Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2001 19:17:39 -0400 From: Benjamin Smith <benjsnopsametcom.com> Subject: Re: Someone break it to me slowly...
danny wrote: > Unlikely to be either of these answers. In fact both answers strike me as > completely uninformed, sorry! If it was a faulty thermostat the car would start > fine when cold, with no real pressurisation in the expansion tank until warm. > The block is cast iron (if the same as a 9000), so a blown cylinder head > gasket/warped head is the most likely result of overheating. This could prevent > the car from starting, as the gasket/warp could be bridging cylinders, allowing > them to fill with water. Not the end of the world, a new gasket set and a head > skim more than likely, but a mechanic needs to confirm that before embarking on a > head gasket job. To get more clues, you need to find out what is in the water. > This can either be fuel/air or exhaust/air, depending on where the head gasket > has blown - adjacent to an inlet or exhaust valve, or both. There are simple > test kits that will tell you what's in the water. If the car started and was > running rough after the overheating this would also indicate a head gasket or > warped head, and also indicates that the engine wasn't seized. How far into the > red area did the temp guage go? Just in would be the gasket - to the top of the > red would probably indicate a warped head as well, in my opinion, and I'm nothing > more than a DIY person (who's done a few head gaskets!) > Sounds like what happened to my 90 Volvo turbo 4. Had a catastrophic loss of coolant. Drove car maybe 10 minutes in the red zone. Overheated, lots of steam, scary. My car started when cold and ran OK for about 4 minutes then overheated. I blew the engine. Have to get it to a mechanic see if you blew the head gasket and what type of engine damage there may be. Hope it is not as bad as mine, I had to replace the engine.