Dead t-stat

[reichhartkg]

So, Tuesday night, I drove 3.5 hours to Albany. Got there and my buddy was at a friends' house so I drove over there. Stayed there for about 45 minutes and then we left. Shortly after leaving, my check guages light came on. The temp was almost maxed out. I rolled down the windows, cranked up the heat and drove slow. The temp immediately dropped down quite a bit but was still high.

Of course, this had to happen away from home, so I couldn't even do the repairs myself.

I took it in to a garage (had to stop 4 times to let the engine cool on the 5 mile drive) and they said that they could tell i had been driving it hot. Unfortunately, I didn't think to ask how they could tell.

A few times after I got off the interstate, I noticed that the engine seemed to be trying to get off the line a little faster than usual, which I later noticed it did when it was hot, so I'm guessing that it went on the drive down, but stayed cool because there was enough air flowing over the engine to keep it cool.

It seems to be running fine now, after a new t-stat, radiator flush and oil change. It only actually crossed the red line once. The other times, I stopped and poooed the hood to let it cool as soon as it left the zone.

Is there anything I should look at to make sure I didn't F anything up by driving it hot?

 

[Alec]

As long as it drives ok after the repairs you should be ok. Check the oil periodically to make sure there's no water in it, and take a look at the coolant overflow tank to make sure there's no oil in it.

 

[Glacier991]

Like Alec says, the biggest danger is/was to your heads and the head gasket. Serious overheating events can damage either or both. Serious means like you pegged the temperature gauge! Your description doesn't cause me undue alarm but I'd follow Alec's excellent advice.


Happy Exploring

Chris