does anybody know that a torn hose in the coolant line causes a residue that burns off as white steam or smoke? does any body have any experience similar to this one???

my car seems to be running fine now, though it feels a bit sluggish or not so "sportish". i think this can be due to my slightly bent air filter, a slight cramp in my new heater hose ( hopefully some coolant flowing throught it will help it bend easier and not cramp.), or it could be too little antifreeze in the coolant (it's nearly all water). any suggestions and cooments are welcome.

CanyonCarver

It's good that you found and fixed the torn heater hose. It can take some time for the residue to burn off, especially if it was leaking back along the tranny and exhaust pipes. Steam or white smoke out of the exhaust pipes should be of concern. Make sure your cooling system is full and that you've purged all of the air out. Check your oil and make sure that it doesn't look like a milky color. If it does, don't run your motor. Do a compression test. If the oil appears o.k., drive it around for a while. After it cools down, check to see if the coolant is still full? If it looks like you're losing coolant, check for leaks again. If you had one bad heater hose, there's a good chance ALL of your hoses are bad. If there are no visible leaks and you're losing coolant, do a compression test. If you continually have white smoke coming out of the tailpipes, do a compression test. If you're knowledgable about motors, you can tell that you have a blown head gasket without doing a compression test. Otherwise, do a compression test to confirm whether, or not, you have a internal engine problem.

And, if everything is o.k., drain your cooling system and then refill it with the right mix of antifreeze and water. Our engine blocks are made of steel, rust is bad.. It doesn't take long to kill your water pump and clog your radiator.