Help! Need your advice!

[s_a_roehrig]

Help! Need all your advice! drove with no water in the radiator...

Had a small hole in a radiator hose... all the water steamed out without my notice... driving down the road the engine started smoking and making a heavy clinking sound under acceleration. Was driving it around today in 90+ deg heat w/ AC on.

Found the hole, did the repair and refilled the radiator. light smoke from exhaust. While driving home, the gauge would stay at "L" in "Normal" while moving but would jump to in between "L" and max. Pulled in driveway, gauge at "L", no smoke from exhaust. Still too high...

Do you think I am safe? Or have internal damage to the engine.

Do you think that driving 35mph would be sufficient to cool the engine back down to the middle of "Normal" on the drive home? I hope not. I am hoping that the temp was too high to let the radiator ketch up with the high heat...

I am going to take it for a drive tomorrow to see if it goes back up to "L" from cooling overnight.

 

[Mbrooks420]

A few questions,

1. How much did you overheat it?

2. How long did you overheat it?

3. Did ya just keep driving anyways?


If you took the temp gauge to the max then something will prob. happen in the future. Usually the head gasket will start leaking due to warped heads. I've seen so many cars overheated and people continually drive them. It's so bad for everything. IF YOUR CAR OVERHEATS DON"T DRIVE IT AT ALL. All you are doing is damage. If you overheated the gauge all the way to full you may have broken the guage. My brothers wife did this to their Contour. And a Skylark.
After the Contour I asked "how long did you drive it on red" "well not long, maybe 45min on the highway,20 in the city, and the 45 on the way home" Then when she got hoome she filled the overflow all the way up and let it run in the driveway for about 20 minutes "Trying to get the coolant through it" Needless to say it was traded in a week later.

 

[s_a_roehrig]

Filled it to the brim with water/coolant. Drove it 10miles to work.

Still runs "L" to 7/8ths of the gauge hot after the overnight cooldown. Took it to the shop for a "block and pressure test"...Awaiiting results.

The gauge did ping to the top... tight before I pulled into Kmart and did the repair.

 

[88vert]

How old is your thermostat?Did you turn your air off while it was starting to overheat?Running the heat on high will help bring it down a little bit

 

[Mbrooks420]

So you overheated, pulled over, filled it with water and drove it still hot? If thats the case, and it still overheats you prob. warped your heads.

 

[s_a_roehrig]

1. How much did you overheat it? Max - it was damn crazy hot!

2. How long did you overheat it? 5 -10 mins

3. Did ya just keep driving anyways? Nope, pulled into Kmart, found the leak, pulled the hose off, cut of the hole, jammed it back on with the clamp, filled her back up, took off/put back on the battery cable to clear out the system... (use to a miata with a ecu in it).

Thermo is at least 2 years....most-lkely more than that... bought the truck used.

No heater... cut the hoses and bypassed them sometime back.

What exactly are the "heads" and what kinda' money am I lookin at for the repair?

 

[88vert]

If you warped heads you are looking at a grand thats if a shop is doing it I hope there is a happy ending to this story

 

[Mbrooks420]

The "heads" hold ur valves. If they are warped a machine shop can usually mill them flat again. I think a grand may be a little steep, but you do have two heads so it may be. I've had heads milled and replaced head gaskets twice. It wasn't too difficult. Those were both only 4 cylinders with one head tho. so it would be twice as difficult. If you didn't let the engine cool down for at least 45 min after overheating it those heads are almost definately warped. Running all the way hot can warp the heads for sure also.

 

[s_a_roehrig]

in the shop...

blown head gasket...

going to get everything done including the valve, hoses, tune-up, timing while it is in there for about $1750. Done in 10 days or so...

 

[Robb]

that's a lot of money for stuff that can be done at home. if you don't mind getting your hands dirty, and asking for some advice here, you could really save yourself some dough.

just an idea

Robb

 

[88vert]

1750 is alot of dough

 

[Mbrooks420]

Is 1750 going to be a total or an exploratory guestemant? Did they say if the heads were warped or just a blown gasket? If its just a gasket, and you klnow someone who is mechanically inclined it wouldn't be that difficult. If you pulled them yourself and had the valves done it prob. wouldn't even cost half. Then again if you have no idea what your doing 1750 could just buy your piece of mind. A ford dealer isn't doing it are they? An independant shop will 99% of the time do it A LOT cheaper. It really helps to have a trustworthy mechanic tho.

 

[s_a_roehrig]

heads and valves.... sending it to the machine shop...

mechanic is an independent engine shop here in hawaii...

don't have the time to do it myself.

 

[leenjen]

Originally posted by s_a_roehrig
in the shop...

blown head gasket...

going to get everything done including the valve, hoses, tune-up, timing while it is in there for about $1750. Done in 10 days or so...

$1750!! and 10 days!!
that's a lot of money and a long time in the shop...

i guess prices in hawaii are a lot steeper

 

[s_a_roehrig]

Originally posted by leenjen


$1750!! and 10 days!!
that's a lot of money and a long time in the shop...

i guess prices in hawaii are a lot steeper

Didn't yah know? Prices in Hawaii are straight criminal!