Q: My car is overheating and constantly filling with water

Thats a good question. I will go through a few steps you can take to see where your problem is occurring.

• Get a UV light and dye to put in your coolant.

• Run your car until it is at operating temperature and turn the car off. This will cause pressure in the system make your leak more present. You may even want to get a yellow set of glasses so you can see it better.

• Is your upper radiator hose excessively tight? If so, you have a faulty thermostat. Sometimes you will receive faulty parts even when they are new.

• Can you see fluid on the ground? Where is it? If it is in the front of your car, look at the front side and back side of your radiator. If your radiator is wet you have found your problem. If you don’t see the leak, check your oil.

• If your oil is milky or contaminated then you have a problem with a blown head gasket. (These aren’t the only signs of a blown head gasket, though).

• Is your air working properly? If your car isn’t heating or cooling properly you may have a clogged heater core.

Note: there is one more issue we need to check. When you look at your coolant, does it look like its mixed with different colors? Green, yellow, orange, pink, or purple? If so, this is your problem. You will have to flush your system vigorously, maybe around 5-10 times to fix this. I have seen this many times as a technician. You should never mix colors of antifreeze because it will start crystalizing in the engine and radiator. If you need assistance with any of this, a certified technician from YourMechanic can come to your home or office to inspect the coolant leak.