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busted radiator uh oh

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Old Feb 27, 2013 | 10:51 PM
  #1  
TPBY_rx8's Avatar
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From: Long Beach. CA
busted radiator uh oh

As I was exiting the freeway It felt as if something underneath got hit it was a pretty loud, I drove a little bit less than a minute and as I parked I noticed smoke coming from the engine bay and it smelled like coolant. I shut off the car immediately and see a trail of coolant leaking fast

ill definitely need a new radiator and some hoses to go along with it, i just hope there wasn't any severe engine damage :\

I would also like to add that the coolant ran to the back of my bumper but heres to hoping that its just the radiator that needs replacing
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Old Feb 28, 2013 | 12:09 AM
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Charles Bundy
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How did you get home? You did the right thing turning the engine off right that minute, the smoke is probably steam from the coolant. Search the forum for the DIYs on both radiator and coolant flush.
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Old Feb 28, 2013 | 06:41 AM
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My exact scenario, had an 8 inch crack for about a minute, engine was burning the coolant causing steam from my coolant, had to have happened for no more than 2 minutes before i realized and shut off my engine. Had the car pushed home because I was right around the corner, installed new radiator, and engine wouldnt turn over.

If you have bad luck like me, then your engine is done for, the interseals are probably busted and now your coolant is mixing with your oil, and you'll need a brand new engine. Hopefully thats not the case for you.
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Old Feb 28, 2013 | 08:32 AM
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If my engine is toast ill just be parting out my car unfortunately, I had a friend with AAA to help me with a tow from San Diego to long beach
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Old Feb 28, 2013 | 08:40 AM
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Even if your car seems fine after it overheats, it could still have caused coolant seal damage. When my car overheated cause one of my radiator hose nipples broke off, it took about a year to manifest itself in starting issues as the seal degraded further... just saying.
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Old Mar 1, 2013 | 06:26 AM
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It is indeed probably toast, thats the unfortunate thing with rotaries. I'm in the process of saving up for a reman engine from the dealer ship. Costing me 4,300 dollars.
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Old Mar 1, 2013 | 07:09 AM
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replace the radiator and do the champagne test if you car concerned about coolant seals.
the engine may be fine.
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Old Mar 1, 2013 | 08:39 AM
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I doubt anything serious happened to it, specially if you turned it off right away. I had a hose pretty much explode in my engine bay causing ALL of the coolant to drain and the engine is perfectly fine.
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Old Mar 1, 2013 | 07:52 PM
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Thanks for all the replies guys ill be taking it in to a shop next week and ill find out from there

Last edited by TPBY_rx8; Mar 1, 2013 at 08:06 PM.
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