Victim of overheating today :(

[00firebird]

I could smell something funny but wasn't sure if it was my car or someone else's. When I looked the temperatures were normal. I pulled over to check and found this.



luckily it happened right next to a parts store so I rigged it with a clamp and tried driving back home the 1.5 or so miles.



about a mile later I looked down and noticed my temp gauge was blaring in the Red and check guages light had gone on obviously. I shut it off immediately but I'm not sure if I was too late.
Stupidly, I forgot it was going to need replacement coolant put back in before it was driveable. Now I'm wondering how bad the damage could be to the motor. bearings, pistons etc.
Do I just drive it and hope for the best? Change the oil and see what happens? I just put mobil 1 syn in it about a week ago so maybe the oil helped. Will changing it again help since the oil has probably been past it's expected operating ranges.

It's sitting back where I left it, i'll be going back in a hour or so to fill it back up then head home. If you have any other checks or ideas fill me in.

Edit: just limped it home a half mile, it seemed to stay normal on temps. It took OVER 1.5 gallons of coolant/mix though just to get the radiator full and from what I remember the last time doing a coolant flush the whole thing only takes 2-3. I'm going to let it sit overnight and top it off again tomorrow. I might have to re-bleed the system. What other precautions should I take before driving it again?

[1BADAIR]

now the question is- did it over heat cause the hose came off or did the hose come off cause it overheated.

a/c on? is the condenser plugged causing heat and the cap let it over pressure?

[jderry]

I thought I heard something about those being common to come apart on the newer model 3.8l cars.

(edit)
So common they make a fix for them.
http://www.camarozone.com/forum/f75/...ectors-143414/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/95-02-3-8-V6...6fdfb9&vxp=mtr


If you're worried, fix the issue correctly, top it off cold and change the oil. If you have good oil pressure and the temps are normal I'd say drive it.

[meissen]

Ouch... doesn't sound good.

[00firebird]

now the question is- did it over heat cause the hose came off or did the hose come off cause it overheated.

a/c on? is the condenser plugged causing heat and the cap let it over pressure?

yeah I did have my a/c on today. I didn't notice it overheating even when at a point when I know it was driving around with the hose off. I think after the coolant dang-near emptied itself it started overheating. It filled back up with ALOT of coolant and it seemed to stay normal on temps after.
That ebay link looks alot cheaper than the v6fixit place, 3 times cheaper actually. I'll try that one out.

Went to the dealer, they said #24506322 is the adapater $16.20 from the grand prix, not sure if that is 3/4ths or 5/8ths size as i'm reading there are two different ones. guess we'll find out
screw is #11561025 $.070 each.

[2002Z4CSS]

You did not drive it too far it should be ok.

[00firebird]

Well here's the fix I'm not sure how much more I trust it. I had to overtighten the clamp because it was pulling off by hand at normal tightness. Now it's bulging alot and not sure if that's ok.

[matlt1]

I would not be too concerned about the oil. Although the coolant temperature went up it was due to the coolant level being low (insuffient volume to act as a good heat exchanger) whereas your oil level was still intact. This matters because the two fluid temperatures do not completely coincide one for one. Odds are the oil temp did increase slightly but it would not have gone up nearly as fast as the coolant temp if the oil level was still good. If you are still concerned pull the did stick and take a sniff of the oil. You will be able to tell rather quickly if it is 'burned.'

[jderry]

I would not be too concerned about the oil. Although the coolant temperature went up it was due to the coolant level being low (insuffient volume to act as a good heat exchanger) whereas your oil level was still intact. This matters because the two fluid temperatures do not completely coincide one for one. Odds are the oil temp did increase slightly but it would not have gone up nearly as fast as the coolant temp if the oil level was still good. If you are still concerned pull the did stick and take a sniff of the oil. You will be able to tell rather quickly if it is 'burned.'

For the $30 a oil change cost, I'd rather be safe then sorry with the life-blood of your engine.

[meissen]

I'm surprised in the design -- if you're still able to pull those hoses off without overtightening it doesn't seem like it's any more effective?

[Darren]

doesnt look kosher to me.

[matlt1]

For the $30 a oil change cost, I'd rather be safe then sorry with the life-blood of your engine.

Oil does not run into issues unless it is continuously operated above 250*F for an extended period of time. Considering the OP
s coolant temperature gauge got in the red for only a short time it is very likely the oil never even got close to being too hot.

[MORNINGSTAR2101]

If you shut it off when the gauge light came on, you should be fine