- Apr 9, 2001
- 4,052
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Here's what happened today. I drove the car for around 2 hours in 95-97 degrees weather today with the A/C on. With only 2 blocks before I got home, I heard my drive belt squealing faintly but didn't think much of anything about it. When I pulled into the drive way and got out of the car, i smelled coolant and immediately looked under the car and saw coolant dripping.
I opened the hood and there were coolant everywhere around the thermostat & timing belt side of the engine block. Since it's still hot, I went inside the house and wait for the car to cool down (Aprox 1 1/2 hours)
After waiting for the car to cool down, I start it back up & left the engine running while:
- Check coolant level - Good.
- Checking all of the hoses for sign of damage/tear/leaks. None.
- Check for leaks around the thermostat housing & hose. None
- Check for sign of leaks on the upper & lower radiator hose. None.
So the car stop leaking coolant and I thought *thank god*.....But when I went to shut the engine off, I saw the coolant meter was near the overheat mark.
I think I've narrowed it down to:
A) Thermostat housing/seal or thermostat failure?
B) Waterpump and/or waterpump seal?
The car is a 2000 Neon with only 65k miles.... anyone have any suggestion? I really hope it's a thermostat because I can replace it myself and save $.
I opened the hood and there were coolant everywhere around the thermostat & timing belt side of the engine block. Since it's still hot, I went inside the house and wait for the car to cool down (Aprox 1 1/2 hours)
After waiting for the car to cool down, I start it back up & left the engine running while:
- Check coolant level - Good.
- Checking all of the hoses for sign of damage/tear/leaks. None.
- Check for leaks around the thermostat housing & hose. None
- Check for sign of leaks on the upper & lower radiator hose. None.
So the car stop leaking coolant and I thought *thank god*.....But when I went to shut the engine off, I saw the coolant meter was near the overheat mark.
I think I've narrowed it down to:
A) Thermostat housing/seal or thermostat failure?
B) Waterpump and/or waterpump seal?
The car is a 2000 Neon with only 65k miles.... anyone have any suggestion? I really hope it's a thermostat because I can replace it myself and save $.