What happened?

I am stuck on the side of the highway right now here's what happened.

I was driving 115kph and my battery warning light came on I watched the voltage drop to 11.8 then the temp jumped from 94c to 135c.
I immediately shut the truck off and pulled it over to the side of the road. Steam pouring from under the hood. I lifted the hood and my coolant lid is popped off and splattered up on the hood and a huge puddle of it under the truck.
Also my power steering is gone.

What happened guys?

Did you check the belts? Sounds like you might have lost a belt.

Is this on a ranger or the car listed in your profile? Either way i'm guessing you may have thrown one or more of your belts. Generally when a belt shears or in the case of mine gets shredded whatever that belt drives quits working. Most likely why your power steering is gone.

Ahh Canadian tire just changed the belts on the inspection when I bought it. It sounded funny after they did it bit I guess I had faith in them.
Also the truck is a 1996 Ford Ranger 2wd 5 speed.
I just checked and the belt they changed blew.

Yep that will do it. Check the pulleys and make sure they spin freely and the barrings are good. If they are it was prolly just not adjusted correctly.

I've used tape.... Or panty hose in an emergency. Sometimes you can put wood staples through a belt to limp it home. i have one of those adjustable emergency belts but i think id rather trust the tape, lol.

It's no big deal with a V belt. But you need a spare if its a serpentine.

Do you on a serpentine? I would assume you couldn't drive it far but when my truck decided to shred it's belt in 09 i drove it very slowly to the gas station 3/4 of a mile up the road. I actually didn't see it was the belt till i got up there and could get a better look. It was hanging together by a thread though so that's probably why i was able to limp it that far. Let's just say that was my first ever "roadside" repair other then changing a tire. It was certainly a learning experience at 16.

So how hot do you think you would have to get an Ohv to overheat to cause damage

Hmmmm...the heads on the 2.3 are very sensitive to heat...but not sure what engine you have...it will probably run either way but watch for telltale signs of a cracked head...rough running, burning oil, check the compression to see if you've lost anything in that regard...

If you pulled over right away it might be OK...just depends on how long it took to notice the overheat...

Canadian Tire will probably replace the belt for free...if you can find any of it...

Fraser1989 said:

So how hot do you think you would have to get an Ohv to overheat to cause damage

Click to expand...

You should be fine since you pulled over and shut off the engine.

Head gaskets are not damaged by heat directly, the damage to the gasket is from uneven metal expansion when coolant is not present.

Normally the block and head heat up and expand equally because of coolant circulation, the heat is generated by the 1,200+deg combustion temps, and it's then spread through out the cooling system by circulation(water pump).

If circulation is stopped the coolant closest to the combustion chambers(cylinders) can quickly get above it's boiling point and turn to vapor(steam).
The Vapor occupies more space than the liquid so pressure in the cooling system jumps up and rad cap opens to allow coolant in the rad to flow into the overflow tank, it can also pop off or split hoses, as coolant in the rad is sent to the overflow tank coolant level in the engine drops.
Gravity means the remaining coolant will be in the block and not as much in the head, the head metal expands unequally and can crack, but also expands against the block surface and head gasket, this causes a "rubbing" and over compression of the head gasket.
This uneven expansion can compress part of the head gaskets cylinder ring past it's recovery point.
A head gasket is compressed and uncompressed in daily operation, that's what it is there for, uneven over compression and "rubbing" is what leads to it's failure.
The 800+psi in the cylinder from a running engine can then breach the head gasket at an over compressed point(next to it actually), this is why its important to shut down the engine ASAP.
Once the 800+psi pressure has breached the gasket, it is officially "blown" and won't recover after cooling off.

Shutting off the engine immediately stops the heat source, but also stops the 800+psi that breaches the gasket.
As the engine starts to cool, assuming hoses are still intact, the coolant in the overflow tank will be pulled back into the engine.
There will be "air" pockets in the cooling system after overheating so system needs to be purged, same as refilling system after flushing.


There is a simple "glove test" to check for a blow head gasket.
When engine is cold remove rad cap and overflow hose.
Put a latex glove or plastic baggie over rad cap opening and seal it in place with a rubber band or ??
Start engine
If coolant starts to come out the overflow outlet when engine starts then you have a gasket or crack issue
If no coolant is coming out then place your finger over the overflow outlet, system is now sealed
If glove starts to inflate you have a leak from a combustion chamber(cylinder) into the cooling system, so either a blown head gasket or crackled head.
If glove doesn't inflate you are good to go.

A head gasket leak will blow up the glove instantly, so in less than a minute you will know.