zeitgeist57 Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 My wife was driving our '05 Caravan (130k+ miles...3.3L V6) which has had a cracked radiator for a few months. It's primarily an around-town DD, so I just keep the coolant level up. On Sunday, I topped off the radiator with distilled water, figuring it would be good for a couple of weeks. She called me today from the road, saying how the temp gauge was pegged and a couple of lights were on. She wasn't that far from home, so I told her to take it easy and get home slowly. No sooner I said that when she complained about a loud noise, and then it suddenly stalled. She got it restarted immediately, and was able to get it home. It was making a bunch of noise, but I couldn't hear it through her cell phone. Once she parked it in the driveway, she said it smelled really badly of burnt oil. I was expecting the worst. I got home for lunch a half-hour later to give her the Passat. The hood was up and I could still see heat waves coming from the engine. The oil dipstick and oil fill cap both looked good...no coolant in the oil. It smelled terrible though. Popped the radiator cap and not a drop of coolant. I let it cool down for 10 more minutes, then filled it with a gallon of Prestone and a gallon+ of distilled water. To my shock, it started right up, making a hellatious sound for one second then disappearing altogether. I let it run for a bit and turned it off...took Cleetus back to work for the rest of the day. Tonight, I started it up and it purred like a kitten. Drove it for 15-20 minutes around UA, and it's never been so smooth, from idle to the way it's shifting. Really, it's surprising how much smoother it's running. Is it possible that even though she may not have blown a head gasket - thankfully - she got it so hot that it broke apart and burned away 130k miles of carbon buildup??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furloaf Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Lol maybe. Detonating could have knocked the carbon buildup off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 My wife was driving our '05 Caravan (130k+ miles...3.3L V6) which has had a cracked radiator for a few months. It's primarily an around-town DD, so I just keep the coolant level up. On Sunday, I topped off the radiator with distilled water, figuring it would be good for a couple of weeks. She called me today from the road, saying how the temp gauge was pegged and a couple of lights were on. She wasn't that far from home, so I told her to take it easy and get home slowly. No sooner I said that when she complained about a loud noise, and then it suddenly stalled. She got it restarted immediately, and was able to get it home. It was making a bunch of noise, but I couldn't hear it through her cell phone. Once she parked it in the driveway, she said it smelled really badly of burnt oil. I was expecting the worst. I got home for lunch a half-hour later to give her the Passat. The hood was up and I could still see heat waves coming from the engine. The oil dipstick and oil fill cap both looked good...no coolant in the oil. It smelled terrible though. Popped the radiator cap and not a drop of coolant. I let it cool down for 10 more minutes, then filled it with a gallon of Prestone and a gallon+ of distilled water. To my shock, it started right up, making a hellatious sound for one second then disappearing altogether. I let it run for a bit and turned it off...took Cleetus back to work for the rest of the day. Tonight, I started it up and it purred like a kitten. Drove it for 15-20 minutes around UA, and it's never been so smooth, from idle to the way it's shifting. Really, it's surprising how much smoother it's running. Is it possible that even though she may not have blown a head gasket - thankfully - she got it so hot that it broke apart and burned away 130k miles of carbon buildup??? you know what they say. An engine always runs it's strongest right before it pops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 you know what they say. An engine always runs it's strongest right before it pops. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 Speed S4 Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 you know what they say. An engine always runs it's strongest right before it pops. I was thinking the same thing! haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evan9381 Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 *knocks on wood*...i hope not. after replacing the EGR valve on my explorer, it runs amazingly well. much better than it has since i bought it in april. im gonna need that truck for snow drags! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 im gonna need that truck for snow drags! Gonna need more than that son. HOPE YOU GOT MEATS BRUH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acklac7 Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 My wife was driving our '05 Caravan (130k+ miles...3.3L V6) which has had a cracked radiator for a few months. It's primarily an around-town DD, so I just keep the coolant level up. On Sunday, I topped off the radiator with distilled water, figuring it would be good for a couple of weeks. She called me today from the road, saying how the temp gauge was pegged and a couple of lights were on. She wasn't that far from home, so I told her to take it easy and get home slowly. No sooner I said that when she complained about a loud noise, and then it suddenly stalled. She got it restarted immediately, and was able to get it home. It was making a bunch of noise, but I couldn't hear it through her cell phone. Once she parked it in the driveway, she said it smelled really badly of burnt oil. I was expecting the worst. I got home for lunch a half-hour later to give her the Passat. The hood was up and I could still see heat waves coming from the engine. The oil dipstick and oil fill cap both looked good...no coolant in the oil. It smelled terrible though. Popped the radiator cap and not a drop of coolant. I let it cool down for 10 more minutes, then filled it with a gallon of Prestone and a gallon+ of distilled water. To my shock, it started right up, making a hellatious sound for one second then disappearing altogether. I let it run for a bit and turned it off...took Cleetus back to work for the rest of the day. Tonight, I started it up and it purred like a kitten. Drove it for 15-20 minutes around UA, and it's never been so smooth, from idle to the way it's shifting. Really, it's surprising how much smoother it's running. Is it possible that even though she may not have blown a head gasket - thankfully - she got it so hot that it broke apart and burned away 130k miles of carbon buildup??? I'd replace the radiator cap and check all the coolant hoses for flow (as well as the purge-line). Head gasket issues can manifest themselves in different ways depending on the engine. Sometimes the issue will be intermittent until the gasket really starts to go, other times it will go all at once. Sometimes the coolant will leak right into the crankcase, then on other engines it will leak into the combustion chamber and get sucked out with the exhaust gasses. Interesting thoughts on the carbon build-up issues tho...Be interested to see what other people have to say on that one. Personally i've always ran my cars balls-to-the-wall every month or so (if not every day) to purge excess carbon...All of them ran like new, even with 150,000+ miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmuckingham Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 coolant in the combustion chamber is like a nice steam cleaning for carbon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImUrOBGYN Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 coolant in the combustion chamber is like a nice steam cleaning for carbon I'm not so sure the OP's way is how I'd go about doing it, however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 *knocks on wood*...i hope not. after replacing the EGR valve on my explorer, it runs amazingly well. much better than it has since i bought it in april. im gonna need that truck for snow drags! my jeep > your explorer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evan9381 Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 my jeep > your explorer. probably, but you giving a shit > me giving a shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 probably, but you giving a shit > me giving a shit. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotarded1647545491 Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Just passing through... Serp Belt Tensioner = loud noise = no spinning water pump = overheat = hellatious noise at start-up I'm gone..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRed05 Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 I've replaced a couple belt tensioners on those minivans before, symptoms were always overheating issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImUrOBGYN Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Just passing through... Serp Belt Tensioner = loud noise = no spinning water pump = overheat = hellatious noise at start-up I'm gone..... Winner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 A dry water pump can make noise too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted December 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2010 Welp...the thing has been full of win since Thursday. Been between UA, downtown, Blacklick/Reynoldsburg, Pickerington with no problems. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acklac7 Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 (edited) Welp...the thing has been full of win since Thursday. Been between UA, downtown, Blacklick/Reynoldsburg, Pickerington with no problems. :thumbup: I'd run to NAPA and get one of those kits that detect exhaust gasses in the coolant and pick up a radiator/expansion tank cap as well. If your running standard conventional oil it's lubricating properties have likely been severally degraded by the excessive temperatures, i'd change it out just to be on the safe side. Intermittent overheating issues usually are head gasket-related. From experience when a tensioner goes, it goes! Thoughts? Edited December 12, 2010 by acklac7 *overheating* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted December 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 I'll change the oil, and I'll probably be getting a new radiator now... Everything else is an unnecessary expense for this beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acklac7 Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 I'll probably be getting a new radiator now... Inspect the radiator fins for debris/leaks. You might also want to pressurize the system to see if there is any leakage coming from the rad/hoses. I wouldn't start replacing parts until you diagnose the source of a leak (if there is one). I got a pressurizer you can borrow (im right across the river) or you can rent one at Advanced on riverside. As I eluded to earlier a bad radiator cap will often fail to hold pressure on the coolant system. Pressurization of the coolant is what keeps it from overheating.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.