[brianforster]

So I apologize about using the annoying all caps in the title, but it is late and this is a time sensitive issue

I was driving home from work today and I stopped to get food. When I got back in the car, I turned it on and it sputtered and died, I turned it on again and it fired right up. I look down, and the temp gauge is in the red. Seems strange as I never saw any steam.

It looks like the reservoir is pretty full, so I'm confused but I'm only a few blocks from home. I turn the heat on full blast as I was always told to do if its running hot, but the heat is cold. So I get home and start researching online.

Sounds like theres a bubble in the system, so I try burping it and didn't really see any noticeable bubbles, but I make sure its topped off with fluids and I go for a drive.

Uh oh. Starts getting warm. I pull over and open up the radiator, I try to squeeze the top radiator hose to help with the burp, doesn't seem too do much. This time however, with the radiator cap off, eventually it seemed like a full blown overheat as steam started pouring out of the radiator.

I drive it halfway home and it seems the heat kicks on for a few minutes now, I notice the temp gauge return to normal. I felt like a success! Very short lived however. After a few min of the heat coming and going, it went and never came back. Temp slowly creeped up, so I decided to pull over again. I went inside to get another jug of water, and when I came out I poured it in (the engine was hot, the water was warm, in retrospect, doesn't seem like the smartest idea).

It boiled over a few more times until it was cool enough to hold a little and put the cap back on.

Now heres where we stand:

I had to play with the big flathead screw on the throttle body quite a bit to keep it running. It seems as if whatever I had it set to this morning will no longer keep the truck running. I'd say in order to keep it idling now I have to unscrew the thing about 75-80%.

When I parked it on a REALLY steep hill, it wouldnt stay idling, I thought this would get all the burps out, but I had to adjust that screw again just to make it idle. After a few min of letting it idle, no burping or bubbles so I gave up.

During this whole ordeal I somehow popped my donut, so the truck is parked for the night until I can go get a tire tomorrow morning.

At that point, what are my best options for safely getting it a few miles home, and then from there how do I begin to diagnose the coolant issue

side question: how likely is it that I damaged the motor? Steam never came from anywhere other than the top of the radiator, it doesn't make any horrendous knocking, ticking, or pinging noises.

Sorry for the ramble.. I'm in a very bad place right now and this was the last thing that needed to happen. I appreciate any and all advice.

 

[ridge28]

kinda sounds how mine acted but mine eventually turned out to be a leak in the head gasket then a full blown gasket

 

[Dave's]

First, NEVER add water to an overheated engine unless it's running and even then it should be done very slowly, if at all. Next, if you haven't had any problems before then I would probably try removing the t-stat (just because it could be stuck shut), refilling the system (perhaps with just adding water for the moment) and starting it up with the radiator cap (not the coolant bottle cap) off. Don't let it overheat but without the t-stat you should see the coolant start to move thru the cap opening as soon as it's running. (With the t-stat in it could take 10-15 minutes at most.) If not then your water pump is probably the cause. If you continue to lose coolant and there's no visible signs of a leak you probably will need to replace the head gasket at the very least. Pouring cold water into a hot engine can crack the metal, warp the head, etc. If everything seems to be working fine without the t-stat then replace it. It's there to help heat the engine to optimal operating temperature. While it's possible to run without one, gas mileage and performance may suffer and you probably won't have heat in the winter. However, unless there's something new I'm unaware of, you should be fine driving it without a t-stat long enough to test for a problem. Good luck. JM2cents. BTW, I'm assuming the cooling fan(s) is working and here's a reminder not to get your fingers in it.

 

[brianforster]

I went today, removed the thermostat. Bolted everything back up, and filled it with 50/50. Started the truck, heat on full blast. Squeezed the upper radiator hose to try and help burp it. After a while I noticed the coolant moving from left to right across the radiator.

The car seems to be running fine, except that for some reason, as it warms up the idle began to drop, to the point where it would not idle. I had to unscrew that idle screw a fair bit. It sounded fine, and then 5 minutes later it was idling at like 500 rpms, so I unscrewed it a bit more and it was stable at around 900 rpms.

My question is, it feels like this screw is WAY more unscrewed than it was before this situation. Are they related? What does this screw actually do?

I checked the dipstick and the oil was clean as a whistle. No metal shavings or signs of coolant. As the coolant was running across the radiator I did not notice any oil in there either.

Going to take it for another test drive later, and then replace the thermostat this weekend. Will there be any harm to running without a t stat for 2 days?

 

[Dirty Dude]

Knowing what year, model, and engine we're talking about would be helpful.

 

[brianforster]

I apologies, its the 22RE

 

[kamesama980]

unscrewing (CCW) opens up the idle bypass causing more air to go around the throttle plate and bring the idle up. screwing it in closes off this passage causing the engine to idle lower.

I'll have to double check but I don't think mine is more than 2 or 3 turns from bottoming out.

Does sound a bit like BHG. Are there any external coolant leaks?

TIP: when diagnosing the cooling system and you know you're going to be opening it again (like putting the t-stat back in) use just distilled water. then you don't have to worry about spilling it on the ground when you open the system

 

[Dave's]

Shouldn't do any damage to run without the t-stat for a couple of days. It can affect performance and MPG but I don't think it can do any real harm. T-stat get stuck open and often people don't even realize it until they have no heat in the winter.

 

[brianforster]

Welp, definitely a blown head gasket. Drove the car about 2.5 stop and go city miles and it started dieng at stop lights, had to rev to keep it moving. Finally managed to get it home. Thanks for all the advice folks!