I was teaching my kid how to drive in a parking lot and noticed white smoke coming from the front when parked. There seems to be a leak on the top side of the radiator, where the plastic top connects to the aluminum body. I also noticed that radiator fan does not come up at all. Outside temp was around 40F but I would think it should have come on when driving at 5-15 mph in a parking lot for 1+ hours. Temp gauge is on the left side of the middle indicator so technically the engine is not overheated, unless the temp probe is bad. Any idea what's the best way to troubleshoot this? I have a 2005 Santa Fe 3.5L GLS FWD.
Coolant level was at the low line first time it happened and I refilled to max line. Next day the reservoir was bone dry so I refilled the top of the radiator and the expansion tank to max line. It took about 1 pint of coolant. Next morning the level was about 1/3 inch over the max line. I'm now checking the coolant level every time before leaving the house and I'm only doing 5-10 mile trips for until I figure out what's wrong.
I'm not jumping to replace the radiator because it's $700 at my local dealer. I don't have a garage and I can't do it outside at 35F.
I took a 15 minute drive today and monitored the temp with my Bluetooth OBDII. Temp remained constant around 83-84C (181-183F) and it stayed there until I parked the car with the engine running. It then climbed to 86-87C (187F-189F) and it started to leak. Radiator fan did not kick in. I'm not sure at what temp should kick in for this model but I think it should happen at 180-185F.
I tried unplugging the fan but it didn't budge. It was hard to get a grip on the plug with bare hands and after 3 minutes of fussing with it in the dark I gave up. I'll try it again tomorrow morning.
Pressure test cooling system.. nice leak will spray out..
"SM" Santa Fe radiator not been common concern, but we have seen a few break and leak..
Heat makes coolant expand, so out to reserve it go, but if noticable crack leak in main cooling system, as it cools, the contraction will bring in air, it easier to bring in air as opposed to trying to pull heavy coolant back,, that why bottle was full on cold engine.. DONT play games with this,, radiator, new hoses, thermostat and coolant petty cost,, how about wasted engine,, Hmmmm, which is less expensive
I managed to get by with the leak by adding some Acura OEM coolant I had in the house till spring arrived here in NoVA. In the mean time, I replaced the original radiator cap with a new one from the local parts store, but it didn't make a difference. I can see dried coolant sprayed on the engine cover from time to time. I see plumes of white smoke coming out once a week but it's not a daily occurrence.
Run a pressure test yesterday and it did hold 15PSI for 5 minutes. Test kit is made by Powerbuilt. None of the top caps fit so I used one of the expandable rubber cones.
Expansion tank was empty from the day before (plumes of white smoke from a 15 miles trip), pressure equalized when I open the radiator cap, so I filled up the radiator and expansion tank to minimum level and started the engine with the radiator cap off. Fluid started to rise in the radiator immediately and I had to put the cap on but I left the overflow tank open. Radiator started to leak a constant stream from the top side for about 5 minutes, then the stream progressively slowed down, until it got to a few drops every 5-10 sec or so. Cooling fans went on at 204F and turned off about 1 min later at 194F (temp measured with an OBDII bluetooth device). I let it run until it run 3 on/off fan cycles. Upper radiator hose, witch was replaced by dealership 3 yrs ago due to a leak, was rock hard during all this time, really hard to squeeze, as opposed to the lower radiator hose which was easier to squeeze.
At this point I'm wondering why would it leak when engine is running but not leak when testing with the test kit.
Could a bad thermostat stuck on closed position cause this?
I just want to be sure the radiator is the problem before I replace it so I could really use your advice here.
If I have to replace the radiator, I'll probably go with one of these two unless you guys have had bad experience with these sellers/brands: www.ebay.com/itm/201275174879 www.ebay.com/itm/141456259657
I'm thinking to buy Advance Auto Parts brand (or Supertech from Walmart) full strength coolant and mix it 45% coolant 55% distilled water.
For thermostat, I'd either go with Motorad www.ebay.com/itm/290875483810 or OEM (local dealer price is $45 for the thermostat).
Even thogh I don't plan on keeping this car for more than couple of years, I still like to keep it in good shape but obviously I don't don't want to put more money into it than needed.
I'm pretty sure the radiator fan is not running and that's the root of my problems. I'll test the fan in the morning and if it runs with a direct connection I'll swap out the relay with a similar one and hopefully find the culprit. I might have to replace the radiator as well but I want to make sure everything else is working well before I dump $700 into a new radiator. Is it just I've radiator fan relay or two?
I checked the fan on direct wiring and it's working. I swapped the radiator fan relay with the fog lights relay. Unfortunately, the female plug going to the main cabling has one prong that's a bit melted. Not much but there was some arcing going on there. It's likely that the plug side towards the fan has been affected as well. Would the dealer replace the male/female plugs or would they replace the fan and the whole cabling?
Would replacing the plug resolve the pressure causing the leak or am I past that already?
Looks like I have to replace the radiator in a friends garage and I have several questions you guys might be able to answer:
1. Did the 05 came with 10 yr warranty? If yes, does it cover radiator?
2. Where are the engine block coolant flush plugs located. Do I need to open both or opening one would do?
3. How do you remove the radiator fan connector from the radiator. It sits on a piece of plastic, looks like it should slide out but there's something that keeps it in place.
4. I found much cheaper aftermarket radiators. Anybody had bad experience with aftermarket radiators?
5. After market thermostats are ok or should I just buy the OEM?
6. How much coolant do I need to buy?Is the Advance auto parts brand ok to use?
7. Should I replace anything else while I'm at it?
The last five years of the 10 years only covers the drive train, so the radiator wouldn't be covered. If you have a 4wd, you wouldn't be able to get to the engine drain plugs easily. I think you could go with the aftermarket radiator, but I would go eom with the thermostats. When I drain my radiator it is almost exactly one gallon, but since you are installing a new one, I'd guess you need two gallons. You could use wallmart coolant as that is what I've been using on my 03 since new. Never had my radiator out so you are on your own as to what to pull. Can't be that hard- I've had numerous ones out over the years and it usually isn't that hard.
I've bought 2 off eBay from a company in Florida. I've replaced the radiators in our '02 & '03 Santa Fes. One failed at about 100,000 and the other at about 250,000. So...it's not unusual in my opinion for them to fail. $700 for a radiator replacement is a bit crazy unless they buy an OEM radiator from Hyundai. If you buy the radiator from an aftermarket supplier, your repairman will not warranty the part, but the radiator company may. I think the last radiator I bought was about $60 shipped on eBay. Should only be about 2 hours of labor, but I don't know what the flat-rate manual tells the mechanic to charge. If you have all the parts on hand; hoses, backup clamps (in case you break one), antifreeze, it's easy.
My experience has been when lifting out the radiator, you have to lean it towards the engine to get it out from under the cross member but an easy job. Just have something to catch the radiator fluid and if I remember, mount the thermostat with the jiggler up. OEM thermostats are more robust than aftermarket.
Appreciate your help! Sorry for the links, not sure why it added the forum URL in front of the ebay link. Let me repost them, I hope it works this time:
I'm pretty sure the coolant stains come from coolant that's leaking from the upper radiator seam where plastic meets aluminum, I can see it leaking from there. What I don't get is why would it leaks when the engine is running but it doesn't leak when pressure tested.
I just started to work on it and run into a problem. I can't figure out how to remove the top radiator crossbar. Seems that the vertical frame in the middle is welded to the horizontal bar. I'm hoping there's a way to take it off that doesn't involve taking the front bumper off.
Pics attached.
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