junkyarddog

my car starts fine,it doesn't smoke or steam from the tail pipes however it's strangley burning much hotter than it was before,like it's running lean or the timing is retarded,but that's not the case. the cooling sytem is in 100% working order. when it runs it likes to stay on fast idle and it won't kick down...(that may be the carb but it seems to be doing everything right) it also smells like hot metalic dirt smell....it won't really overheat until it's taken for a ride up & down the street. I've talked to a couple people and they've told me that the engine could have been destroyed beyond repair when it was taken for a joyride....the heads are most likely craked/warped...ect, ect...but the strange thing is,the motor shows no real symtoms of having serious problems,it starts right up,sounds good (no knocking,mech. noises),doesn't stumble,no smoke of anykind from the exaust pipes!!.....so what can cause this??? the engine gets hot and lacks power,the fan is working and the thermostat is opening (the water is bubbling out from the radiator) when the car was found,the rad cap was set aside and there was no coolant in there at all! the engine WAS new w/11k miles on it...it's running...what's the deal??

GRENDLE

check that coolant flows through the radiator. fill the radiator and start the car. look at the coolant in the radiator make sure it's flowing (it should be moving decently) if not your radiator is clogged . get a new one or have it rodded. next check to make sure you have a spring in your lower hose (some replacements dont have them) if not get one with a spring. without it the hose will collapse and the engine will over heat , this usually only happens when your driving. lastly if all else fails pull the heads. my bronco 2 did the same thing (but was consuming small ammounts of coolant, but no smoke) and one of the heads was cracked in like 6 places. small cracks but enough to let the heat in and boil the coolant. hope that helps.

86Z

iTrader: (4)

first of all pull your oil diptick and see if it looks muddy, if so you have a blown headgasket or cracked head/block, it could also be your radiator cap

junkyarddog

thanks for the suggestions,the engine must've been red hot!! with no coolant?? they must have entered my car in the "junkyard wars" and held brakestands with no coolant and just waited for it to die ...(impound lot). I talked to someone today who suggested I take a better look at the whole cooling system,it could be clogged from the left behind sludge when the coolant evaporated.

replacing the cap and thermostat would be a good start,the coolant will boil over befor the temp guage even moves,it's connected but it doesn't move,so that's either broken or the coolant isn't flowing where the sensor is. (I had a similar problem when the thermostat stuck closed on my mitsubishi) I didn't bother to check the lower hose because it's new...but I'm not sure if it had a spring or not,I think it's worth a trip up there to get another look at it befor I pull the heads. I bet those guys at united towing thought ruining my car was funny at the time,...but I'm sure they won't think it's funny when they are being senslesly terrorized in revenge for what they did to my car,no one will get hurt,I can't garantee no property damage but it'll be in good humor and justice will be done!....one think at a time though.

Hulk0202

Did you check to make sure your air dam is still there? I took mine off when I first got the car and it ran hot all the time until I replaced ity. Its the only way air gets to the radiator.