Engine overheated, may be gone. Any car experts out there?

Thanks to everybody. I'm overwhelmed by the response. I am also away from home for a couple of days.
Head gasket, huh? The gasket itself may not be expensive, but how about having it fitted on? (Sorry, I don't know basic engine repair myself.)
Even if that were to fix it for a while, how could I be sure there wasn't other engine damage to cause trouble down the road?
 
The gasket itself is inexpensive, but you're talking a bunch in labor. I'd estimate about $1500 to fix it.
 
Replacing a head gasket if done right would fall under he heading of Major Surgery. While taking the head off, it's generally a good idea to replace the timing belt as it will be off anyway. There's also lots of little gaskets that will be damaged during disassembly and need replacing. Then while the head's off getting checked for cracks and flatness, it probably makes sense to get the valves done. You get the idea. Changing a head gasket is only one step short of a complete engine rebuild, and often leads to just that. This is just my experience, but my step dad was a Chrysler mechanic and I spent a lot of time spinning wrenches when I was younger.

John
 
Not a project for the weekend-warrior do-it-yourself-er.....johnniet.

But first, please have it checked by another mechanically inclined person who can say yes, it is the head gasket, or no, it's something else.


Don't bother with a rebuild. Absolutely not worth it. I opted for one a while back (on a foreign car like yours) and waited 9 months for my car to be finished. (not fun:()


If it's the head gasket - Count your losses, clean 'er up and move on.


:(
 
It would probably be easier, cheaper and safer (Financially) to to get a 'drop in' rebuild. This way labor charges are at a minimum and you get an engine thats guaranteed.


Although I dont see overheating as a major issue, thunking noises yes, but overheats, not really.

Go to the library and get a book on your car. Clean the cooling system on your car and gently clean any debris from your radiator (Do not use a pressure washer on it) Check for obstructions to air flow into the engine compartment (leaves, candy wrappers etc)


Get a quality coolant as noted above.

Make a note of the outside temp when cold starting and let us know how long it takes for it to overheat and under what driving conditions.
 
Before you do anything find out what is wrong. And then tell us the curiosity is killing me.

Paul :D
 
I may not be able to follow up on this for a few days. I found a room yesterday and am starting to move in using a borrowed car. More later.
Thanks again for all of the help! :)
 
Oil guages are good things, but very rare these days.
Click to expand...

In the old days, engines had large crank cases and often held about eight quarts of oil. Today's engines are smaller physically and have physically-smaller crank cases. They often hold about four quarts. The result is that there's a lot more turbulence, more splashing around going on in the oil and the oil is circulating a lot more. A simple oil level guage couldn't get a valid reading in a modern engine.

Modern engines have an oil level sensor that should come on after the loss of about one quart of oil. This will be sufficient warning for a slow leak or any oil burning behavior. Even in the event of a sudden, total loss -- a rock puncturing the oil pan for example -- this will give you enough indication to pull off the road and shut the engine off without irrepairable damage.

But, it is vitally important that you heed the oil light. If that light comes on, pull to the side of the road and stop the engine IMMEDIATELY, as quickly as you can safely in traffic. Check under the car for the obvious signs of a sudden, total oil loss. If you don't see that, allow a few minutes for the oil to return to the pan and then check the dip stick.

If you're a quart low, you can safely continue to the next service station. But, I would suggest stopping, shutting the engine off, waiting a few mintues, and checking the dip stick again every few miles just to be sure.
 
I had the head gasket on my 87 Honda Civic done back in January. It was right around $700. Check your oil. If your head gasket is blown, there will probably be water in your oil, which will make it look brown and bubbly, kind of like a chocolate milkshake. This is how I figured out I had something wrong with my head gasket. The car didn't overheat or anything. Another thing you can do is get a block test, which should run you around $40. This will tell you if you have either a blown head gasket or cracked head. If you get your head gasket replaced, they'll pressure test the head as well, and resurface it too. Knock on wood, my car has run quite well since I had the work done. It definitely beat the $2000+ for a replacement engine.

--Josh
 
Chuck, you're confused -- there's no such thing as an oil level gauge. The gauge measures oil pressure, and so does the idiot light. The trouble with the idiot light is it's set to go off only if the oil pressure gets very low, and even at that it's not very accurate. Sometimes it'll light up when the pressure is still reasonably high and no damage has been done, other times it doesn't light up until it's too late and your engine is wrecked.

Even a gauge is no substitute for checking the oil level frequently -- it's bad to let it get low even if it isn't so low the pressure drops -- and the only way to check the oil level is with the dipstick.
 
actually, there's several european autos with oil level indicators in the dash. I have a friend who could use something like that, he has no qualms about running his engine dry. Finally got around to changing valve cover gaskets, but the intake was caked with oil in the upper plenum. Just about ran that truck into the ground.
 
My Mercedes, which has a 7.something quart crankcase, has an oil level guage (page on the menu actually) which will tell you how many quarts you have. It has an "idiot light" (actually a message on the display) for being one or more quarts low. Some older american cars used to have an oil level guage. In fact, my 89 olds cutlass supreme (the perfect car name for a knife collector, eh?) once put a message up on it's display complaining of being a quart low. It turned out to be a defective oil level sensor. A lot of big engines such as large trucks have oil level guages. Many boats do. Tractors, etc. do. But you need a bigger crankcase for such a thing to give a valid reading.
 
:footinmou I had never heard of an oil level gauge, and I thought I knew a little about engines. A quick Google turns up Peugeot, Porsche, and Rolls Royce, too. Evidently they are not very rare....
 
Apparently, Cougar, you're not driving the right kinds of cars. :D
 
Rolls Royce uses BMW engines, so I'm gonna assume that Beemers have 'em too.
 
I had a 84 (528i M SE) and a 91 (520i) neither had an oil gauge. Had a groovy onboard computer in the 528 though, except for the 'bong' sound when the windscrrn washer fluid got too low :rolleyes:
 
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