Ran without coolant

[ranger92]

Last night driving home all of a sudden my heater started blowing cold, i was onlt maybe a mile or 2 from my house so i just kept driving, as i pulled into my subdivision i could see some smoke coming out from under the hood so i shut the engine off and coasted into my driveway, one of the coolant lines literally exploded and coolant went everywhere, i guess thats when its started blowing cold air into the cab, and then i drove for i suppose about 2 miles with little or no coolant, the hoses has never been replaced before so i am replacing all of those but do you think i did damage to the engine aswell? or should it be ok

 

[Chris.S.]

If it overheated excessively you can warp or crack your heads/block.

Best bet is probably to fill it back up (make sure it's all the way full) and continue driving normally, and watch for head gasket leaks and water in your oil.

My wife competely roasted her GrandAm by driving about 2 miles AFTER the temp guage indicated an overheat...




But I'm sure someone with tech experience than me will ring with a more definite answer....

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

youll probably be OK.

after you get everything back together, you should keep a close eye on your coolant and oil levels. overheating can cause blown head gaskets or cracked heads, which will cause coolant consumption or coolant in the oil.

 

[Digital Squirrel]

If you were watching the heat gage and it didn’t go red for long you should be fine but if you were in the red for long you could have kissed it and you wont know that till you start it. The biggest thing is try and turn the crank over by hand (or with hand tool assistance) after you take the plugs out. If it turns ok then you should be good if not then I would take the heads of and check for damage.

 

[Digital Squirrel]

and like every one is saying keep an eye on the coolant and oil levels

 

[ranger92]

If you were watching the heat gage and it didn’t go red for long you should be fine but if you were in the red for long you could have kissed it and you wont know that till you start it. The biggest thing is try and turn the crank over by hand (or with hand tool assistance) after you take the plugs out. If it turns ok then you should be good if not then I would take the heads of and check for damage.

heat gauge doesnt work but there was no smoke literally untill i was pulling into my driveway and i just shut it off and coasted right away. ill have a good look at the heads today when im replacing the hoses, also any ideas as to what caused the hose to break, i wasnt reving it high, just because they are so old?, because i have been having problems with the cooling asystem, my overflow is always empty and i continuely top it up, ive pressure tested the system and found one leak in a hose going to the heater core which was fixed but the overflow is still alway empty.....

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

hoses are rubber. they get old and they blow.

as for your coolant usage, does your overflow tank leak? what about the hose going from it to the radiator?

 

[Digital Squirrel]

heat gauge doesnt work but there was no smoke literally untill i was pulling into my driveway and i just shut it off and coasted right away. ill have a good look at the heads today when im replacing the hoses, also any ideas as to what caused the hose to break, i wasnt reving it high, just because they are so old?, because i have been having problems with the cooling asystem, my overflow is always empty and i continuely top it up, ive pressure tested the system and found one leak in a hose going to the heater core which was fixed but the overflow is still alway empty.....

Well smoke, no smoke dose not necessarily means one thing or the other (as it is just the coolant on a hot engine and depending on were the hose broke it may never hit the engine). As for the hoses going if you are seeing a leek (always filling the res) you should replace ALL the hoses. For the age of the truck and price of the hoses it is just easier and safer. If you still have a leek check the res and radiator. If all that fails you probable have a head leek or crack in your water jacket (bad mojo).

Long story sort I think yours went do to age and next time you have a leek replace all hoses at ones or as you can afford.

 

[ranger92]

well i changed the heater hose that broke and started her up, runs fine but there is a little bit of smoke/steam coming from the one side down by the exhaust manifold, its hard to tell since its so cold out but i guess maybe i did blow a head gasket after all

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

head gaskets rarely fail externally. if its coming off the manifold, its probably just residual moisure evaporating.

 

[betomonroy]

It could be a freezer plug. Good luck and Merry Chrystmas.

 

[Hardwareman]

If it runs fine and does'nt seem to be misfiring or have coolant coming out of the exhaust or mixed with the oil you may have gotten lucky.

I hope the latter for you buddy. Merry Christmas!





Allen

 

[ranger92]

kay I have driven it yet so ill see how it goes, thanks for the help and merry christmas

 

[Digital Squirrel]

just keep an eye on the coolant level.

 

[Bryan22]

you've got to remember, you blew coolant all over the engine, it's gonna smoke some and smell for a while till it's all burnt off. For that leak, you might check the hose between the radiator and the overflow and test/replace the cap.