Just overheated, need some help

[gargravarr]

Hi all,
Our 2.4 LN130 just overheated. I'm sitting in a layby in France typimg this on my Kindle so I apolgogise for typos. Its lost water, possibly a couple of litres. ours had the head replced some years ago so Im not too worried bout it cracking, but are there warning signs I should watch for? I saw steam coming from the side of the engine, by the injectors, which worried me. Its currently still cooling, but Im going to check it now. Is there anything elsr I should do before we set off or after?
Any help greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Gargravarr

[gargravarr]

Okay, weve tried to drve off a coupl of times but the machine has overheated again. Theres probably not much coolant in the engine, as weve put in the water we have but besides limping to a service station, is there anything we can do?

[si tate]

Its not much help but I wouldn't attempt to drive it any further, your best having someone take a look but it sounds like head gasket if your getting steam coming from near the injectors.

[gargravarr]

Well, we didn't make it home. Limped back to our French place to assess the situation. It kept overheating on the journey back, but we managed a 60-mile run at 50mph with the engine stable. It overheated as soon as we left the motorway, I'm assuming lack of coolant. There were no more steam leaks, and as far as I can tell, no cross-contamination of oil and coolant, so I think the head (gasket)'s intact. We're going to flush and refill the cooling system and see how it goes.

[carlpppumps]

steam engine

if it has steam coming from the side of the engine it may be a steam engine