Damage caused by running too hot

[whiteThunder]

My car has been running like 240 ish, and sometimes upt o redline before i shut it off. What damage could i have caused, i feel like power/ compression was lost. basically the car feels less powerful, is this just /c of the high temp. did i ruin the rings?

[slow6]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

i ruined my rings from overheating it alot and running lean AFRs
I doubt you've done damage Yet, but I would definately check your compression cause its just a $5 tool and it only takes like 15 mins.
OH, dont think I ever got mine to the Redline, but our gauges arent accurate at all

[ratpwr]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

when you over heat it can do baring bamage spun rod . not a good thing
get it fixed . i did the spun rod thing abought 3 years ago from overheating.

[97rs4life]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

you can also warp the heads and such too. You should not allow it to get that hot. Something is wrong and you need to check it out. Your temp should get to about 210 and no higher than that

[Sean76]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

This may not apply to a camaro engine, but my stepfather killed his Lumina 3.1 engine when his collant plug broke in half and coolant all leaked out. His engine seized <sp?> up. I know this isn't your problem, and his probably got WAYYYYY hotter then yours is getting... but just some insight to what MAY happen if things get to hot. I guess the pistons expand a bit too much for the chamber in this case?!? Don't know the exacts of it, since I wasn't really there. Just heard the basics.

[RadRacer]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

you can also warp the heads and such too

We don't have aluminum heads, so they won't warp as easily. Still possible, but you'd have to be in the red for abit.....right?

[whiteThunder]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

so aside from a compression check, how else could i tell if there is damage? just from driving?

[T-Mill]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

If you're getting that hot, I think the reccomendation would be to not drive it. I had a lot of overheating issues, and I did the compression check and found out I had a blown head gasket. Much more driving and I could have done serious damage. Get a Haynes Manual, it gives step by step how to do the compression check, it's pretty easy.

[whiteThunder]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

so aside from a compression check, how else could i tell if there is damage? just from driving?

[slow6]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

i never warped anything as far as I know from overheating it like 15 times.
If you hear a knock then probably most definately something is effed up.

[Big Tymer]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

dont take my word for it, but when the engine gets too hot, the oil starts turning to "water". not literly, but gets thin like it..... and u start hearing the lifters click, it happened to me when the seal broke on my water pump... no water left, temp gauge stayed at 160 entire time cuz there was no water..... didnt know engine was overheating..... tried to retart carand heads were so swollen from the heat it wouldnt turn..... let it sit for 2 hours, filled it up, and drove about 2 miles, by the time i got back, it was already empty....

head gasket like everyone said, i think i need to do a check, ever since, during idle, my car shakes a lil, didnt used to....

[RedFBod96]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

I blew a head gasket from running too hot, my coolant was mixing with my oil and huge clouds of white smoke were coming out of my exhaust..i ended up getting a new engine. be careful overheating..don't drive it anymore..i learned the hard way.

[RedFBod96]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

another way (other than the smoke) you might be able to tell if something is wrong is open up where you put in your oil, look and see if it is a sludgy brown color, almost like a chocolate milkshake..mmmm. if so, that is BAD. you should be able to smell something too, almost a sweet smell-keep in mind this is only if you blew a gasket-other symptoms of different problems, i am not sure of..just sharing my experience with overheating.

[SpeedingFirebird]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

dont take my word for it, but when the engine gets too hot, the oil starts turning to "water". not literly, but gets thin like it..... and u start hearing the lifters click,

My wife overheated our old Saturn and it warped a valve. Two months later the valve let go - found pieces of it in the oil pan.

[slow6]

Re: Damage caused by running too hot

howd she overheat it?