randomly overheated VZ please help

[Commodoreaudioinstalls]

Hey Everyone

Im new here, only posted once before. I have a VZ commodore and usually only do the small trips. Today I drove back from Goolwa to adelaide (100km) drive and my car seemed fine until i decided to park outside my house when the temperature started to go up. After turning my car off heaps of fluid seemed to be leaking out of the fornt left side of the car.....

the engine smelt like something was burning but I do not know much about cars so have no idea.. didnt feel extremely hot though compared to a friends car I have seen smoke, maybe the smell was really hot coolant? I am not sure

any ideas? sorry if I have given barely any information but my car does not overheat normally but from this drive only at the end it decided too...

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Nut Kracker]

Was the temperature ok while you were driving?
Was there coolant on the ground near the passenger's side front wheel when this happened?

The temperature sometimes will go up when you stop the car, it's called heat soak.
You have a hot engine with no coolant circulation or airflow over the radiator.
The water temperature rises, pressure builds and the coolant is released into the overflow/expansion tank

It sounds to me that you may have had too much coolant in the expansion/overflow tank.
When you stop the car, coolant is released from the engine via the radiator cap into the expansion tank
and when the car is started and warmed up, coolant is sucked back into the engine to replace what was released.

Having too much water in the tank means that when the car is turned off, the tank will fill to the point where is overflows out of the tank and onto the ground.
That's why, if you notice on the tank, you don't fill it all the way to the top. You have to leave room in the tank for expansion.

 

[Philmecrackun]

If it was the LHF looking from the engine, it could be the radiator bleed screw O ring on the top LH side of the radiator under the cover, mine had done that when I was at Moree, Holden wanted $12 and had none in stock, went to local radiator shop and grabbed second hand one off his junk pile of radiators, the one I got was better as it was a flat rubber washer instead of the O ring.
Just in case you do it yourself, do it when the motor is cold and it is a plastic screw, don't do it overly tight.

 

[B-Man]

can you take a photo to show us?

 

[Commodoreaudioinstalls]

yer my temp was medium when driving, and yes it was passenger side wheel.
thanks for the info, I hope you are right because it sounds like nothing to worry then.

thanks again

 

[Commodoreaudioinstalls]

Thanks for your reply Phil, I will have a look at the O ring soon, sounds like a cheap fix if it is that too.

thanks for your reply!!

 

[Commodoreaudioinstalls]

Hi B-Man, what could i take a photo off? im not the best with cars but if you told me the general area I could easily upload one

thanks

 

[B-Man]

Hi B-Man, what could i take a photo off? im not the best with cars but if you told me the general area I could easily upload one

thanks

where the fluid appears to be leaking from

 

[Benboy]

Take the vehicle to a Radiator Specialist and have them check ALL hoses/connections, side tanks for splits or cracks, radiator pressure checked for any blockages. Probably also pay to get them to completely clean the radiator as it's likely full of 'gunk'.

 

[Philmecrackun]

Get them to check the heater tap and the connections on the heater hoses as well, I also had a leak above the water pump and replace the 2 O rings ($45 trade for 2 O rings) on the water outlet pipe the other day and did the water pump while I was there, will upload photos on how to do soon, didn't have to remove intake manifold to get to pipe just twist and jiggle and it fell out.