Overheating cut off ?

Recently I had a water pump go out while traveling to Florida . It was on the interstate after approx 8 hours driving and I got hardly any warning at all.The bearing in the water pump absolutely disentegrated and it apparently quit pumping immediately. I was on one of those long uphill off ramps and when I heard the pump noise and seen the temp gauge it was so hot that the engine quit when I slowed down. It blew a head gasket and and warped the head. The car had about 100k on it so I did a complete rebuild since I really like the car and plan on keeping it.

Do any of you know of any type engine temp shut off that would shut the engine down in the case of severe overheating ?

Thanks

Ken Day

Reply to
Ken Day
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Im sure something could be made, but it is probably not done as there are so many instances where if your car just died you would have an accident injuring your self and possibly many others. Plus the car maker could be liable. I imagine many loose motors that could be saved with audible and large visual pre warning devices , I have several times seen people running down the highway billowing white smoke then later passed them stalled on the side. Your case is rare , keeping good hoses a good radiator and an eye on the gauge is unfortunatly what most offer. A high temp sensor triggering a bright light would be best giving you time to pull over. Was it an original pump. I have had bad luck with non Oem parts

Reply to
m Ransley

You're right. I never thought that through very well , although I was thinking about some sort of audible alarm or flashing light. I do scan my gauges probably more than most. I suppose that comes from my pilot training. I have never had an engine overheat and do any damage in my 40+ years of driving until this. Never seen one heat up so fast. I suppose being well warmed up from about 8 hours of driving , and since these engines run right on the edge of overheating anyway , the sudden loss of circulation brought the temp up in a hurry.

So have and many times I have tried to get someones attention and tell them but they usually drive on. It was an OEM pump. I buy very little in the way of aftermarket parts. The bearing in the pump was so bad that it fell down enough to let the timing belt continue turning with no visible signs of damage to the belt and the engine continued running. I never heard a sound until right before the engine quit.

Ken Day

Reply to
Ken Day

I think Lincoln has or had recently a motor that would cycle its 8 cilinders to 4 and alternate them alowing you to drive 50 miles at

50mph. If the pump failed immediatly it would only be a minute before it got to hot. Next time turn on the interior heater, but hopefully there wont be a next time. It is to bad that you can take care of a motor and have a cooling failure kill it prematurely in a few minutes. I drive a few roads where I wouldnt stop as they are bad areas.
Reply to
m Ransley

There was a movie where an airplane crashed into a house the couple was considering - so they immediately bought it - because the chances of that ever happening again were so remote. Same with your water pump - very unusual. Try just changing the water pumps each time you change the timing belt as preventative maintenance. Usual failure mode is slight weeping at the seal for a long time first. If you're using the factory coolant mixed with distilled water, getting

150,000 - 200,000 miles from a water pump is not unusual, so changing them earlier should be all the insurance you would need. Original equipment hoses are usually good longer than that. Think I may have read something about a bad batch of water pumps during one period of time - but was an isolated incident - could have been one of yours - unlikely to recur, though.
Reply to
Daniel

Usually the extra circulation through the heater core would help , but not in this case.The pump locked up so there was no water circulating at all.

You are so right. It can happen real quick.

Reply to
Ken Day

I would never change a timing belt on these engines without also changing the water pump. It's very labor intensive ,so whats an extra

100.00 when you're already there.

You're right when you say "usually" , but in this case there was no leakage from the weep hole.I had replaced a radiator hose a short while before this and just checked in that area for leaks probably 50 miles or so before this happened.

This could very well be the case. I have never had a water pump go like this one did. No warning at all and the bearing went to pieces letting the shaft drop down about 3/16" allowing the timing belt to continue turning without engaging the pump sprocket.

Ken Day

Reply to
Ken Day

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