Hello room, Im writing to you because today I was shopping at a local store when I got back into my car a '93 pont. Grand Prix with a 3.1 auto tranny, I noticed after leaving the parking lot that my temperature gauge was reading way over the red line with the dummy light shinning as bright as the sun I was stuck in traffic for five long minutes I was finally able to park it in a repair station i told them my car was over heated so the mechanic quickly inspected the radiator and found a one inch hole on the right side tank so he told me he has to replace the radiator I told him to go ahead and do it. My engine has only a little over 3000 miles on it i just rebuild the engine and purchased two brand new heads for it but my question to anyone who knows is... what happens if you drive your car for five minutes while its over heated ?
Either you get lucky or you get poor. Sounds like you got lucky (perhaps). Worst case you loose ring tension, blow head gaskets, warp heads, or warp block.
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From: snipped-for-privacy@behode.com (Behode=A0ApaleHorse) I would say you are very lucky if your heads are not warped. A minute or
2 usually puts it in a danger zone with these engines.
Respond Testmaster:
How soon would it take before you find out whether the heads are warped or not? I drove my car home from the repair station ok with no lost of power but tomorrow is another day and the car might run different after it cools down should I still be concerned or am I really Lucky? Thanks for your input.
I would be really worried. Keep a close eye on your coolant level. If you start losing coolant you have a problem. Either your leaking it out of the motor or buring it up.
scrapir said, I would be really worried. Keep a close eye on your coolant level. If you start losing coolant you have a problem. Either your leaking it out of the motor or buring it up.
Response from: testmaster
This morning I went into my garage and popped the hood, opened the radiator cap and to my relief there was pressure behind the cap some coolant leaked out which tells me the engine is holding the pressure so maybe I am lucky after all. I started it up and drove it to the store and back and it ran fine. But im not quite satisfied yet until I take it on the L.A. Freeways then I'll know. Thanks to all who responded to my message. I really appreciate it. Thanks again.
"David B." wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3235.bay.webtv.net...
Hey David. Long time no see. I used to own a 1992 and 1991 Grand Prix, both with the same 3.1L engine's yours had. The '91 (with around 270,000 KM's on it) had a coolant leak that no one could find. I was driving home one day, and noticed that the temp gauge was in the red zone...Actually, it was so far in the red that the gauge almost rapped itself back around. I pulled over, shut the car off, and checked the rad. She was empty, so, I went and searched for my bottle of water I always keep in the car. Problem was, it was winter (in Ontario, none the less), and with the temp at around -15 or so, the water was frozen (duh, eh?). Anyhow, I managed to put a smaller bottle of water in the rad to keep it at least a bit wet. Had to drive the car home as I was broke, and by this time, I didn't care if the engine blew right out of the hood, as I had had so many problems with the car by then. Anyhow, got home, filled the coolant, and everything was great for around a week. At that time, the engine started a light 'ticking'. The coolant level's were fine. Another week went by, and by then the engine was banging so loud that I couldn't drive it anymore. I parked it, and got the bright idea to put a new engine in the car...Only good thing was we found out where the coolant leak was...A damn plastic fitting in the engine that we couldn't see until we pulled it out. Anyhow, sorry to ramble on so much, but basically, this was a '91, with WELL over 270,000 KM's, in pretty rough shape, and I drove the crap out of it, including on the way home with no coolant. You, on the other hand, only drove it for a five minutes, and got it repaired right away, so I would bet you won't have a problem. Once again, sorry to rant so long, and I don't mean to scare you, but I just oh so love remembering the fun I had with that car. :-P
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