A Question

[RealBlackMan]

I'm not so car savvy and I wont claim to be, so here it is. A few days ago I was driving and my car started to overheat. It was too bad and I was able to make it home okay. I let the engine cool, I found that the coolant was gone, and I filled the radiator with cold water. Now when I start the car, it starts okay, but the coolant light stays on. I havent driven it since but was thinking about taking it to the shop to see if there is more damage done than overheating. Am I overreacting or should I take it and get it looked at?

[brasolt03]

No you are not overeacting these cars are very prone to head gasket failuer and this issue needs to be looked into. There could also be a number of things that have happend that caused overheating.

[RealBlackMan]

Is it safe to drive or should I wait until Im able to get it into the shop before driving? like I wrote before, the radiator was dry but I did fill it with water and now, it seems okay when I start it up and let it run idle...

[MichiganTeddyBear]

definately get it looked at, if it overheated, you need to make sure the shop (hopefully a reputable one) knows that. As previously mentioned, headgaskets are a weak spot on these, and overheating will cause a weak one to go. A good shop will do a compression test at a minimum to see if the gaskets held up.

the root cause of the overheat needs to be addressed as well. if you find the gaskets are gone, it could have been them that caused the overheat. but there are other causes to that must be checked out.

[RealBlackMan]

Well I just returned from a shop that I trust but they arent able to get me in until Tuesday. They did ask me questions like if the water I put in the radiator and overflow was leaking (its not) and if it's overheated since it did initially (which it has not, then again I havent drove it really since it overheated). If it IS a gasket that may be cracked, would I still be able to drive the car to work as long as I have coolant with me while Im driving, or should I wait until Tuesday to make sure the problem? Or, is the water instead of the anti-freeze making a difference?

[Sysanalyst]

...If it IS a gasket that may be cracked, would I still be able to drive the car to work as long as I have coolant with me while Im driving, or should I wait until Tuesday to make sure the problem? ...

I'd not drive any vehicle suspected of having a head gasket leak. You will only do further damage by driving that vehicle in it's current state/condition.


...Or, is the water instead of the anti-freeze making a difference?

Water will only make the vehicle overheat and boil over sooner. Water boils at 212 degress F. Coolant at a 50-50 ratio will boil at around 235 F. Besides, water will erode aluminum water passages over time as well as deprive your water pump seals of needed lubrication.

In short; leave your vehicle in "offline" mode until it is fixed.

[RealBlackMan]

Will do, thanks...

[KENDO & MYRA]

do you have water in the oil ?
do you have white smoke from the tail pipe ?
i was getting some air in my system so i put a small hole in the thermostate to let the air pass and all is well...............
there are several products on the market to seal up gasket and block leaks and they work......................................
dont use water in the radiator,only coolant