1998 Ford Taurus Repair Question
Topics covered: Engine, Coolant, Cooling system.
Mileage: 185,888 miles.
Mileage: 185,888 miles.
Asked on July 4, 2012
What is causing my car to over heat?
My car is a automatic and I drove the car on the freeway while it was in 2nd gear (the one below the "Drive" gear) at 60-70 MPH for several miles without noticing what gear it was in. At the last minute I saw that white smoke was coming out of the exhaust and the did not start up after I shut it off. I returned a few hours later to see if it cooled down and it started but the engine heats up almost instantly. What can be the cause of this, how can I fix it and what did I do to damage the vehicle in the first place. Please & Thank you
Asked by SpryKingAnswer
Replied on July 4, 2012
White smoke is a sign of burning engine coolant due to a leaking head gasket. You did not exactly cause that. It was a problem that was about to develop on its own, and stressing the engine just hurried it along.
No engine will overheat instantly when started from cold. If you're seeing bubbles in the cooling system reservoir, that is the combustion gases leaking the other way and going into the cooling system. As proof, you'll notice the coolant is still cold; it's not boiling, and there's no steam associated with that bubbling.