Overheating

[shelbydodgeimp]

Well, my 1992 3.3 has been perfectly reliable- never needing an engine related repair prior to this weekend.

Go one road trips all the time, thing rides nice and quiet and smooth (er- as quiet as a 3" exhaust with a 55" long glasspack CAN be).

Well this weekend I went to go on a road trip, got about 15 miles from home and it overheated :(

My OEM cluster temp gauge never displays a signal, to be honest I thought the gauge didnt work before now. Suddenly I saw the needle jump to the max reading and said out loud "gee, I thought that gauge didnt work, maybe there is a short..." and the instant I finished my sentance, the check engine light came on and steam started to pour out from under the hood.

I dont know how long it was running hot, I have no sense of smell so I couldnt detect a coolant leak (if thats what it was). I know last weekend when I did the oil change, the coolant and overflow bottle was fine and full.

By the time the engine cooled off I opened the radiator cap and the thing was bone-dry empty. Thinking either the radiator got a leak, the lower radiator hose burst, or the water pump failed.

Been raining since thursday and I dont wanna work on it in the pouring rain in the front yard in the mud so I had it towed to a shop I use priodically. We'll see what happend and/or what broke.

Anyone here had a 3.3 or 3.8 overheat? How hot and how long did it run it? Any engine problems after the fact (siezed engine, head gasket, etc)?

I know the 3.3 is supposd to be pretty tough but I want to know what my chances are.

[gas28man]

Your chances are actually very good that it will survive without any damage. My 3.8 has overheated more than once (once when the elec fan bracket cracked, once when the fan relay failed, once when the rear-heat manifold rusted through and once when the water pump failed). It now has 304,000 miles and has never been opened, and still does not use a quart of oil between changes. Once they figure out your problem you should be fine. These are tough engines.

Rick

[sevenL4]

My 3.3 overheated twice. Once because the water pump failed. Once because of the fan relay. No long term effects. You probably caught it soon enough.

[shelbydodgeimp]

Talked to the shop today, looks lilke the lower radiator hose blew up! Guess 150k miles and 13 years of use will do that to rubber.

Guess the moral of the story is: replace your hoses periodically even if they look brand new!

So I should get the car back soon :: knock on wood :: after they pressure test the radiator, check the thermostate, water pump, etc just to make sure all else is in good shape- and i'll be back in business.

[McClane]

good to hear !

I know it isn't 3.3, but I encountered simliar overheating issues in my old 87 Horizon, 2.2, dealer replaced the t-stat but it still over heated, turned out to be the head gasket. They replaced that all was fine. I drove the car for at least 100kms, and it didn't harm the engine too any degree, so I'm sure your 3.3 should be fine.

[shelbydodgeimp]

All engines coupe with overheating differently. The saab overheats everytime you go under 30mph (saab didnt know how to make a coolant system for a V4...). I've gotten the saab to overheat to the point of massive steam release many times but its never had any engine related problems from it.

Head gaskets are a pretty common failure on the 2.x's but i've never heard of one going on a 3.3/3.5/3.8 engine.

[McClane]

All engines coupe with overheating differently. The saab overheats everytime you go under 30mph (saab didnt know how to make a coolant system for a V4...). I've gotten the saab to overheat to the point of massive steam release many times but its never had any engine related problems from it.

Head gaskets are a pretty common failure on the 2.x's but i've never heard of one going on a 3.3/3.5/3.8 engine.
yeah, that's what the dealership told me, something about different metals being used for the head and block. Good news is, after that fix I never had any issues again.