Thanks for the responses. It is basically a free tow (although you only get a certain # of free incidents per year, I can't imagine going over) so that did seem like the way to go
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Dang, I'm sorry I didn't respond more carefully - could have definitely saved you some time.
You should have filled it with coolant first to ensure that that wasn't the problem. If you had a leak, it would be immediately apparent by green liquid dripping out the bottom of the car.
From what I've heard, by the way, it's bad to turn off your car if it begins to overheat (provided you have coolant). Leave it running, and top off the coolant. That big block of metal in your motor won't cool "static" very quickly - the load on your motor is minimal while idling, and coolant coursing through it will take tons of heat out.
For what it's worth, Hondas (and Mitsubishis to some extent) tend to have superhuman gaskets (and engine blocks) that last forever and lousy hoses. I'd put my money on a busted hose or clamp.
Dang, I'm sorry I didn't respond more carefully - could have definitely saved you some time.
No worries.
You should have filled it with coolant first to ensure that that wasn't the problem. If you had a leak, it would be immediately apparent by green liquid dripping out the bottom of the car.
I'm confused about this though -- there were drops/pools of coolant on the right side by the battery, and a lot of it had dripped off of things and collected on the belly pan down below. Is there some way that could have happened without it being a leak?
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You should have filled it with coolant first to ensure that that wasn't the problem. If you had a leak, it would be immediately apparent by green liquid dripping out the bottom of the car.
From what I've heard, by the way, it's bad to turn off your car if it begins to overheat (provided you have coolant). Leave it running, and top off the coolant. That big block of metal in your motor won't cool "static" very quickly - the load on your motor is minimal while idling, and coolant coursing through it will take tons of heat out.
For what it's worth, Hondas (and Mitsubishis to some extent) tend to have superhuman gaskets (and engine blocks) that last forever and lousy hoses. I'd put my money on a busted hose or clamp.
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No worries.
You should have filled it with coolant first to ensure that that wasn't the problem. If you had a leak, it would be immediately apparent by green liquid dripping out the bottom of the car.
I'm confused about this though -- there were drops/pools of coolant on the right side by the battery, and a lot of it had dripped off of things and collected on the belly pan down below. Is there some way that could have happened without it being a leak?
FWIW it's a 1985 Volvo GL wagon.
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I'm just kinda scared of potentially dangerous things which I don't know much about.
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Isn't it unsafe to open the radiator (to top it off with coolant) if the engine and radiator are hot?
I'm just kinda scared of potentially dangerous things which I don't know much about.
It is very dangerous to open the radiator (even several hours after an engine has been on).
There's a separate plastic coolant container, unpressurized and designed not to splash. Be careful opening it anyway, coolant is hot.
My bad, I somehow thought it was a Honda.
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Now I wonder how the coolant gets from that unpressurized plastic container into the pressurized radiator, but I guess I should just look it up.
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http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system7.htm
complete article:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system.htm
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