98 Pontiac Trans Sport Smoking

[bbrwn]

Hello All,

I am not sure what is going on with my van please HELP!!!

First started when I was driving I smelled to strong sweet odor. I pulled over, turned my van off and saw tons of coolant leaking under my van and the temp was at 210. I got it towed back to my place and had a mechanic come check it out. He checked it out and replaced the water pump but said I needed to get new radiator cap. I let the van sit overnight and this morning I replaced the cap. I drove it around the block and I noticed white smoke coming from under the hood. When I looked under the hood the smoke was around the radiator cap. I waited for it to cool down and took the cap off when I realized the fluid that was once there was no longer. I topped it off with coolant and let it run a little and it didn’t smoke and the temp was fine. I just drove it for no more than 10mins and it started smoking AGAIN, still not overheating.

Could it be I didn’t purchase the correct cap or is it the spilled coolant burning off or another issue?

[oldblu65]

Originally Posted by bbrwn

Hello All,

I am not sure what is going on with my van please HELP!!!

First started when I was driving I smelled to strong sweet odor. I pulled over, turned my van off and saw tons of coolant leaking under my van and the temp was at 210. I got it towed back to my place and had a mechanic come check it out. He checked it out and replaced the water pump but said I needed to get new radiator cap. I let the van sit overnight and this morning I replaced the cap. I drove it around the block and I noticed white smoke coming from under the hood. When I looked under the hood the smoke was around the radiator cap. I waited for it to cool down and took the cap off when I realized the fluid that was once there was no longer. I topped it off with coolant and let it run a little and it didn’t smoke and the temp was fine. I just drove it for no more than 10mins and it started smoking AGAIN, still not overheating.

Could it be I didn’t purchase the correct cap or is it the spilled coolant burning off or another issue?

You mentioned " tons of coolant leaking " from under the van - could you see where the coolant was coming from ? Was it from the radiator or from a radiator hose or ...? Sounds like you have a bad radiator or radiator cap that is allowing all the coolant to leak out ? I would buy the appropriate cap for the radiator and replace the coolant and see if that stops your problem . If not , have your radiator pressure-tested to see if it's the culprit . Also check your radiator hoses for cracks ! Good luck !

[shadows]

question is- what did the MECHANIC find and why did he replace the water pump-