overheating - a new question?

[lat19hi]

My wife hit a pothole and her 2006 PT is overheating. When I removed the rad cap there was this white flaky stuff mixed in with the rad fluid. I added fluid and the car still over heats. I have read the forum till my eyes are red. Lots of good things to try, thanks all especially CREWZIN. So any thoughts about the white stuff? And I did find the post about the lady that hit a pothole and it caused overheating. Aloha

[CREWZIN]

Thanks but I only pass on what I've researched on the forum or on the internet unless I've personally had to deal with a particular problem.

As far as hitting a pot hole and starting to overheat, you must have shook something loose (radiator hose?) or hit something hard enough to cause a leak as you had to add coolant. Once you added the coolant you have to bleed all the excess air out of the system or it will overheat. You also have to find the source of the leak or it will keep loosing coolant. Get to a mechanic with a pressure tester and find the leak then get rid of the excess air in the system.

[lat19hi]

Thanks for the advice CREWZIN. Took the PT to Maidas for pressure test $35 and they found a hole in the lower rad hose. They quoted $169 for test, rad fluid and to replace the offending hose. They are working on it now.

[CREWZIN]

A little high on the price but hopefully it will get fixed right and you'll be on your way. Did they check for any other damage the pothole might have caused? Ask them if they bled the cooling system when they replaced the hose and make sure you test it out before you go too far away. Let it run with the A/C ON at idle for about 10 minutes. That would make it overheat if they didn't fix it properly.

[lat19hi]

The leak is fixed but the mechanic said that there are small bubbles in the rad fluid indicating a leak in the head gasket. He quoted $2665 to machine the head and replace the gasket. Ouch!

[CREWZIN]

Sorry to hear that. I'd get a second opinion for the diagnosis and the repair cost. Good luck.

[Matt42]

Originally Posted by lat19hi

The leak is fixed but the mechanic said that there are small bubbles in the rad fluid indicating a leak in the head gasket. He quoted $2665 to machine the head and replace the gasket. Ouch!

Get a second opinion somewhere else. I have never encountered a Midas outfit I would trust. My first encounter was in 1970, and that convinced me never to spend money there ever again. Experiences of friends and colleagues in many states has served only to convince me I was correct.

I don't want to turn this into a Midas-bashing thread.

I think that the bad hose might be the right diagnosis. There may also be a crack in the lower hose mount to the radiator as a part of the problem, but get it checked somewhere else. It is completely possible--even likely--that the hose just came loose on the radiator mount from the bump.

Find out what kind of coolant Midas put into your car. If it was not HOAT, exactly by type (could be a specific Zerex subtype--search on this site), get it flushed and refilled with the right stuff--someplace else. The original owner of my 01 had a lower hose replaced at Midas, and they refilled it with DEX cool orange juice colored coolant. DEX clogs the radiators on our cars. I had to replace the radiator when I bought it because it was clogged. I had the radiator work done someplace else, the dealer. They put in the correct coolant.

I think your bubbles are perfectly normal from a drain and fresh refill and they will go away. On the other hand, if you have had repeated overheating before this incident, there may be something to it. If that's the case, get it checked--someplace else.

[Matt42]

Deleting fumble-finger double post. Sorry.