Steam coming from engine, temp guage normal

[youngrobbm]

I recently bought a 1991 Subaru legacy turbo with 156,000 miles on it.
A little less than a month ago, I was driving and one of the main
radiator hoses popped off, spilling all of my coolant. I put the hose
back on, refilled the coolant, and everything seemed to be fine. Just
the other day I started noticing small amounts of steam (may be smoke,
is a white vapor but does not smell like smoke) coming from under my
hood when I am at a stop light after driving for a while. The temp
guage reads normal, and the engine runs fine. Any suggestions? It may
be a coolant leak, because the steam smells somewhat like vaporized
coolant.

 

[Dano58]

I recently bought a 1991 Subaru legacy turbo with 156,000 miles on it.
A little less than a month ago, I was driving and one of the main
radiator hoses popped off, spilling all of my coolant. I put the hose
back on, refilled the coolant, and everything seemed to be fine. Just
the other day I started noticing small amounts of steam (may be smoke,
is a white vapor but does not smell like smoke) coming from under my
hood when I am at a stop light after driving for a while. The temp
guage reads normal, and the engine runs fine. Any suggestions? It may
be a coolant leak, because the steam smells somewhat like vaporized
coolant.

Well, what caused the hose to pop off in the first place? You may have
a pinhole leak in the hose. Have you stopped and looked for a leak
when you see the steam?

Dan D
'99 Impreza 2.5 RS (son's)
Central NJ USA

 

[Bob Noble]

You've got a leak almost for sure. If all your hoses are tight, check for a
pin hole leak somewhere.
They are common at the top of the engine. There's a metal pipe that runs to
the heater hose on top of the engine that can get a pin hole in it too.
You will very slowly lose fluid, so keep an eye on it.
You can get it pressure tested, but that's costly, so use your noise and
eyes.

 

[Bugalugs]

You've got a leak almost for sure. If all your hoses are tight, check
for a pin hole leak somewhere.
They are common at the top of the engine. There's a metal pipe that runs
to the heater hose on top of the engine that can get a pin hole in it too.
You will very slowly lose fluid, so keep an eye on it.
You can get it pressure tested, but that's costly, so use your noise and
eyes.

That model had a radiator, a separate header tank which had the
pressure cap, and then the overflow bottle. On mine that separate
*plastic* header tank developed a split. *Plastic welding* was not
successful and it took visits to several wreckers to find a replacement.

I think on later models which had the separate tank the tank was made of
metal.

Careful taking off the pressure cap (don't ask me how I know)