yellow/brown motor oil, leaking antifreeze
#1
yellow/brown motor oil, leaking antifreeze
Hey guys im not very active on this site, but im turning to you for help. Im pretty stressed. Im suppose to leave orlando fl for miami fl tomorrow and my car is acting up.
last couple days driving history:
drove 140 miles on the highway in the last 2 days
whats happening:
i get home form work tonight and park my car. 20 minutes later i go to start it up to move it and it will barely start. it would even do nothing sometimes upon turning the key (not turn over at all after). this never happens. i finally get it to start and it wont idle unless i keep it revved up. i let it sit 10 more minutes and it starts up, only with my foot on the pedal giving it gas. it idles very low (less than 1000 rpms).
I pop the hood and see green anti freeze spattered on my axle and on the inside of the front bumper. I check the oil and it looks either goldish brown or yellowish brown. the oils doesnt appear to be dirty. it is dark out side, so in the morning i will look again and see what the oil color looks to be. i opened the cap to the radiator and there didnt appear to be much missing at all.
if that was confusing, basically:
my car is having trouble starting and idling, and i see green antifreeze spattered on the ground. also motor oild appears to be goldish brown (in the dark)
any ideas?
its a 2004 civic, with 130,000 miles.
the only recent problem ive had is a couple months ago it was running hot after a long road trip. so i added water and havent had and trouble since.
oh yea, the engine light came on like 6-9 months ago and i havent bothered to get that checked out...... stupid i know
please, i would really like to hear what anybody has to say. i cant do much besides change my oil (which i pay someone to do). so i really have no clue whats going on
last couple days driving history:
drove 140 miles on the highway in the last 2 days
whats happening:
i get home form work tonight and park my car. 20 minutes later i go to start it up to move it and it will barely start. it would even do nothing sometimes upon turning the key (not turn over at all after). this never happens. i finally get it to start and it wont idle unless i keep it revved up. i let it sit 10 more minutes and it starts up, only with my foot on the pedal giving it gas. it idles very low (less than 1000 rpms).
I pop the hood and see green anti freeze spattered on my axle and on the inside of the front bumper. I check the oil and it looks either goldish brown or yellowish brown. the oils doesnt appear to be dirty. it is dark out side, so in the morning i will look again and see what the oil color looks to be. i opened the cap to the radiator and there didnt appear to be much missing at all.
if that was confusing, basically:
my car is having trouble starting and idling, and i see green antifreeze spattered on the ground. also motor oild appears to be goldish brown (in the dark)
any ideas?
its a 2004 civic, with 130,000 miles.
the only recent problem ive had is a couple months ago it was running hot after a long road trip. so i added water and havent had and trouble since.
oh yea, the engine light came on like 6-9 months ago and i havent bothered to get that checked out...... stupid i know
please, i would really like to hear what anybody has to say. i cant do much besides change my oil (which i pay someone to do). so i really have no clue whats going on
#3
Update
UPDATE:
this morning the car started rite away and drove fine. I brought it to a shop that i trust and the guys checked it out and said they couldnt find a single thing wrong. they said they let the cra sit and idle for 1.5 hrs and no problems.
they said they did a pressure test and i have absolutely no coolant leaks... (so why the hell did i see spattered antifreeze last night??)
he also said the oil looked fine.
i headed for miami with no problems, until i got off of the highway. once i got off the highway the car immediately started running real hot (the cool air on the highway must have been the only thing leeping it cool).
i stopped rite away and added a little less than 1/2 gallon of water to the radiator and i was running great the rest of the trip. the plastic reservoir tank attached to the radiator was ful (i think with antifreeze, it was green).
so why it wouldnt start yesterday without me giving it lots of gas is still a mystery, and why is antifreeze disappearing??
im happy i made it here for work in the morning, but wtf!!!
this morning the car started rite away and drove fine. I brought it to a shop that i trust and the guys checked it out and said they couldnt find a single thing wrong. they said they let the cra sit and idle for 1.5 hrs and no problems.
they said they did a pressure test and i have absolutely no coolant leaks... (so why the hell did i see spattered antifreeze last night??)
he also said the oil looked fine.
i headed for miami with no problems, until i got off of the highway. once i got off the highway the car immediately started running real hot (the cool air on the highway must have been the only thing leeping it cool).
i stopped rite away and added a little less than 1/2 gallon of water to the radiator and i was running great the rest of the trip. the plastic reservoir tank attached to the radiator was ful (i think with antifreeze, it was green).
so why it wouldnt start yesterday without me giving it lots of gas is still a mystery, and why is antifreeze disappearing??
im happy i made it here for work in the morning, but wtf!!!
#4
If your engine coolant is disappearing, you have a leak somewhere and it may be through the engine. Is the engine smoking?
You need to bleed the the coolant system and add the proper amount. Park the car on an uphill incline and top it off with a jug of 50/50 premixed coolant. That will make sure it's full. When you are driving, especially at highway speeds or at least at higher RPMs, glance at your mirror and see if you are leaving a smoke trail. We need to know if it's white or blue.
I also suspect a head gasket, but we need more info.
You need to bleed the the coolant system and add the proper amount. Park the car on an uphill incline and top it off with a jug of 50/50 premixed coolant. That will make sure it's full. When you are driving, especially at highway speeds or at least at higher RPMs, glance at your mirror and see if you are leaving a smoke trail. We need to know if it's white or blue.
I also suspect a head gasket, but we need more info.
#6
When I had it in the shop the guy said he did a pressure test and I had no leaks. But why was the radiator low once I got off the highway in Miami?
No problems since.
I don't think my car is smoking but I have t looked so it could be. I'll try to look
No problems since.
I don't think my car is smoking but I have t looked so it could be. I'll try to look
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