engine runs strong suddenly, no temp gauge, no heat from heater

[Kagato]

Sorry been away for so long, been working my ass off! iv been sourcing parts, tryin to decide if i really wanna do the work i THOUGHT i had to do to it, and basicly tryin to decide if i should just junk it or fix it.

Little history: Got a rip in a coolant hose months ago, drove it without realising it untill i had steam pouring out from the engine bay. Motor seemed to get extremely hot and was burning oil like a son-of-a-bitch. After that engine started shuddering real bad, oil light started flashing, and motor died on me. Past attempts to start car ended in starting but hardcore shuddering, low idle, and eventually motor just shut off.

Had to move it to the street today so for giggles i started it up to see if i could just force it out there. Well lo and behold, it started fine! Engine is running fine, no misfires, no missing cylinders.

However, after letting it idle for long enough for the motor to get hot to the touch, i noticed my temp gauge doesnt work anymore, heater is not producing heat, and the radiator hoses dont get hot. is it possible i didnt damage the head or burn out the head gasket like i thought? maybe just burned out the temp sensor? is the water pump maybe fried? wondering if this world is just weird and my car is fine?

[russiankid]

Have you checked the fluid level as you mentioned it leaked out?

[Kagato]

fluid level is above maximum in the reseviour. squeezed the hose going to top of radiator and i didnt feel any sloshing or moving of liquid

[Pico]

as far as no heat, sounds like you may have a air bubble in the cooling system. Try bleeding the system and recheck for any leaks

[Kagato]

alrighty, attempted to bleed coolant system. did as per instructions i found on here, at first, nothing was happening. noticed radiator was bone dry, so added some fluids. started getting steam coming out of bleeder hole, then the radiator started to throw up on me. scared me silly. this normal? add more coolant or water to radiator?

[Pico]

more coolant, you dont want to be running straight water. I usually keep the bleeder screw open and add my fluids till it comes out the bleeder. Tighten the bleeder screw and let the car warm up to operating temp and bleed the system a few more times.

[Kagato]

using coolant/water mix. have the concentrated coolant stuff. level of coolant dropped significantly, so refilled and now reseviour level is unchanged. ok so temp gauge now working, gets into red of overheat zone when idling, no heat from heater yet. still nothin but steam coming from bleeder screw when open. appears as tho theres some coolant coming out but cant tell if its bubbles from the coolant or if metal is so hot its boiling it. let it run a bit, as soon as i closed bleeder screw steam started blowin outta the radiator cap

update:
car is at normal heat level while idling, start to drive it and heat spikes up, steam starts blowing from radiator cap and heat will drop down to normal level and stay there, yet every once in a while steam will release from radiator cap again. still no heat from heater. unable to tell if bleeding is effective due to high level of steam coming from screw hole, and any fluid coming up is boiled away almost immediately. improper mix of coolant and water? bad circulation of coolant? should i let car cool down and have the bleeder screw and radiator cap open tomorrow when i attempt bleeding again?

[hewofmatt]

I had a coolant pipe on my BMW 318ti break a few months ago, steam was everywhere. I was so scared I warped the head it wasn't funny. It was just acting like you said though... I would start it and it would start rough and die shortly after. I noticed that if I took the rad cap off it started ok. Anyway, it was a pain to get the coolant bled. here's a few tips that helped me on the BMW.... which by the way I sold because I like my 3g better.

This is by no means a how to, just a few helpful tips.
1.YOU MUST bleed system while having the ignition on but do not start the car, turn the heater on full blast. This allows the flow of coolant through the heater core. I forgot to do this the first time so I ended up bleeding it again.
2.Raising the front of the vehicle on ramps or stands helps a bunch. It makes the air rise to the area of the bleed screw. It might be best to just jack the passenger side of the car up, because that's the side the bleed screw is on (I Think)
3.Of course squeezing hoses.
4. After removing the bleed screw blow into the top of the radiator with the heater still on, this will force the fluid into the hoses/engine and will eventually and hopefully get the air out.
5. I was literally weeks trying to fix that stinkin' BMW and all it needed was a few more tries of bleeding the system. Tip #5 KEEP TRYING! 3gees are worth it.

Hope this helps

[hewofmatt]

Oh, after the air stops coming out of the bleeder screw in "Tip #4" and you have a nice flow of fluid with no air bubbles, tighten the screw, stop blowing and check the fluid level.

[nswst8]

As for no heat check the valve at the fire wall to see if the valve is in the open position.

Second possibility is you have a clogged hose to your heater core.

The circulating fins on the water pump could have desentergrated and you have no ability to curculate your coolant.

Your termostat has failed.

Bad rad cap.

[lostforawhile]

did the fluid puke out of the radiator neck all of the sudden? if it overheated you may have blown a head gasket,this would be caused by cyl pressure being forced into the cooling system. if it overheats right after you warm it up, this is very possible. your oil may look fine because it's just a coolant passage that is now open to a cyl. you need to find someone with a coolant pressure tester or rent one from autozone. this will tell you quick if thats what it is.

[russiankid]

Fluid is to be checked in the radiator not the overflow tank. Keeping the correct level in the overflow tank is important, but having a full radiator is much more important.

[lostforawhile]

to use that coolant pressure tester you install the correct adaptor for the radiator cap, then attach it in place of the cap, now you pump it up to the correct system pressure,if you have a blown head gasket or such it won't hold pressure. you really need to do this test from what you said, coolant spewing out of the radiator all of the sudden is indicative of cyl pressure in the cooling system

[lostforawhile]

ok if you have an autozone near you, this tool is your best friend right now, you can rent this from them,basically you pay for the tool,then bring it back,and get your money back. I really think you might have blown a head gasket at a coolant passage, this will tell you quick if you did. http://www.autozone.com/in_our_store...ure_tester.htm

[Kagato]

turns out i just had to let the engine cool down, add more fluids, and do another bleed in the morning. everything came out just fine, she's runnin strong again. New stuff keeps poppin up tho, next paycheck is a fuel pump and entire brake system (except the lines)