Ok guys so im going to my bosses house to pick up his comput and fix it. I got about 2 miles from home and noticed my temp was a little high. Not even a minute later I see smoke coming from the hood and my temp gauge is pegged past 260.

I pull up to a stop light and it dies. Managed to get it started again and limped to my other bosses house just a few blocks away. I believe it may have been the water pump that went out. I did hear this horrible noise though, not a grinding just a solid thumping almost, a little higher pitched than what you would consider thumping but a solid rythm none the less.

I sat outside my bosses house for a good 10 minutes and the thing was still smoking. When I had to restart it it just barely turned over, like the starter was sucking all the juice out of my battery? Could the pistons have gotten swollen up and started to sieze? I am going to go check it out tomorrow after work and see if it will start, or I can get the crank to turn with a wrench. Either way would the water pump going out be the cause of it overheating so fast?

I know the previous owner kept a bottle of antifreeze and water in the car, but this is the first time the thing has overheated on me. If the motor is shot im probably going to drop in a 350, which ive wanted to do, but the timing is just horrible

 

check the coolant level and pull the belt and check the water pump pulley... mine cracked internally and was jumping up and down making a constant thump.

 

I think that may be what happened with mine. I went after work to take a look at it, the car did turn over but wouldnt run, I didn't want to try and make it run either at the point in time. Either way I am taking tomorrow off from work to tow it back to the house and see what I can find out. When I did remove the cap from the radiator it let out a hissing sound which i thought to be air in the system somewhere, but no bubbling noises?

 

Could be your water pump. The Pulley may be stuck. Remember that its belt driven, so if it doesnt move, it makes it harder for the engine to run.

 

Just a word of advice, but unless you are in the mood for a new engine or a new car, the absolute worst possible thing anyone can do when the car is smoking/steaming from the engine bay and the needle is pegged at 260 is to continue driving it, restart it, etc, etc. Driving after you notice those serious issues can be the difference between replacing a damaged part or replacing a cracked/seized block. Pull to the side of the road, or push it if you have to and either fix it there or get it towed home or to a shop.

If you haven't damaged anything other than the initial bad part/parts that caused the overheating, do NOT try and start it up again until you find out and fix WHY it is overheating in the first place. Just some advice to you or anyone else that reads this.

 

Hey man, I totally agree with what you are saying. I knew it wasn't a good idea at the time when I kept driving it. I was in a bad part of town, and would have come back probably a couple hours later to find nothing on the street corner. I would rather have delt with a blown engine than my car ending up in Juarez by morning.

 

Good good, I just wanted to make sure. I've known a few people that think it's a-ok to drive a car that's overheating. Mostly newer cars, prolly thinking they have some kind of modern engine "run-flat" protection like some tires do.

As for your actualy problem, prolly the water pump. But check the hoses, radiator, water level including oil level, and make sure if you still have it, the hoses to and from the heater core are solid. Check the heater core as well if you are industrious, but not really necessary if you don't see/smell coolant in the car. With the noise, I would guess your water pump is DOA. Prolly a good idea to replace the thermostat too as long as the water pump is off.

I'm too lazy to check your info, but if you have TPI, there is a U shaped hose going from err the throttle body to the intake, very small, replace it. It's ancient by now and will be easy to replace since the pump will be coming off. Hopefully it's just the pump, but if the engine is gone too. Good time to put a decent engine in, or a stock like replacement if you don't wanna go performance. Make sure to drain the oil and make sure you didn't blow any internal seals and coolant is in the oil now.

 

Yeah man, if only our blocks were made from titanium. I just got the car home tonight via a trailer. Hopefully I can get the new water pump put on tomorrow after work and change the oil. Its supposed to be snowing down here on saturday so its got to get done before then.

I will deffinatly replace the thermostat. I think im going to go with a 180 for now and switch it back to a 160 in the summer as it gets fairly warm down here. I also am thinking about buying a radiator package, the Be Cool one from jegs was like 1,200 or so. I think it may be overkill. I also saw the Jegs package for like 515. It includes a lot of stuff I belive I dont need, like an overflow tank as I already have one. What would you reccomend?

 

i wouldn't waste my time on the becool package. running a stock water pump and stock radiator on a 350HO crate motor. all 3 are 3 years old, and the motor only heats up after about 15 minutes of idling(already warm of course), then my stock single electric fan cools it back down no problem.

those becool kits look real nice, just don't want to see you waste your money on pretty objects.

 

I got it fixed today. It was the lower radiator hose that bit the dust, about a 4 inch gash down the side of it. I ended up replacing the upper and lower hoses, water pump, and thermostat. I am going to do an oil change here in a bit, but the motor started up and souded normal, so I think im good.

 

good to hear man... my lower hose blew out a few months ago on a 120mile trip to austin. ended up changing it in a gas station parking lot and still made the trip.