Originally Posted By: WylieCoyote
A few years ago, I stepped out the door of a Chevron near Downtown Dallas one afternoon to see (and hear) a 5-6 year old Camry 2.4 pull into the lot and stop in front of the water/air station. The car sounded as if every rod was knocking, but it might have been pre-detonation I was hearing. She shut it off, stepped out and asked me if I could help her add some water to her car, as it was overheating. I opened the hood to a lot of very wavy air coming off the engine, and a LOT of ticking noises coming from everywhere. There was also a hissing noise, which led my eye to a pinhole in the top of her radiator. She had slugged her way about 5 miles through rush-hour traffic in the middle of a Dallas summer to arrive at that gas station (instead of stopping).
From what I could tell, that engine was destroyed. I got a big towel from the guy running the Chevron and and loosened the coolant fill cap, near the thermostat. Nothing came out. I removed it completely. Nothing. I grabbed the hose and gave the fill tube a squirt of water. I became engulfed in steam and there came a loud boiling noise. The engine was so hot, it was impossible to add water to it.
I had always assumed that modern, computer-controlled, fuel injected cars would shut down when they reached a certain temperature, as the first GM NorthStar engines had a overheating 'limp mode' that would get you a little further down the road, then shut down. I assumed wrong.
I had her call a tow truck. I wasn't sure it would have started once the coolant was refilled. It probably sat there and seized.
I guess in her eyes, it was a choice between stopping on I-35 at rush hour, or taking her chances with forcing an overheating car to deliver her to a safer spot. I would've stopped.
I have read that if you add cool / cold water to a HOT engine , you risk cracking the block ?
Happy Thanksgiving ,