gramercyjam Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 On the way to work - Noticed water temp gauge took a long time to start registering. Then a few miles later is jumps up to HOT and starts pinging a lot. Then the motor loses power and I'm on the side of the road with the hood up and looking at lots of smoke (not steam) coming off the engine. Radiator is cold. A peek inside the radiator - no steam, no water but a little smoke comes out of there too. Head gasket problems? I never saw the thing leak so much as a drop of water but I needed to top off the radiator yesterday. The motor isn't seized so maybe it is fixable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Well if you didn't have head gasket problems before, you probably do now. Sounds like you just ran out of water. Temp gages measure water temp and typically don't work if there is no coolant flowing over them. Once the engine starts to cook then they can register from the surrounding metal getting so hot. But if you overheated, then there is a very real possiblity of warping a head. Ask me how I know these things. Check to see if any coolant is in the oil. If the oil is brown/looks like a milkshake, then something in head may have failed dumping coolant into the crank case. If the oil is OK, find and fix the coolant leak. Do a compression check on the engine to look for a blown/leaking head gasket. If one or more cylinders have low compression OR you have water in your oil OR oil in the coolant, then pull the heads and have them checked for being warped/cracked. Running an engine with an empty radiator can also cook bearings so if the heads need work might as well do a rebuild. I have known several people who have destroyed engines by overheating. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gramercyjam Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 I know it ran out of water. But it ran out quick because I just checked it and topped it off the day before. I don't know where it went though. No visible coolant leaks anywhere. I checked the dipstick and it looked like good oil and not mixed. There isn't a drop of water in the radiator so nothing to see there. Only things I can think of are head gasket or possibly some kind of heater core leak? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Good excuse to buy a coolant pressure tester! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gramercyjam Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 Good thinking! Thats what I'm going to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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