So I was driving yesterday and noticed the anti/coolant gage was thrown off, I guess it was overheating cuz it went all the way down so I popped the hood to check the antifreeze department and it erupted like if you were you shake a pop and open it, so I filled it up with fresh antifreeze and let it cool down, so i drove it the next morning to work, everything was fine but when popped the hood to check it out again, it erupted again. Could this be the final stages of my Maro coming to an end?

 

your not supposed to open the radiator when the car is at operating temp. the coolant is at boiling temp but because its under pressure it doesnt. once you take the pressure off by opening, it begains to boil. so the temp gage went to 0? that will happen if your almost completely out of coolant but that doesnt sound like the case with you. test the temp gage sensor http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#ect, check connections at the sensor, being you have lost fluid i would recomend bleeding the air out of the system.

 

That sounds about right, thanks. Is this something I should be worry about or what step should I take next? I can't have this car dying on me.

 

DONT TAKE THE RAD CAP OFF WHEN THE CAR IS HOT!!!! Always squeeze the upper radiator hose and see if it soft before you take the cap off. If you feel any pressure do not take the cap off.

Step one: would be is the car really heating up or is it the gage.

Step two: Figure out why is it heating up? it could be anything From a bad thermostat to a blown head gasket with a few dozen things between there.

Step three: fix what ever is wrong so you do not kill your car. Driving a car that is known to over heat is one of the fastest ways to kill a car, short of driving into a tree.

 

Will the antifreeze explode like that with a normal car if it was still heated?

 

Yes, water boils at 212 deg at normal pressure. With out pressure the coolant would just boil around the heads and cause air pockets. Any Car should have 13-16 PSI of pressure at normal operating tempture. That will blow out 1/2-2/3rds of your coolant if you take the cap off at normal conditions. Taking the cap off a car the is not overheat is dangerous taking the cap off a car that is overheating can be very painful. I did it once, I never found the cap and I got first degree burn on about 20% of my body. Luckly since its water based it only get so hot. It was like a real bad sun burn, Hurt for about a week. It was a lesson i will never forget.

 

Yes, water boils at 212 degrees, but you're not running straight water. Antifreeze is also an anti-boil. A 50/50 mixture raises the open boiling point to about 225 degrees. And keeping it under pressure raises the boiling point more still. The question is, was your coolant really boiling, or just spewing out from the pressure which is a normal reaction if the cap is released.

 

I think everything is fine, I was just low on anti-freeze.

 

I'd keep an eye on it, just in case. If it keeps disappearing on you, something else is going on.

 

when i worked at autozone i was looking at a car and accidentally touched the rad cap it must have not been put on correct it blew off and now i have a rad cap shaped scar on my hand for others its hard to see (this happened like 5 years ago the scar has faded alot) but i still see it and let me tell you the most dreadful pain ive ever felt and it didnt help that the car was overheating at the time now rad caps scare the sht out of me