Upon reaching our destination this evening, the Taurus began smoking from the hood. The smell was a dead giveaway that it was antifreeze. The level was still acceptable so I figured we would at least be good to drive home. It has does this before when a little hits the exhaust. Well, on the drive home the coolant temp guage began to climb. As long as the car was moving the temp needle stayed at about 3/4 of the way to “H” / hot / redline. I pulled over and let it cool off before getting back on the road and stopping at the next as station to get some water jugs.
I put in about a gallon and a half at that point, but immediately some of it ran right through and went on the ground.
This appears to be a large leak, I had originally assumed it was a timing cover leak that these Vulcans are known for, but for coolant usage to go to minimal top offs to “the flood gates are open” in one day suggests otherwise.
That gallon and a half of water was enough to get us home and keep the temp gauge in the middle where it should be.
So, the fact remains that at one point during the drive, for maybe 1 minute, the temp gauge was almost completely pegged on HOT. Does this mean the engine may be fried, or is it more likely that if we repair whatever is leaking that we may be able to keep this Vulcan for a whole longer?
Thinking I may drop it off at the mechanic and see if they can pin point the leak. If it’s just a hose I’ll likely have it fixed, but if it’s the timing cover it may be time to move on.
I put in about a gallon and a half at that point, but immediately some of it ran right through and went on the ground.
This appears to be a large leak, I had originally assumed it was a timing cover leak that these Vulcans are known for, but for coolant usage to go to minimal top offs to “the flood gates are open” in one day suggests otherwise.
That gallon and a half of water was enough to get us home and keep the temp gauge in the middle where it should be.
So, the fact remains that at one point during the drive, for maybe 1 minute, the temp gauge was almost completely pegged on HOT. Does this mean the engine may be fried, or is it more likely that if we repair whatever is leaking that we may be able to keep this Vulcan for a whole longer?
Thinking I may drop it off at the mechanic and see if they can pin point the leak. If it’s just a hose I’ll likely have it fixed, but if it’s the timing cover it may be time to move on.