My poor car with 250,000 miles. I have had her for about 14 years. First the slow leak with the transmission fluid; I opted to just wait it out because of the expense to replace that seal. Then, after a short trip, after I have the ignition off, I see smoke from the hood. I open the hood and see steady flames coming from the alternator on (left side as you face it). I used the fire extinguisher and it went out. But then I noticed the green radiator fluid both on the ground and inside the hood. And more the next day. The next day the car started, but I turned it off, then the day after no start - battery dead.

What could it be? I am poor, if I use AAA to tow the car to a mechanic, and it is too much to fix it, I will not be able to have it towed back and will lose my poor car. What would cause the antifreeze fluid to be leaking out slowly? The fire only lasted a couple of minutes, and burned the wires connecting the alternator and a little black on the alternator is all.

My guess is the fire melted the rubber gasket that goes into the back of the water pump. You likely need an alternator but check the wiring in the area and at least new gaskets on the water pump, I would replace the water pump. You may need fan belts and a lower radiator hose.
Not a big deal if you can do it your self but $300 - $400 if you have to pay for it.
Find the leak first.
Dan

Thank you so much. This sounds like the answer! I really appreciate your response.

Expect to pay $200 at a shop for a new rebuilt alt. Level of skill is novice or above. The radiator has plastic components. Salvage yard radiator installation ... novice level $50 do it yourself or $150 shop.

Thank you so much for responding.

Tracey,

Sorry about your troubles. From what you describe, given that you are poor, I think it is a pretty good bet that it will be more than you want to spend to have it fixed at a shop. If you can fix it yourself, it may be worthwhile.

For the antifreeze leak, you can't just say it leaks and ask where it leaks from. There are too many possibilities. You are going to have to look for yourself, see where it is coming from, and then describe the location here and someone may be able to take a good guess.

You could charge the battery or jump start the car, but I have concern that you could catch it on fire again. I expect you could pull some wires off to avoid this, but without seeing it I don't know which ones. Maybe someone else will know.

If you can't fix it yourself, or have friends who know how to help, I suspect it is time to look for another car. It sounds like you could drop $500 to $1500 on this one pretty quickly at a shop.

Charley

Thank you. I was thinking that the antifreeze leak had to be related because it happened at the same time. So maybe the plastic part of the radiator melted when the fire occurred. It was just a little fire, just some flames coming out of only one side of the alternator. Thank you so much for your response, I really appreciate it.

i agree and would add one more thing. perhaps you can find someone on this board who lives within a reasonable distance from you and would for gas money and lunch be willing to at least look your car over and give you sense of what you are going to have to do.

i live in central mass and would be willing to offer this to you gratis should you live in my area.

Thank you, that is a good idea. I am so sad about my car, I cannot bear to see it die after so many years, and people have been telling me 250,000 miles is still young. I have had ZERO problems with the motor. It is still strong.

Tracey is in the Bowie , MD area.