Radiator changed & flushed, now rough idle, blowing white smoke & coolant on engine.

[MizzVR]

Ok well....
My bf broke my radiator.. so I bought a new one and went to a local mechanic to have it fitted and flushed, along with a thermostat(due to the mechanic saying I had to change it)..
The radiator I supplied was in perfect condition when I dropped it off.. I got a call 2hrs later to say that my radiator was broken.. apparently it was already broken when they got it... BS.
Anyways... When I got there to pick the car up I was charged $20 less than they had quoted me.. I thought it was all good..
Til a little while later when I went out to start my car and it was idling really rough.. Checked it in neutral and it was still idling rough.. Then it started blowing white smoke all over the place...
Popped the hood and saw a huge pile of coolant sitting just under my injectors...

What should I do now??
Is it the mechanic's fault?
If it is, how do I approch him?
What is the possible damage from this?
How do I go about fixing it??

Any help would be great please!!! Very desperate here!!!! haha..
Radiator changed & flushed, now rough idle, blowing white smoke & coolant on engine.

[hako]

Just how did the BF break the radiator - this may give some clues as to what has happened.

[MizzVR]

all that happened was the plastic bit connecting the hose to the radiator snapped..


oh.. and the mechanic made me supply my own coolant.. :S

[disgrace]

sounds like you should get a new boyfriend AND a new mechanic. in that order

[MizzVR]

lol it wasnt his fault exactly.. plastic perishes... it would have happened to anyone..

[MizzVR]

but now i need replies! stressing here haha......

[lil_mickey]

Sounds like it the mech's fault,

Fairly simple task to swap and flush a radiator though...
Maybe to much pressure while flushing ...???...

[lil_mickey]

Sorry, also have you checked to see if the thermostat housing is leaking?

[andrew270681]

Sorry, also have you checked to see if the thermostat housing is leaking?

Sometimes if the thermostat isnt seated properly it will leak. I would pull the thermostat housing off and check that the thermostat is in place.

[Zuicider]

cant see how the mech would have caused the white smoke and the rough idle. coolant on the motor might have been spilt when it was topped up just tighten all the hoses.
with a flush also, might have moved sum shit that was actually stopping it from leaking into the ports hence the white smoke. run the codes and see what your popping

[lil_mickey]

with a flush also, might have moved sum s**t that was actually stopping it from leaking into the ports hence the white smoke. run the codes and see what your popping

Checking the codes is a good idea,

It defiantly sounds like there is water in the ports...

The white smoke will actually be steam, so there will be a leak somewhere.

It could be a vac leak in the manifold that is sucking water from outside.

Could the water leak in around the injectors?

Also there is a bleader on the thermostat housing that could be leaking.

P.S. depending on how much water there is, it can cause quite a bit of damage.

[MizzVR]

Thanks guys..
Ummm.. the coolant on the engine seems to be coming out of the injectors :S......
not too sure how to check fault codes but will search it later..

It seems a bit odd that it was running perfect when I dropped it off and now it's not.. especially after they claimed my brand new radiator was broken.. apparently a part had pierced through the box.. they left the box for me to see for myself... I would have believed them.. except that the holes are from outside going in, like someone jabbed a screwdriver into the box to make a hole :S

[BlackVXGTS]

There is an air vent valve that is used to bleed the cooling system. Maybe the mechanic left it open by mistake. I don't have a V6 but from the diagram in the workshop manual it's located where the hose from the radiator joins the engine near what looks like a power steering reservoir.

[MizzVR]

ended up being inlet manifold gasket..
gonna cost $300 to get fixed.

[StockoVRWagz]

$300 for a gasket? I hope you aren't getting the same mechanic to fix it..

[lil_mickey]

I hope you aren't getting the same mechanic to fix it..

I second that motion...


$300 seems a bit much,

did you find out what caused it to suddenly have a leak?

[MizzVR]

I got him to test it today and he showed my bf and I that it was the inlet manifold gasket..
He said it was a 3-4hr job and it would cost $90 to get the gasket kit.... He said altogether $300 for the job..
Apparently its a pretty easy job to do though... just lengthly... contemplating doing it myself....

[Zuicider]

I got him to test it today and he showed my bf and I that it was the inlet manifold gasket..
He said it was a 3-4hr job and it would cost $90 to get the gasket kit.... He said altogether $300 for the job..
Apparently its a pretty easy job to do though... just lengthly... contemplating doing it myself....

lengthy? depends on what kind of job u want to do a nice job or a rushed job

[MizzVR]

umm how could you rush it?
apparently it had been on its way out and flushing it had got rid of the crap that was sealing it in...

[Zuicider]

by not cleaning everything u take off and just slap it together . should only take an hour and a half that way, or clean and paint everything while u have it off and make it a nice job 3 - 4 hours depending on mess

[MizzVR]

wouldnt that defeat the purpose of replacing the part if im leaving all the crap in there?
the mechanic said it would take him 3-4hrs..

[Zuicider]

no u can get away with it for a small amount of time

[MizzVR]

im not in a hurry to replace anything any time soon though... power steering is on its way out too..