Vapor comes out of the hood on my 91 Cavalier

Tiny
BOAT21X
  • MEMBER
  • 1991 CHEVROLET CAVALIER
My 1991 Cavalier (2.2L with non-functioning a/c if it matters) creates some smoke/steam/vapor sometimes - but not all the time - when I am stopped at a light or stopsign. There is quite a lot of it. It comes up from between the engine and the radiator. The (I think) exhaust manifold (the piece bolted on to the engine and then goes down behind the engine from the front of it) is now largely white in color. The problem has been happening for 2 weeks just after my wife had the oil changed. The oil change guy said antifreeze was needed so he added some. Once I noticed the problem I checked the oil and noticed that there is too much oil by about 1/3 inch above the max line on the dipstick. I didn’t think this was a big deal so I ignored it (maybe it is?). Then I drove 350 miles and when I was about to do my return trip I checked the fluids and noticed that the oil was the same and the antifreeze jug was empty completely which was odd since (or should I say if) the oil change guy added some. I topped it up appropriately along with some stop-leak (I assumed it must have leaked out) and figured that was the problem. When I park the car for a long time there is no antifreeze that leaks out.

Does anyone know what the problem is?
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006 AT 1:16 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
BOAT21X
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I fixed the problem. It was a coolant leak from a hose attached to the radiator. What threw me was that there was no coolant leaking when the car was parked.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, January 5th, 2006 AT 9:05 AM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Sponsored links