need some car advice

my truck broke down the other night. i was getting off the freeway and my power steering went out then my engine shut off and then it started smoking from my radiator there was fluid everywhere....i have no clue what it is..my truck wont even start now...anyone have any clue what might have happened?

Need more info. The radiator fluid def means you overheated but the bigger quesion is why. Power steering went out most likely when engine died.

Very miportant - when you try to start what does the car do? What sound does it make?

ok the truck sounds like it wants to turn over but it doesnt...i try giving it gas and still nothing then it just starts smoking again.

sounds like your engine ceased from overheating... I'd say thats a major problem.

White smoke? then I would say a head gasket or cracked head

shes fucked....

When you check the oil what do you see? Does it look like oil or is there any "foam" in it? When you check the radiator/coolant what do you see? Is it "normal" or do you see anything (such as oil) that should not be there?

no there was like no coolant left only alittle bit in the bottom. i havnt checked my oil yet.

trashed....most likely...sorry bout your luck

It sure sounds like it got very hot. Did you check the hoses? Belts? Can you see any reason that it got that hot?

no i have no clue why it got that hot...the oil should be fine i just got it changed the other day when i got new tires put on it. the only belt that i know about in the front of the engine is still on...i dont know what hoses might be off...

water pump went out and she over heated

"the oil should be fine i just got it changed the other day when i got new tires put on it. "
Check the Oil Plug/Drain.....is it there? Could be oil leaked out, and well the rest is history

yeah i just checked the oil and there is oil in it....so i dont know...my brother told me to check that and there was oil so....but i dont know where the oil plug is...yeah iam pretty clueless about this shit....

How could i tell if my water pump is out?

Quote:

Originally posted by forensik

no i have no clue why it got that hot...the oil should be fine i just got it changed the other day when i got new tires put on it. the only belt that i know about in the front of the engine is still on...i dont know what hoses might be off...

Don't assume anything. Check the oil! Also, check and see if you can see any broken hoses. If the coolant leaked out, you should be able to see where it leaked from. If the water pump is bad, it would have taken a long time to leak that much fluid. Have you seen any wet spots beneath the car while it has been parked?

no i just went out there to check and there was nothing under the truck but it is dark so i might have over looked it...

ok on top of you water pump is a small hole should be that is look and see if it is wet looking btw the pump is in the middle of the frount of the motorit might have a fan on it but some newer cars dont any way if it isnt wet do like ever one eles said check oil dip stick to see if oil is in it and it shold be gold to dark brown looking if it looks lite brown like if yo put creamer in coffe type color you have a creak head or blown head gasket do the same with the radtor cap look under it if it looks ok thin fill it up with water check all fuse in truck if it is electric fan it might have blown thin try to crank it by jumping it off if it starts have someone take the negtive battey post of you battey if it goes dead your alternater is bad hope this helps and sorry i cant spell that great.....

thanks for the advice....i jsut went and checked it again. the truck has oil in it. i will check the radiator cap next. all the hoses look like they are intact. the only thin in my engine that looks wet right now is my radiator. on the left side next to the battery it looks wet. Then lower there is a metal hose that connects into a black rubber hose and the metal is wet. it sounds like the engine wants to turn over but it doesnt. it gets so close but nothing. the check engine light comes on when i try and start it.

Isnt it bad to mix coolant and water or is it alright? sorry iam so ignorant when it comes to things like this. but iam learning slowly....i dont understand though its a 2000 chevy s10 and so far since i bought it i have had to change the clutch and now this. i bought it used so i figured there would be a problem now and then but this is the second problem in 2 months. i wonder if the dealership will let me trade it in and get a new truck..but i still owe money on it so i dought they will....

the radiator cap would not come off at all...so i think iam going to wait until my brother can come out tomorrow to see if he can figure it out for me

Your belt broke. That is why you lost power steering and also your water pump they use the same belt. with no water pump your engine quickly overheated and puked its guts up , killing itself. I am sorry but that may have been it's dying breath.