|
I'm hoping this is just a simple fix, but here is my situation:
I recently noticed that my engine seems to 'steam' a bit when I start out and finish driving. It does it when the engine is cold, and when it warms up. But it doesn't seem to do it both ways on the same trip (as in, if it starts off steaming, it doesn't end up steaming).
It is not a significant amount of steam either.
Also, my radiator fluid level dropped a bit recently and I noticed that the tranny seems to look moist (but it might have always looked moist).
So I'm figuring it's a leak in my radiator system (I hope not though).
Some factors though:
I know that one of the symptoms of a blown gasket/head is oil that looks like choco milk. I checked mine and it's looks like normal oil. If one had a cracked seal/blown gasket etc, how soon could the milky oil appear?
I noticed that I was a little low on oil.
The oil does not smell of anti-freeze either, nor does my exhaust. My exhaust isn't especially smokey either. I do seem to be having power issues, but it's not a significant amount.
My anti-freeze does not look oily, and there doesn't seem to be an obvious "bubble" factor whenever I run the car with the cap off.
Could this "steam" issue just be my car being low on oil and over-heating slightly and therefore burning (for lack of a better word) the substance on the tranny (an oily substance)?
Could my thermostat (about a year old) have died and caused this? Or my water pump (which I will eventually replace although it does not seem to show any signs of being broken)?
I'm really hoping it's not a blown gasket or cracked head, because I don't know if I can afford to fix that.
|
