Hey guys, too make a long story short, a car rear ended me a couple of nights ago, not enough to cause any major visible damage to my rear bumper but my car did overheat and smoke on the way home.

I wanna check for leaks before I bring it to a shop. I hope it's not anything major. I am pretty handy with a wrench (oil changes, brakes, etc) but my knowledge of the cooling system is very slim.

I suspect the accident knocked something loose in the cooling system causing a coolant leak. I was hoping someone could help me diagnose where the leak is coming from(where should I start?, what are the common places of coolant leaks?) I hope it's something small and nothing too major like a head gasket.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

You pretty much answered your own question. It might be a coincidence that both things happened at the same time but not likely. Start with a visual inspection after that you might have to bite the bullet and take it somewhere

 

Leaks will obviously be visible (especially one big enough to cause your car to overheat). There's really nothing to get knocked loose in the cooling system if you were rear ended, unless it wasn't tighten to begin with. Refill system and start the car up, let it run and check basics. Let us know what you find

 

It is possible a small rear end collision can cause damage to the front of the car. Several years ago, I had a squeaking fan belt in a Dodge Caravan. I couldn't get it to stop and took it to the dealer to have the problem fixed. They couldn't figure out why it squeaked so I kept driving it with the belt squeaking. I stopped at a top sign and someone gently hit the back of the van. The squeak stopped and never squealed again. I never could figure that one out but I was glad for the little tap that stopped the squeak. If something like that could happen, it is possible this tap caused the original poster's overheating problem.

 

did you see any coolant or fluid puddled anywhere? if not you do not have a coolant leak.

 

It could be electrical......maybe the radiator fan isn't working.

 

^ great point.

 

That's funny when you quote his name it replaces the last few letters with ***'s. Didn't know g-3-5-0-Z was a bad word. lol.

BTW, any updates yet OP?

 

my car overheats in the winter only, I can drive it all summer, take to the track and everything and always runs the same. As soon as the temp drops below 45 it will run warm and if I get on it, it overheats.....been like that for years..I never looked into it cause I dont drive in the winter any way. Hows that for strange

 

Turns out the lower radiator hose was cracked! This is all stemming from a previous accident(ran over a retread on highway). The hit in the rear knocked the radiator from the already cracked support and mashed my lower radiator hose into a pulley!! What a mess!! Sidebar: I am fixing everything this month!