overheated the car for a few seconds... damage to engine?

[General Geoff]

So I picked up my car from the mechanic's for state inspection (it passed after replacing the mufflers, the car is ridiculously quiet now, not sure how much I like it), and and I drove all of about a mile until I glanced down and noticed the temp gauge near the top. so I turned around and high-tailed it back. As I drove back, the needle hit the top and the check engine light came on, at which point I shut off the engine and coasted the rest of the way.

At no point did the engine make any strange noises, it was eerily quiet actually with the new mufflers. So I parked it and the car is sitting at the mechanic's place awaiting his attention in the morning. The car did not have any drips or puddles under it when I looked, and the block, and top radiator hose was hot, but the intake manifold was completely cold; hadn't driven it far enough for that to warm up.

I had asked him to replace the u-shaped oil cooler hose since it was leaking, and he said he did and topped up the coolant, as well as ran the car for a long time and took it for a few mile drive just to make sure the coolant was circulating. He said he suspects the thermostat is stuck closed.

What say you guys? I kinda regret leaving it there because now I'm worried sick about my poor car.

 

[kevinspann]

I'm betting it's okay. Check the coolant, if it's full, change the thermostat and go from there.

 

[sperold]

Should be OK.
Time will tell. Do the thermostat even if it did not cause this problem. Nurse it along and don't jump to conclusions, in a week or so you will have enough information.

 

[General Geoff]

Thank you for chiming in, guys! Your optimism makes me feel better. Compared to some other cars I've owned, the SHO seems (at least from forum searching) to be relatively tolerant of overheating for brief periods (unlike BMW M20 I6s...).


I'll be calling him tomorrow afternoon to see what's what, I might even stop by in the late morning.

 

[rubydist]

my experience also suggests it will be okay.

 

[intimdatr]

From my little experience ofr over heating events its either a right away or very soon after if its going to show issues.

 

[General Geoff]

True to his word, he looked at the car first thing this morning!


Said it was just a big air block that somehow didn't show up before. I'll be driving it to work and back (100 mile round trip), so plenty of opportunity to shake down. I'll post back later...

Thanks again everyone, for your input!

 

[General Geoff]

Drove the car to work and back, no issues, power is smooth and strong. Seems like there was no damage (knock on wood).

 

[sperold]

Happy ending. That 100 mile trip tells the story.

 

[Devin]

I've both over-heated and frozen mine, and it has survived both.

I wonder if the only way you can **** the engine is to run it without oil?