Overheated 3.0L

[Don Logan]

Hi, my motor overheated yesterday on the motorway due to the radiator cap not being properly secured by the bloke i bought it off last week , resulting in losing all the water somewhere on the M25. I noticed the temperature gauge was on the red and pulled over straight away.

I'm not sure how long i was driving with it on the red for before noticing the temperature, but it could have been up to about 20 mins. At about 80mph.....

After about 20 mins the highway officer bloke came along with water and i refilled when the needle on the temp guage was just above the halfway mark.

I let it cool a bit more and then drove for another half hour home and everything was fine. I'm just wondering if:

a) I need to change my oil now as it got cooked?
b) If there are any other things i should change or things i should now look out for or checks that i should make?
c) Is it likely that putting cold (room temp) water into a hot (temp guage halfway) engine would have buggered anything? (The highway bloke had to go and he needed his containers back so had to fill up there and then)

The car runs fine and temp is fine too. I know that the head can warp if overheated, but that doesn't seem to have happened, is there much else can be affected by overheating?

[darkdezigns]

first port of call is to put flush the water system,till completly clear,then whenever u drive,let it cool,check for oil in the water,if it has blown the head or gasket u want to catch it sooner rather than later

[Don Logan]

Ok, cheers. So flush the rad, refill, drive, check for oil? And check the oil for milkyness?

Any other ways of checking for buggered head gasket/other damage caused?

[POPEYE]

build up of pressue in the cooling system, hoses rock hard/blowing off/bursting, loss of coolant, whatch that temp gauge or better still fit an aftermarket one, sounds like you got away with it tho

[darkdezigns]

Ok, cheers. So flush the rad, refill, drive, check for oil? And check the oil for milkyness?

Any other ways of checking for buggered head gasket/other damage caused?

there is a kit u can get,which is a dye,but they aint always reliable,best thing to do is just keep checkin,tbh lots of people think they have got away with it to find weeks later they havent

[Bogus]

This probably wont impress you, but blaming the bloke you bought from last week is a bit unjust, you should probably have done some checks yourself before horsing along at 80.
That however is hindsight now. As the rest say just keep checking water levels, keep an eye on things, you may have got away with it. You say it could have in the red for 20mins but I suppose equally it could have been 20 seconds. Id definitely change the oil however
Good Luck, I hope you did get away with it.

Bogus

[Don Logan]

Yeah not checking everything was a schoolboy error, but ho hum..

I've booked it in at a place recommended to me by a mechanic for a check. He said it'll take around half an hour.

Anyone know what the checks involve? One was a gas or carbon check in the rad water i think, and someone once said something about a pressure check.

Is it possible that the gasket could have gone but the head be ok?

Cheers for the help...

[That Ruddy Squirrel]

DARE I ask does it still sound ok, no odd ticking noises ? has it got any noisier ?

Trev

[Don Logan]

It ticked a bit before, and today i wondering if it was ticking more or if i was being paranoid. I think i'm am being paranoid though. What would the noise indicate?

Cheers.

[That Ruddy Squirrel]

Hippo got noisier (including the ticking) after she overheated in similar circumstances although in my case the rad was full of mud , get your truck checked out sharpish.


Trev

[Don Logan]

The rad water is a rusty colour and the rad is fairly new. To flush it can i just take off one of the hoses at the bottom of the rad and stick a garden hosepipe in the top filler and flush until it's clear?

Anyone know what a sniffer test is? Can anyone fill me in on the other tests for a cracked head?

Thanks.

[That Ruddy Squirrel]

If yours is an auto you also have your ATF fluid running through the rad.

When you refill you need RED antifreeze



Trev

[darkdezigns]

Yeah not checking everything was a schoolboy error, but ho hum..

I've booked it in at a place recommended to me by a mechanic for a check. He said it'll take around half an hour.

Anyone know what the checks involve? One was a gas or carbon check in the rad water i think, and someone once said something about a pressure check.

Is it possible that the gasket could have gone but the head be ok?

Cheers for the help...

the gas test will be be a dye in the water,let the garage do it,then if it has gone and they say it hasn't u have some comeback

[Don Logan]

Comeback?

[Don Logan]

Good news... Had it checked and there was no change of colour on the gas test liquid and no increase on the guage of the rad pressure tester. The bloke did say that the rad cap was buggered and needed replacing as it was loose and rattling. He said the tests weren't a surefire way of knowing, but everything looked fine.

Thank. Feck....

I wasn't liking the prospect of scrapping a car that i just bought a week ago. Now to keep an eye on temp, change oil, and flush rad.

Now i can look forward to ruining the car at Slindon instead of on the M25.