Did I warp the head?

[jmabarone]

My truck overheated the other night. it was roughly half way up the temp. gauge (not uncommon for me) and when I came to a stop light, the temperature spiked to the high limit of the gauge. the engine stalled and pinged like crazy (knock, it happens) after I started it back up and drove it the last mile home.

is the head aluminum? If so, what are the odds I warped it?
Thanks,
Jake

 

[RonD]

What engine?

No, probably not aluminum head on a ranger, weight isn't a big concern on trucks.

No, probably not warped head, pinging was from fuel mix pre-igniting from the hot cylinders and stalling maybe from the knock sensor changing the timing try to stop the knocking.

But the sudden over heating means something happened, broken hose maybe.
With coolant level low while driving, engine can maintain a little cooling, when you stopped the water pump isn't circulating as much and you got a spike in temp because of low coolant level.
Pulling over and letting engine cool down would have been best, but............

You could have blown the head gasket, that is one reason not to run an engine when temp is high, metal expands as it is heated, normal operating temp expansion is allowed for, when over heated the head will get hot spots around the cylinders, the metal there expands even more and can deform the metal cylinder rings(seals) in the head gasket, when head returns to normal temp(contracts) the deformation is a weak spot, at 700+psi pressure when cylinder fires a deformation can be a problem, it can lead to a blown cylinder/head gasket.
Some of the Ranger heads were also prone to cracking when over heated, same cause, metal expands beyond allowed for temp, weak spot cracks, usually between valve seats.
Aluminum expands even more than cast metals, which is one of the reason bi-metal engines are more susceptible to head gasket failure when over heated.

You will have to find the reason the coolant level was low and then go from there.

 

[Mark_88]

Mine overheated last year some time and since then I've had oil issues...big time...burning, blowing, and spewing...

I suspect a cracked head here...but like RonD said you will have to check the fluids and go from there...you may be able to drive it if your coolant was low for reasons other than seeping from the head, but you should probably watch for other telltale signs like losing oil and rough running...if it runs...

These heads are very susceptible to cracking when over heated...so worst case scenario is you will have to replace the head...and hopefully nothing on the lower end was damaged...the rings can also be affected by over heating if you drive it too far or too long...like I did...