White steam/smoke coming from hood of car and car occasionally overheats?
It's a 2000 Honda Civic.
Over the last 6 months I have replaced the radiator, radiator hoses, and gasket. I had some trouble a few days ago on a road trip and was told I had air in the system. They fixed it and she drove fine for the next couple of days, but then started overheating again. I pulled over, put in a little radiator fluid and she was fine for the rest of the trip - going full speed, stop and go traffic, everything. Haven't had trouble since, except there's this white steam (that smells funny. Not sure how to describe it) coming from under the hood more and more. The car is not overheating when the steam is coming off.
My suspicion is that I put in the wrong combination of coolant and water recently (before I bought the pre-diluted stuff that I've used since) and that that is causing the trouble. But I know almost nothing about cars, so I can't be sure.
Any suggestions? I don't really want to take it back to a mechanic because I've been taking it to mechanics for the last 6+ months and they keep telling me different things.
Water pump next
Could it be that you spilled some coolant and it's burning off? That can happen. Or try to locate the source of the steam. I've found many a hose leak this way. The water/antifreeze ratio is generally supposed to be 50/50 I think, was yours more concentrated than this? You can always drain the coolant yourself and refill it with the correct ration, or just water then see if the same thing happens. There's probably a screw at the bottom of the radiator that you can reach. Just put a bucket underneath it to catch the coolant, then refill accordingly. If you refill it with just water and it doesn't steam up when driving, then you might have your answer.
Did the several mechanics you took your car to pressure check it? Its a simple and easy procedure. If there's a leak, then that will find it. It pressurized the system and you watch the guage to see if it loses pressure. If it loses pressure, then you have a leak and then you just find it. Anyways, ask the mechanics next time if they pressure checked it.
You need to diagnose the problem not replace stuff at random.
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