did i hurt my engine???

[iamjeff]

ok, so i drive home this afternoon from college to pick up my gn so i can get it ready for the oklahoma buick vs. mustang shootout. i drive back to college station (2 hour trip) and decide to stop at barnes and noble to pick up the new car crafter (they didnt have it). everything is cool. so then i drive back to my dorm and park. i let the car idle for a little while to let the trubo cool off and happen to glance at the temp guage...239!!! HOLY C#$P! so i shut it off and pop the hood. there is some steam that rolls out(not a whole lot, but some) and i hear sizzling. i look under neath the car and there is a not so nice puddle of coolant on the ground that looks like it is originating around the crossmember area(not from the radiator itself). all of the hoses are new since the whole car on this rebuild has maybe only 6-7k miles. i think something must have happened between B&N and the dorm because i didnt hear any sizzling or notice any puddles at B&N. do ya'll think i hurt the engine with the temps hitting 239* (most likely temporarily)? any advice would be helpfull. also, i cant really inspect anything right now because it is dark. tomorrow i will have a better idea of what caused the problem.

-jeff

 

[turbo2nr]

Tranny temps also got high.

 

[Rickracer]

If it was only at that temp for a short time.....

.....you probably didn't hurt anything. I'd definitely find the coolant leak. Be sure to check the weep hole in your water pump.

 

[MeanBuicks]

No, you didn't hurt anything with those temps. I've had two incidents with mine that had the temps over 250°. A few years ago the fusible link that supplies power to the fans blew and when I got off the highway the temps skyrocketed.

Then, the week before last, my original A/C compressor locked up and broke the belt a mile and a half from the house. With no water pump, it hit 255° by the time I hit the driveway. The car is still tooling around just fine.

 

[iamjeff]

i have an external tranny cooler, so i wouldnt think that the tranny would have got too hot. i looked at it a little this morning and i couldnt really see an obvious problem. i will put some coolant back in it and see if i can find the problem. it looks like it might have been coming out of one of the heater hoses, but im not sure. i really hope i didnt hurt it.

jeff

 

[MistaScott]

Did you hurt anything mechanically? Almost certainly no. Did the high temps create excessive engine or trans wear while you were hot? Probably, but it is no big deal. We cause excessive wear everytime we cold start an engine...

 

[d0n_3d]

My fan circuitry has failed a couple times and my temps have hit 220-250 before before I knew it...just shut the car off and let her cool down...thank god I had antifreeze instead of pure water! fixed the fan circuit and everything is fine...my tranny is hooked up to a standalone cooler with a fan on it so no worries there even if the fan goes...i think you will be fine...just check for that leak!

i forgot to mention that alot of the newer cars run like 210 degrees NORMAL all the time...so 250 can't be THAT bad...now if the gauge is pegged at 300 or something then i would worry

 

[Turbo Brian]

On GM cars with a HOT light, the light does not come on until about 255 degrees F.

A lot of 80's vintage GM cars with a fan switch for the electric fan, had a turn on point of 240 and a turn off point at 220 (assuming that the A/C was not turned on). If you did not exceed 250 during that short period, there should be no damage.

However, if the sensor was uncovered because of a loss of coolant, there is no telling what the actual temp may have been.

 

[iamjeff]

i have to fix the leak before i take the car anywhere...i would guess it dumped out about ~3-4 gallons of coolant in the parking lot. i dont remember the reading on my mechanicall guage, but i remember about where the needle wasa pinting and i will check that tomorrow. thanks for all of the advice guys.

-jeff

 

[iamjeff]

the heater bypass hose poped off where it connects to the water pump for some reason. seems strange that it would pop off after 6k miles... but easy fix, and the car is running nice and cool again (170-180 with stock rad fan and a fmic). thanks for the help guys.

-jeff

 

[machinegun]

Just for infomation purposes. If this car is stock block and heads you did not hurt it. The castiron heads and block are very reilient to heat and since they are of the same materials, they expand and contract on a very similar basis. 239 is hot but not deadly to thease engines. Good to hear it was something simple.

 

[Medbull]

Glad you found your problem, and that it was an easy fix.

Hope you can make it up to the shootout on the 30th.

 

[iamjeff]

i plan on making it. im glad this happened here and not in the middle of nowhere between college station and noble. that would have sucked. i got my new msd wires in the other day, plenty of alcohol and new plugs. now all i need is some better tires... i'd like to see a new best with the cooler air and all.

-jeff

 

[Pronto]

I'ld change the oil and filter just in case some got burned.

 

[iamjeff]

not a bad idea. thanks

-jeff