Someone Please help!

I had to pick up my mother today after her 1997 Isuzu Rodeo broke down... I think it may be the radiator, but as you can tell I know Jack **** about cars.

She described that she was driving down the road infront of the house and then the AC stopped and she heard clicking noises for a sec and then the car just stopped... She waiting and started it again and the same thing happen again only after about 100 yards down the road. She smelled burning and I am thinking since it got 90+ today that it may be from over heating. OH yeah and she said it was smoking... not black smoke but regular grayish/white. I didn't open the radiator cap or anything.. I am not that out of the know about cars, but I have had the oil changed about a little over a month, and I am hoping it is just maybe no coolant/antifreeze????


Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

It seems broken fan belt. Open the hood and check all the belts.

Thanks.


Do you think it will hurt it to move it no more than 3-4 miles to an auto repair place?

So the fan belt would cause the car to over heat and stop the AC from working? Makes since... I talked to a buddy of mine over the phone and he was saying about the same thing... he doubted that it was any fluids like coolant because the car just recieved an oil change and the fluids should have been checked and refilled.

Thanks for the help.

Check your oil level, just because it's easy to do. Let us know how those belts check out. I'd not drive it at all. She didn't get a look at the temp guage?

Nope, I wouldn't drive it - have it towed, you do NOT want this engine to overheat, they are all aluminum and will warp quickly.

Smoking? Out the pipe or the hood? If it was out of the hood, could very well be the belt getting ready to break, and then broke, or the bearings in the alternator could have frozen causing the belt to break - which would account for the sounds you were hearing.

Oh, and when either the alternator belt is loose, or the alternator is going out, the dash gauges WILL react strangely and not always tell the truth.

My 1st Rodeo a 1991 V6 had a serpentine belt, and when our alternator went out, freezing up, it took that serpentine belt and just shredded it - giving off a horrible smoke scene along with a horrible stench.

DID the gauge actually register overheating? Or is that just what you're thinking due to the smell? If it's just what you're thinking, it's most likely simply due to the belt breaking and/or alternator freezing up - they can both give off the impression (scent wise) of overheating.