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Radiator cap?
Thermostat...likely
Water in oil pan? U said dip stick had none.
Put hand near exhaust in rear...does it get overly wet? Blown Head gasket or seal.
Check cylinder pressure? One cylinder or two low? Cracked, or blown head gasket.
The way it is acting with water overflowing is that the thermostat is not operating properly. Did you have it out when you replaced the hoses and put it in backward?
White smoke from the exhaust does not sound good. Grey to black smoke is a typical symptom of oil burning while white smoke (really white) is water/antifreeze. How many miles on this car?
Retrieve a glass full of the water that is discolored and let it sit for a couple of days. Any oil it in should should separate and rise to the top and become clearly visible. It does sound like you have a lot of rust in the system for sure and that, as Ted Bear has mentioned, could indicate a bad environment for a thermostat to have to operate in.
Another question: Do you ever have to add coolant/water to the system? in other words, are you losing any coolant over time?
I agree on the $400 repair, or even a $1,000 repair. A new car or truck note in one month can be a $1,000. I drive a 20-year old '97 F150. The '98 Altima had some problems but they are nice cars. My grand daughter drives a '03 Nissan Frontier 4x4.
Yes. I think a 4-cylinder head would be somewhat simple if you have minimal mechanical skills. i was a government bureaucratic desk jockey but I've R&R'ed small block V8 Chevy heads successfully.
It's interesting that safety inspection folks would find a broken motor mount but I would certainly fix that as soon as possible. That can cause other bad things to happen.
I have looked at the "boiled over" water but I can't tell if there is oil in the overflowed coolant. It does have some brownish nature to it, but again when I first got it and was observing water coming out of it (I had to replace the "bypass" hose and so a lot of water was coming out) it seemed like rust-colored. (Again today I got a bulb "turkey-baster" like siphon hose from OReilly Auto, it's a battery pump of some kind, and I pump the water out when it gets to be too full.)
Sounds like someone tried to fix it with some Bar's Leaks and it didn't work out so well.
Head gasket replacement costs depend on where you take it. A shade tree mechanic friend that you know might do it for $400 but most shops will be $1,000-$1,400.
I agree with the poster who suggested the water pump might be bad. That would explain why the Bar's Leaks didn't work, if in fact that was used.
I can't be sure so do the tests others have suggested for you.
Radiator cap or head gasket. It could also be a leak in your overflow-tube, which would cause air to be drawn into the radiator, as opposed to just the coolant that is in the bottle.
If there is a large amount of steam going into your overflow-tank, you probably have one of the following: bad head-gasket/cracked-block/cracked-head.
I have a similar problem.....when my engine's temp-gauge gets near the 1/3 mark, my overflow starts acting like a steam-locomotive and my engine overheats......definite damaged engine. I "fixed" the problem by keeping the radiator full of fresh coolant and removing the thermostat.......it now runs pretty good, very-cool/cold, no problems.
I wouldn't rule out a head gasket, but I would do as others have suggested and check every other possibility first.
It could be:
Faulty water pump
Intake gasket
Head gasket
The cost of a head gasket replacement can vary greatly depending on what has to be done. If the head can be decked flat, then you may be out less than $1k. If the head is cracked or warped, you might be into the $1k-$2k range depending on what a head costs. I'd definitely exhaust every other avenue first before jumping into that endeavor.
Another way to check a head gasket is to run your heater wide open when you are driving down the highway. If it blows hot air while driving, but turns to cold air when you are at idle then there is a good chance of a head gasket failure. Also, what does your oil look like? Is it tan colored with a milk shake consistency? If so, another sign of a head gasket failure.
OP, do this. Start engine and bring to operating temperature.
When it warms up, shut it down.
Put a thick glove on and cover radiator cap with loose rags. Loosen cap a little to release pressure. It'll hiss for a little, then slowly remove cap. Coolant will overflow, so do this somewhere in suitable place.
Ask buddy to start the engine. Or, do it yourself but then immediately go back to the radiator.
Now, look inside the radiator. Do you see something like a beer foam inside or a bunch of tiny air bubbles coming up towards neck? Then that's your gasket. Leaking exhaust into coolant.
Of course, you can buy fancy exhaust leak tester kit... But why?
If it's a 4 cyl, replacing head gasket is not much of a deal, simply wrong time of the year, unless you are somewhere real warm.
The safe way to do this is to allow the engine to fully cool, remove the radiator cap before starting it, start it, let it idle until the thermostat opens, look for bubbles. This avoids removing your face when opening a hot radiator. They do not always just hiss if you remove the radiator cap when the engine is hot, sometimes they spew scalding hot coolant like a volcano. Yes, you really can burn you face right off, be blinded, all kinds of neat things. NEVER do that.
Radiator cap or head gasket. It could also be a leak in your overflow-tube, which would cause air to be drawn into the radiator, as opposed to just the coolant that is in the bottle.
If there is a large amount of steam going into your overflow-tank, you probably have one of the following: bad head-gasket/cracked-block/cracked-head.
I have a similar problem.....when my engine's temp-gauge gets near the 1/3 mark, my overflow starts acting like a steam-locomotive and my engine overheats......definite damaged engine. I "fixed" the problem by keeping the radiator full of fresh coolant and removing the thermostat.......it now runs pretty good, very-cool/cold, no problems.
This could be a lot of things. I had this problem. Turned out it was the switch the activates the second cooling fan. While travelling in extreme cold it kept freezing up even with coolant, so I had to stop at a hotel and take the car to a dealer. They determined the secondary cooling fan was on all the time, A mechanic in California had bypassed the switch because the fan woudl not come on when it was supposed to. the dealer put in a difference kind of switch and I later discovered I was back to the secondary fan only comping on when I turned on the AC. As a result, I was back to overheating in the summer if I did not run the AC. Went back to the stock switch and it worked fine.
This could be a lot of things. I had this problem. Turned out it was the switch the activates the second cooling fan. While travelling in extreme cold it kept freezing up even with coolant, so I had to stop at a hotel and take the car to a dealer. They determined the secondary cooling fan was on all the time, A mechanic in California had bypassed the switch because the fan woudl not come on when it was supposed to. the dealer put in a difference kind of switch and I later discovered I was back to the secondary fan only comping on when I turned on the AC. As a result, I was back to overheating in the summer if I did not run the AC. Went back to the stock switch and it worked fine.
In MY case, when the engine gets hot, there is about 5 minutes worth of steam coming out of the radiator and overflow bottle when I shut-down the engine. I have topped-off my coolant and there is no leaks in my cooling-system. An overheating engine should result in only expanded-coolant going into the bottle........that huge amount of steam is not a result of air being sucked into the cooling-system.....so it has to be combustion-gases mixing into the cooling-system.
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Could be something as simple as a bad gasket on the radiator cap or a leak somewhere else in the cooling system. In college I had a Buick that did this for well over 100,000 miles with no ill affect. It did it hard enough I could hear the chugging of the coolant from 10 feet away.
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