Lasting engine damage from driving overheated car? (UPDATED)
 

So as much as I don't want to sound like an idiot, I had some car trouble today and I am concerned there could be more than just fan and radiator trouble.

The car is 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 211k miles (she has been a trooper!) I have her down in NYC with me since my place in brooklyn has a garage and free on street parking. Today I was about 30 minutes outside the city sitting in bumper to bumper traffic when the car started stuttered and we hear a "pop!". A half mile later the car starts to over heat and steam. I pulled over before it stalled or anything. The electric fan had snapped in half and did a number on the radiator.

If you know NYC the cost and idea of towing the car back from City Island in the Bronx to the bottom of Brooklyn near Staten Island was just terrible, and Gieco wanted to tow it to a Jeep dealership in the opposite direction. So we let it sit for an hour and filled it up with water. She made it back into Manhatten before getting hot again. Pulled over, same motions. Got down from 96th street to 60th the second time. For the last trip I needed to make it under the tunnel to Brooklyn. then down the BQE to the belt parkway and home.

About 1/4 mile from my exit the engine gauge lit up and the car starts sputtering, lost power, and limped off the exit. A cop pushed me to the side of the road and it wouldn't start. An hour later I got it to start but it sounded like death, and limped the 4 blocks home.

What type of lasting issues could driving the car in that condition have caused? It was literally 4 blocks from its stalling out. But with 211k miles and a questionable transmission, I don't know what I can put into fixing her if it is more then just a new fan. It just might not be worth it anymore given her growing list of issues. But with rent, student loans, yada yada...buying something else probably is not a possibility either.

So before I talk to the shop this week I just wanted to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,
Tim

UPDATE

Got home from work, started it up. Took a while to turn over, and alot of vibration. Sounds like hell still. When I pop it in gear it idles down to a growl at 500rpm (normally just over 1k)

The shop is 3 blocks down so I drove it down, wierdly is sounded normal once it was out of 1st gear and over 2k RPM, but still feels really LOW on power.

The block doesnt have any signs of cracking, no oil leak. It actually smells like gas?

Anyway...shop will tell me tomorrow what issue is. Any guesses in the meantime?


Tim

Fix what needs to be fixed, and see what happens.

No way of knowing until then.

Yeah, fix it and see what happens, I mean, what's a few hundred dollars when you might have to buy a new car anyways?

The big risks with overheating a car is warping the cylinder head or block and/or causing cracks in either. Which can lead to all sorts of leaks (coolant in oil or vice versa). Sometimes you can get away with it and other times you won't. Can be very costly.

Sounds like you blowed her up. That or melted some wiring. You need to diagnose the problem. My guess would be you cooked the cylinders and have low compression, blew a had gasket, or cracked the cylinder head.

I'd check the oil first -- it could be burnt and thick and gooey --- and OIL is your number one protection. I'd also look for water in it (looks like a thick milkshake... check the oil cap etc and or dipstick for signs of this).

Fire it up and see if it still sounds bad - I'm thinking it was just HOT HOT HOT...

Get the oil changed - fix the radiator and fan - and see how she is... With that many miles on it - it's got to be loose... so maybe it'll be fine.

Thanks guys, I put a quick update in the original post and should have an answer in the morning.

Tim

i have a 98 jeep cherokee
 

try chasing the distributor cap/wires to make sure they are all in one piece and working, then check the plugs. if those are fine it may be what was mentioned earlier, a blown head gasket and/or crack. No leaking though? hmm. did you check all the fluids for signs of discoloration/coolant in oil, etc?