Hi folks. I sure hope someone can help me. Today when I was driving I heard what sounded like gurgling or bubbling coming from under the hood. I pulled over, and it turned out to be radiator coolant boiling fast and furiously in the overflow tank. I let the car cool down for about a half an hour. Then I drove for another 20 minutes and the same thing happened. Do you know what is causing this? Is it safe to drive the car to my mechanic or should I have it towed? His shop is about 20 minutes from my house, but the weather is very hot now, so I'm not sure whether it's safe to drive since it appears as if the cooling system is not working properly.
Radiator coolant BOILING in overflow tank - 1986 Camry
Jul 12, 2003
4 Replies
When it happened on my 92 Toy truck, I replaced the thermostat.
No problems after that.
Mine was a 15 mins. job due to a great design.
Most cars are not that well designed.
Could be that the radiator fill cap is leaking, and not pressuring the coolant, allowing it to boil around 212 degrees, instead of the normal 250 or so. Check the rubber gasket.
Jim
Hi. Thanks so much for your help. Guess what! It turned out that the problem on my car was the thermostat, too. I was so relieved. I was really worried that it was going to be a much more expensive job. It took longer than 15 minutes though because we had to let the car cool down when I got there. He also replaced the radiator cap just to be safe. It seems to be fine now.
leaking, and not pressuring the>coolant, allowing it to
Hi Jim. I took the car to the mechanic this morning, and it turned out to be the thermostat, but he replaced the radiator cap as well. Thank heavens it wasn't a more expensive job. Thank you so much for your help!
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