Help - Overheating

[FlashFyre]

I've been lurking for awhile on the forums. I bought a 97 B/W GTS about a month ago. I started to get some grinding from the front of the engine so I decided to take it into the mechanic. On the way to the mechanic I threw the belt, caused by a defective power steering pulley. I decided to keep on driving to the mechanic(3 miles away). The temp guage went into the red for for about 5 minutes. When I got the mechanic I turned off the engine and opened the hood. Couldn't see any smoke. I checked 10mins later and the temp guage was indicating half-way between the operating line and the redline.

Did I do any damage to the engine? Oil is being changed as well.

 

[dave6666]

Um, yours are certainly larger than mine...

I would save a sample of the used oil for grins and giggles. If it doesn't knock or smoke, or if it wasn't when you shut it down, you may have survived.

 

[FlashFyre]

Car seemed totally normal all the way to the mechanics. It was started 30mins after I got there and put into a stall without any problems. Starting to think I may have been quite the fool driving the extra few minutes on her.

 

[SquadX]

Time will tell. I would of just pulled over and let her cool. Keep us posted.

 

[plumcrazy]

Don't think....you're a fool

Change all the fluids and start it. Listen to see what happens. Hope its ok

 

[whitebluevipe]

your fan should have still run. the belt wouldn't affect that right? plus if you are moving the temp should have stayed down anyway. make sure you post your vin so nobody geys stuck buying this car in the future.

 

[Martin]

Definitely check the oil for signs of abnormal metal, as well as glycol. I threw my belt when the P/S pulley grenaded, but only drove it for about a quarter mile before I could safely pull over, and it had only just gotten into the red when I shut it down. About a month after replacing the P/S pump, I lost two pushrods. I have no idea if it was related to the overheating or not - I replaced the pushrods and it's been fine ever since. You should check it out top to bottom - these engines generally don't like to be overheated.

 

[Martin]

your fan should have still run. the belt wouldn't affect that right? plus if you are moving the temp should have stayed down anyway. make sure you post your vin so nobody geys stuck buying this car in the future.

The fan will run, but no water is circulating since the belt runs the water pump.

 

[eucharistos]

good luck

 

[97GTS]

Hope it is OK. Let us know.


Ron

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I'll bet the lower end is fine. The oil takes longer to heat up than the coolant, and even then the oil can tolerate 300F for short periods. (One of the engine tests for the API service category runs at full load, oil at 300F and coolant at 240F for 100 hours.)

The cylinder walls may see more stress because that's where a lot of the coolant goes, along with the heads. If the cooling system was still full and not blowing steam, you must have stayed under the rad cap blowoff temp and pressure, too. A compression test would evaluate rings/walls, head gasket, valve seats, etc.

If the last part of the trip was moderate speeds and steady load, my car even cools off under those conditions.

You should now go and buy a lottery ticket.

 

[Dom426h]

make sure you post your vin so nobody gets stuck buying this car in the future.

I agree. update your profile with info or be banned.

Riding in the Red for 5 min. What were you smokin?

 

[Dom426h]

do not replace your pulley with a stock unit.

ROE Racing & BigBrakeDave make a nice aluminum pulley & bracket that is a must upgrade for every viper.

 

[Martin]

On a side note to what Tom mentioned above, one of the nice things about these engines is that they hold a lot of oil, and they have a good sized oil cooler. Not that it protects you much, but you do have a little bit of cooling from the circulating oil. If you got out of this one without any damage, consider yourself lucky!

 

[FlashFyre]

do not replace your pulley with a stock unit.

ROE Racing & BigBrakeDave make a nice aluminum pulley & bracket that is a must upgrade for every viper.

Yeah, I've got another stock plastic one put on. I'll get the aluminum one next year.

On a side note to what Tom mentioned above, one of the nice things about these engines is that they hold a lot of oil, and they have a good sized oil cooler. Not that it protects you much, but you do have a little bit of cooling from the circulating oil. If you got out of this one without any damage, consider yourself lucky!

Just got the car home. I can't tell anything is wrong with the car. Idles normally. No metallic noises. Same kinda rough idle with the normal cam profile. Oil was free of coolant and metal. Oil was just a lil darker than normal but otherwise fine.

Hopefully I dodged a bullet with this one. Only reason I drove it to the mechanic was because I figured I wouldnt be able to start it after I stopped cause of losing the alternator. I didnt think the battery would hold up. As for driving there, I kept the RPMS under 2k. Once at speed I shifted to neutral and coasted to the shop. Was all back country roads, not city driving.

 

[FlashFyre]

I agree. update your profile with info or be banned.

Riding in the Red for 5 min. What were you smokin?

Don't worry about me trying to sell the car. She is going to be buried with me when I pass.

 

[2000_Black_RT10]

Big ticket items are usually heads that get warped when overheated, sounds like it's ok.. it's an advantage that the block and heads are aluminum during times like these..

 

[eucharistos]

just noticed ur s/n

coincidence


sounds like no damage

 

[Martin]

Glad to hear it all held together!! That would be one big mess if something gave up... Did you get the P/S bracket replaced at the same time as the pulley? One thing a lot of people inadvertently do is replace the pulley or pump and forget to replace the bracket - just to have the bracket give up a couple months later. Having the bracket give up can be really catastrophic - if you think the car overheated with just the belt flying off, think what would happen when the whole pump comes loose and spits P/S fluid all over your exhaust manifold. Not a pretty sight.