The Big Green Beast Has Returned

The Big Green Beast Has Returned

WEll, at first my mechanic (who helps me for free) couldn't find ANYTHING wrong with my van. No broken hoses, no holes..antifreeze still in the anti-freeze tank, but anti-freeze had sprayed absolutely EVERYWHERE!! They filled the anti-freeze tank to the fill line (which I know the tank does not like--prefers to be filled half way to fill line) They, my mechanic and another family friend drove it around and it didn't smoke or steam or spray more around inside...you know how it goes when the mechanic gets there. They drove it home totally perplexed, having decided to add a quart of Stop Leak, but just weren't sure why there was such a big mess everywhere and what caused the smoking. Well I mentioned that I find anti-freeze bubbling in the middle of the radiator when I open the hood when it's hot, so mechanic grabbed a flashlight (it was dark by then) and yup, there it was, a crack along a seam line in the radiator, bubbling, and then he found another crack. (I guess this was important information to give him in the first place, huh?) Stop Leak won't help that. But from my mechanically impaired understanding, he still is perplexed why it suddenly sent anti-freeze flying everywhere that one time and not again. He understands why I was smoking so bad, with the anti-freeze going all over the engine and manifold. He feels the extreme cold weather had something to do with this. So, since there was still anti-freeze in the anti-freeze tank, there is apparently no damage, my engine temp gauges had not registered a problem, I was just building up pressure in the radiator and it went flying and it was burning on the hot engine. I did the right thing, my mechanic said, stopping when I did, even though I could have continued without any damage. My mechanic prefers I stop if there is a problem than to keep going and possibly make things worse. But, if I'm smoking, I'm gonna stop. I can still drive it, he says, until he finds me a replacement radiator, just watch my gauges and don't drive it very far without checking my anti-freeze level. Well, I don't drive the beast very far anyway, so I should be good.