Engine issue

[ROYMAN]

So out of nowhere my oil temp gauge hits max as well as the coolant temp... Getting some smoke from under the hood. This has never happened before and I just got the car back from the body shop. Any ideas as to what's going on?

 

[HOLLYWOOD1]

So out of nowhere my oil temp gauge hits max as well as the coolant temp... Getting some smoke from under the hood. This has never happened before and I just got the car back from the body shop. Any ideas as to what's going on?

Sounds like there is a short somewhere....I find it highly unlikely that both gauges would fail at once......has to be a short or bad ground somewhere.

 

[Sonoman]

All bad signs... body shop may have left something in a bad state (Fan(s) running?, is the radiator blocked-- masked off?, is there a normal coolant level in the reservoir?, did they drain the coolant and not bleed the system?). Generally, cooling system problems also raise oil temp so I would start with a thorough cooling system check. Should shut the car off if the oil temp ever goes to the high end of the gauge (300F). Running oil temps over ~270F or so breaks down the oil fairly quickly, 280F being an absolute max for sustained operation according to some manufacturers.

 

[ViperGeorge]

Did both gauges move abnormally quickly to the high end or did they move up gradually? What did the smoke or under hood smell like? Burnt rubber? Antifreeze? Oil? Check wires near the engine and especially the exhaust. Did a wire or wires come loose and fall onto exhaust? Do you see any burn residue on exhaust?

 

[ROYMAN]

looks like its the radiator, not sure how that happened but I guess I will have to get a new one...
Anyhow the coolant gauge goes first and then the oil, it takes a few miles of driving for this to happen. The smoke smells kinda like coolant or anti freeze, defiantly not oil or rubber, and there is no burn residue on the exhaust.
I don't trust my own judgement though so I am going to have the dealership check it out sometime this week, hopefully they did mask the radiator or its something simple so I don't have to replace it, but just in case can someone refer me to the cheapest place to buy one ? thanks!
-Roy

 

[sssammm]

could be a stuck thermostat, ....or worse, a head gasket

 

[Sonoman]

Speaking of sssam's comment, running with no coolant, a blown head gasket, or no coolant flow can cause severe damage. This is one of those cases where it is best to pay for the flatbed/tow rather than risk driving it in, even if it's a sub- five minute drive.

 

[ROYMAN]

agreed. Its waiting at my mechanics now and not going anywhere until this issue is solved.

 

[EllowViper]

What was it in the bodyshop for???

 

[Alabaster Mamba]

Well since it is overheating, it could be anything ranging from bad belt on water pump, bad water pump, or bad thermostat. When you first start it up, you can look in the radiator and see if the antifreeze is circulating. If not, it is either water pump or thermostat. Only remove the radiator cap when the engine is cool. Verify that the belt on the water pump is there and not missing or slipping. A radiator won't just go bad like that. If it did, you would have antifreeze all over the place.

 

[ROYMAN]

there was some minor damage to the front of the car but it looks like the problem was found... I had another mechanic take a closer look at the radiator and he located a hole. His thoughts were that a screw was somehow left in the front end by the body shop and once the fan turned on it threw it through the radiator.... sounds like an interesting story but whatever the hole was found and the radiator has been ordered. Hopefully this solves the problem.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

Could have been worse. Glad it's figured out.