Antifreeze all over the place!

[UAL Tripple 7]

This morning I was on the way home from work and noticed white smoke pouring out from under my hood. I pulled off the road and saw a big puddle of antifreeze on the ground. When I opened the hood I had antifreeze all over my engine. I saw antifreeze leaking out of the hose that connects to the engine coming from the radiator. My car was over heating like crazy, but my temp guage showed no signs of overheating. I could hear what little coolant that was left boiling. The clamp on the hose was broken so I replaced it. Now the leak is gone, but what could have caused my car to overheat that fast? Could the pressure from the boiling antifreeze be what broke the hose off in the first place? Could it be a bad thermostat? I have a new thermostat in my glove box, but I could never find where to install it after countless searches. My Galant is a four cyl. by the way. After I replaced the antifreeze and the clamp I drome home. when I pulled into the garage I could still hear the antifreeze boiling, but no leaks. I would like to replace the thermostat and flush my radiator tonight. Can you guys please post your thoughts on what the problem could be, and if anyone has pics of where the thermostat is located I would be greatful.

Regan

[milo111000]

it happened to me before while i was on my way to work... same thing, the hose from the engine broke and smoke came out and overheated.. my explanation could be that the tear on the hose is directly into the engine vs getting a tear around the radiator area.. you lost a whole lotta coolant and less getting back in the engine... makes sense?? yeah good thing i wasn't on the freeway....

[pinoyesv6]

there are two hoses that connect to the radiator from the engine. which one was giving you problems?

[SLS2000]

Look good at the picture that Pinoy posted. Your cooling system is a sealed system that has a valve or door between your radiator (cooled coolant) and engine (heated coolant) that door is your thermostat (radiator hose where it meets the engine). Your sensor which goes to your gauge is after that thermostat. I may not be that you were over heating, maybe your clamp just let go and let out all that pressure. After changing your thermostat and making sure that your hose is in good condition I would also recommend changing your radiator cap. After that you should be running good.

Please correct me if im wrong. (anyone)

[UAL Tripple 7]

Man you guys are lifesavers! Pinoy thank you so much for that diagram. I am going to save that for later use.

[Stewi]

yeah, you might have just blown the hose/clamp and then the coolant sprayed everywhere. The coolant that you heard "boiling" could be smoking away on anything hot, the header, valve cover, exhaust, block, anywhere. Typically if your thermostat gets stuck, it doesnt let coolant cirulate to the radiator and you can see your temp gauge go up as you overheat, it sounds to me it was just a bad hose/clamp. However, since thermostats are so cheap and so easy to change, it might not be a bad idea just for the piece of mind. Be sure to get all the air out of the cooling system when you flush and change your fluid. Constantly keep an eye on the coolant level and make sure you keep topping it off.

[empyrean]

That happened to my wife's old Protege, I replaced the thermostat as insurance... like Stewi said it's cheap and quick so why not.

[UAL Tripple 7]

How do I go about getting all of the air out of the system once I change the thermostat? I read that you can take radiator cleaner and pour it in and run water through the system to flush it out. Will this get rid of all the air too? Any ideas on why the temp guage would stay on cold even though my engine was overheating due to lack of coolant when the hose broke? I noticed when my temp guage first stopped working it shot up to hot and stayed on hot. Then it dropped down to cold and has never moved since then.

[UAL Tripple 7]

Ok this is fucked up! I removed all the parts and no thermostat. I looked inside and I cant see the thermostat and I dont see how one could fit in that little hole unless the Mitsu dealer gave me the wrong one. Can you guys please help?!?!

[underated]

it looks like from that picture you took off the wrong part the thermostat is part of the lower radiator hose it looks like you took off the upper one... follow the hose that connects from the bottom of the radiator to the engine and thats where the thermostat is you should see a little dome shaped housing, remove that and the theremostat is behind it... the lower radiator hose is alot longer then the upper also, just for refference.

[UAL Tripple 7]

Thanks underated! Man I knew it could not be that easy.

[pinoyesv6]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(UAL Tripple 7)</div><div class='quotemain'>Thanks underated! Man I knew it could not be that easy.</div>

step 1 said remove the lower radiator hose. not the upper one. but yea, don't forget to drain the coolant first, unless you want to make a mess.

[UAL Tripple 7]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pinoyesv6)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(UAL Tripple 7)</div><div class='quotemain'>Thanks underated! Man I knew it could not be that easy.</div>

step 1 said remove the lower radiator hose. not the upper one. but yea, don't forget to drain the coolant first, unless you want to make a mess.</div>

Yeah I misread it. Thanks again for the image Pinoy. Once again you have come through for me.

[UAL Tripple 7]

Man if it's not one thing, it's another! I managed to locate the lower hose and take it off. Now I cant get the top screw off of the part that the termostat is located under. I got the bottom screw out with no problem, but the top one will not budge. I have used a half a can of WD-40 and still it refuses to turn. The bad thing is I am using a 12mm socket and now the head of the screw is rounded so the socket just lifts of of the screw as it turns. Any ideas of how to get this thing off?

[outspoken]

any chance someone saved those pictures and could upload them to flickr or someplace?