I have 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport 3.3L 6 cyl. I am previously a muscle car owner, and then I had kids and I had to have more room so I bought the best van I could and it has been awesome until now. We had the oil changed and the shop "lost" the lids to the radiator overflow container and the wiper fluid. Suddenly now, there is white smoke that smells like antifreeze coming out of the hood. The gauge does not register anywhere even near hot and there is no oil or any other fluid left where we park, also no smoke out the exhaust, only out from the hood after we have driven even a short distance. We replaced the overflow lid but we are waiting for the dealer to get a wiper fluid lid in (there are no Caravans in any salvage yard within 100 miles of where I live that still have these lids). Could this be - don't make fun of me, I am hoping it is something simple - wiper fluid sloshing onto the hot manifold? Or is it a kiss of death of some kind and I have a cracked head or something equally as horrible? What do you think? I appreciate your time and knowledge, I really do not want to pay the dealer $100 to hook me up to a computer, might go to AutoZone, but I wanted some owner opinions first. Thanks!!

 

Welcome to DF first of all.
Here's what i would do first, ck the coolant level and be sure the cap is on tight. If you don't see any leaks, thats a good start. Until you get the washer lid, i would drain out the rest of the water or washer fluid from the bottle. If you had a cracked head the engine would run badly.

 

Why not just put some duck tape over the opening until you find a new cap? Even if that isn't the problem it's much more likely you have a loose or damaged hose. A cracked head is not likely. I'm curious how they lost your caps though. They are designed so that even when open they stay attached.

 

Thank you both so much, I really did believe this was the problem as there at no knocks pings or any other noises and the van runs great. I appreciate the duck tape idea and I am upset I didn't think of it earlier but I will do that right now. I too am pretty confused as to how they "lost" them, all I know is they were there and now they aren't. Thanks again for reassuring me, I just wasn't 100% sure the problem was the wiper fluid splashing onto the manifold and then steaming. Plausible, yes. For sure, nope I needed you guys for that!!