steam / smoke from under the hood

[chelfy]

I was driving for about 20 mins at night and stopped at a gas station. i noticed a steady amount of what look like steam coming up through the hood (not smoke) and out the right fender. I think because of the cold weather it was much more noticeable and that is why i hadn't noticed it b4. anyways all my gauges checked out, oil levels fine, no overheating so i have kept driving with it. i can't pinpoint the spot it is coming from and i don't have the $ to take it to a shop right now. has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[kenamond]

I was driving for about 20 mins at night and stopped at a gas station. i noticed a steady amount of what look like steam coming up through the hood (not smoke) and out the right fender. I think because of the cold weather it was much more noticeable and that is why i hadn't noticed it b4. anyways all my gauges checked out, oil levels fine, no overheating so i have kept driving with it. i can't pinpoint the spot it is coming from and i don't have the $ to take it to a shop right now. has anyone else had a similar experience?

Do you have any coolant leaks? Before you park it for the night, run it until it's fully warmed up (and steaming if possible) and then park it for the night. In the morning, check under the car or move the car and look where it was parked for any coolant on the ground. If you have a garage, put a large piece of clean cardboard under the front of the car and check for fluids on it in the morning.

Also, are you getting any coolant in your overflow reservoir? You may be overheating a bit and venting to the reservoir bottle, or your radiator cap may be weak and venting at normal operating temperature.

What does the temperature gauge read when it's doing this?

When you say "right fender" do you mean the passenger side or "right side when looking at the engine from the front"? And was it raining or anything (could just be water on your exhaust steaming up).

 

[JayRolla]

Coolent leak somewhere. Check the radiator for pin holes and look at the end tanks, turbo lines, radiator hoses, heater core hoses. Check all of these

 

[bojanglesracing]

If it is a coolant leak. Try starting the car when it is cold and look in the area that you saw steam for coolant to spray (before it start to steam it will just spray) . Hope that helps.

 

[nightspeed87]

your dipstick isnt popping out spraying oil on exhaust manifoldand your turbo seals are in good condition and you dont have exhaust leak huh/

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

You better get it looked at. Rent a pressure tester and on a "cold" radiator pressurize it and see where it comes out. If that doesn't work, get some coolant dye and put it in the anti freeze when it's cold. Start the engine and work it up to warm and using a black light scan for green dye.

Good Luck

 

[chelfy]

I think it is power steering leak actually. I just check my ps fluid level and it is almost bone dry. The fluid is dripping onto the exhaust manifold causing the steaming.

 

[dedlewamp]

I think it is power steering leak actually. I just check my ps fluid level and it is almost bone dry. The fluid is dripping onto the exhaust manifold causing the steaming.

But, powersteering fluid won't "steam" when it's dripped onto a burning hot exhaust manifold. Like others have mentioned, if it looks like steam, it's probably your coolant. I had the same issue as you, and it turned out the inlet on the top of my radiator had disenegrated, and it would start to leak once the system was up to full pressure. I was lucky that the hose didn't fall off, and leave me stranded.

Get your system pressure tested, just for peace of mind.

 

[drewvr4]

thats true, but it does have some amounts of water in it..and im sure another substance that could cause steam or smoke...dont rule that out, try fixing it and see if it works