Technical white smoke from radiator

[gabbo1337]

hello,

had my car for about 2 years its a punto mk2

today i just drove my car for about 7 miles when i parked up i noticed smoke coming from my bonnet, i opened it up and there was white smoke coming from my radiator

it looked like it was coming from the fan part of the radiator and not the pipes but i could be wrong as i looked when it was dark

i turned it off left it 5 mins turned it back on and then there was no smoke even after leaving it idle for 5 mins

i've never changed the coolant
and i think theres just under half of it left maybe less

any ideas??

thanks xx

edit:
i'm hoping it's just air trapped in the system and i can drain old fluid and put new one in and bleed it out

 

[DaveMcT]

Steam from the rad in cold wet weather can just be water splashed on that's evaporating.

BUT you say your coolant level is low so the cause should be obvious - its leaking.

Air only gets in when fluid falls out

The price of not servicing the car.

 

[chrizzlephaa]

Its frowned upon by many users, but have you tried radweld/radseal/k-seal?

xx LOL

 

[MikeSalt]

If there was as much white smoke as your describe, chances are that the radiator damage is too great to be fixed by sealant additives. A brand new radiator can be had for less than £30, and you don't run the risk of blocking the delicate cooling channels in the head.

Blocked cooling channels can cause head gasket failures, and for the record, they are 10x as expensive as a new radiator.

 

[DaveMcT]

If the engine has been running on tap water and what remains of the old coolant there could be all sorts of corrosion deposits in the cooling system. Best to do the radiator and flush the system to clean it internally. Put in a good quality antifreeze and bleed the system properly.

 

[adricho]

as most others have said.. make sure you put antifreeze in the radiator tank other wise when you start it in this FREEZING weatherr it could cause it to crack and that can causee alot of costttss!!
mine had the same problem the other day i just topped my coolant up and it seems ok now