My car has been sidelined for the last 8 weeks as I gutted the interior, repaired the floorpan, replaced most of the body panels, then got the interior back together today (finally). I took it on a celebration cruise today, and it was good for about 2 hours.

Then all of a sudden the temp gauge springs up and I have smoke billowing out everywhere, I thought I'd thrown a rod or the engine had caught fire.

Well it wasn't so much smoke at is was steam. A plastic piece that connects 3 coolant lines together and also appears to have a few wires going to it split open, allowing coolant to spray everywhere. Its near the airbox, and seems to pretty much just hang freely from the lines. (In trying to find this rupture, I waited till the car cooled down, refilled the radiator, had someone start the motor, and got sprayed with near boiling coolant. I'm in a great mood right now...)

Anyone have any idea what this is and how much it will cost to replace? I'd give you pics, but its dark, I'm covered in coolant and not going back to the car till I blow off a little steam.

 

Sounds like the heater control valve. Was it on the passenger side, above the exhaust manifold? You can get one from Autozone for around $20, and it should be pretty easy to change.

 

Thank you sir. I looked it up online, and that sure looks like what broke. I appreciate the fast response.

I've got some burns on my right hand and arm, don't look to bad. I just hope this 170K mile engine didn't get too damaged when the temp spiked.