Massive Overheating Incident

[mitosis]

Am I screwed?

A driver in front of me on the freeway wasn't paying attention and tried to merge into a lane that was cone'd off, wound up launching a cone right at my car which then proceeded to punch a hole right through my radiator.

I'm an idiot and didn't pull over immediately because I was feeling... emotional, for lack of a better word. My wife called 911 and was giving them the guy's license plate and other such things. At this point in time I was figuring my bumper was all jacked up but I didn't think there was anything else to worry about beyond cosmetics so I was trying to get them to send a trooper out to pull the guy over and wanted to follow him until then. Then I noticed that the check engine light was on so I had to pull over.

What I'm scared of is that in my emotional state I didn't notice the CEL quickly enough. The logs confirm my fears and show that it was about 8 minutes from when the hole was punched in my radiator to when I finally turned off the engine. I feel like such an idiot, I should have pulled over immediately. Coolant peaked at 248 F and oil peaked at 253 F


Each vertical line represents one minute (log data points are every 5 seconds, so the 13th point is 60 seconds after the 1st point).

The car is at the Toyota dealer right now, waiting on the insurance company to give the go-ahead to proceed forward. Dealer wants $127 to evaluate the damages so I'm waiting to let the insurance take care of it rather than paying out of pocket.

I'm really hoping you guys can give me advice regarding things to have them check for during the inspection, what kind of damage would an overheating incident like this cause?

I know when you have depressurization of the coolant system combined with high heat that it can destroy head gaskets from all the steam. Is there a way for the dealer to check for head gasket damage from the heat?

What about DI seals, are they gonna be totally melted from this? Should I be worried about a warped engine block? Am I all worked up over nothing?

Has anyone else had a catastrophic failure of the cooling system on the street and had their engine live through it?

[Foobar]

253 oil temp for less than 8 minutes doesn't sound like too big of a deal when there are other guys on here tracking their cars and see temps in excess of that.

What was the code on the CEL?

[s2d4]

Sounds like you are way over reacting on everything.

[mitosis]

Originally Posted by Foobar

253 oil temp for less than 8 minutes doesn't sound like too big of a deal when there are other guys on here tracking their cars and see temps in excess of that.

What was the code on the CEL?

Yeah I wasn't too worried about the oil temp hitting those numbers so much as the depressurization/overheating of the coolant system. I know that as a sealed system when heat builds up so does the pressure which keeps your coolant from boiling and making steam. Once the coolant is no longer under pressure it can boil and make steam and thus destroy your head gasket. I had steam damage to a head gasket happen on a previous car of mine which is part of why I'm freaking out so much... just not sure how I could have the dealership check for such damage short of removing the heads.

I guess I'm doubly an idiot since I didn't write down the fault code... it was something like "water sensor low voltage reading" but I'm not 100% sure, my mind was in other (murderous) places at the time so I wasn't exactly thinking straight. I think that's pretty normal in these kind of incidents to be so worked up that you forget obvious things like writing down a fault code.

Originally Posted by s2d4

Sounds like you are way over reacting on everything.

Thanks, that's what I like to hear

[humfrz]

hmmmm.......that's too bad .....

I figure that if, after the radiator is replaced, the system holds coolant without leaking and doesn't overheat ..... you may be good to go.

Heck, back in the day, cars overheated lots of times .... and some duct tape and water from a creek fixed them up just fine .... till ya got a new hose.....

humfrz

[Ozzman]

I think you'll be fine assuming the coolant temp sensor was getting an accurate reading of head temp. I see some GM cars that regularly run 220 degree coolant temps as a normal part of their operation.

[ntron1]

You'll likely need a condenser if the radiator was punctured.

[Accurate Race Shop]

We blew up a stock radiator on the track (probably defective from the factory sence the car was stock) and it didn't cause any other damage. We replaced it had everything pressure tested and all was fine. The worst case scenario is you blew a gasket and the engine has to be pulled. Best case that tiny little 1/2 inch thick radiator is going to be replaced. I got a koyorad for mine after the first one went pop.

Sent from my Q10

[mitosis]

Originally Posted by Ozzman

I think you'll be fine assuming the coolant temp sensor was getting an accurate reading of head temp. I see some GM cars that regularly run 220 degree coolant temps as a normal part of their operation.

It kinda looks like the coolant temp sensor has a max reading value of 248F? Not 100% sure about that I'm just being pessimistic and guessing that because of the way the chart flattens out at the top... trying to prepare myself mentally for a worst-case situation. So who knows what the actual max temp was but hopefully it wan't too bad.

Originally Posted by ntron1

You'll likely need a condenser if the radiator was punctured.

Oh yeah I figured as much, I just didn't mention it 'cause I don't care for AC anyway. I wonder if they can replace just the condenser or if some AC hoses and other stuff will need to be replaced as well?

Originally Posted by Accurate Race Shop

We blew up a stock radiator on the track (probably defective from the factory sence the car was stock) and it didn't cause any other damage. We replaced it had everything pressure tested and all was fine. The worst case scenario is you blew a gasket and the engine has to be pulled. Best case that tiny little 1/2 inch thick radiator is going to be replaced. I got a koyorad for mine after the first one went pop.

Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better
How did you do that pressure test? I've used the kind before where it's like a pump that attaches in place of the radiator cap and has a pressure gauge on it so you just look to see if the pressure drops after pumping it up. It's been a long time since I used one though, so I don't know if that's still considered the right tool for the job or if there's a better way to do it now. If that is the right tool then what pressure should I pump it to and how long should I let it hold at that pressure?

[Suberman]

I had such a failure on my 1982 Alfa Romeo gtv6. Water pump belt broke and the coolant boiled over instantly. I was travelling at 195 km/hr at the time....

I drove for another half an hour at 110 km/hr and then 50 or less in city traffic to the repair shop. They compression checked the engine, changed the oil and coolant and fixed the belt.

No engine damage.

The engine damage from overheating often occurs after you stop moving. It is essential to switch off the engine very soon after you stop.

Steam doesn't affect head gaskets. Thermal expansion and contraction beyond design limits can do so. A compression check will reveal any damage. Warping only really shows up after disassembly so unless the gaskets are already gone you won't know for years.

Usually an engine can withstand overheating as long as it doesn't seize. You are correct to be concerned about DI failure due to heat.

Finally, the grilles on these cars are inadequate to protect the radiators.

[AznBRZer]

Originally Posted by Suberman

Finally, the grilles on these cars are inadequate to protect the radiators.

This is no joke.

[Dezoris]

248F for coolant is hot enough to warp the heads/block for extended time periods. Did you boil the coolant or did it all leak out?

Most modern cars that have any significant overheating have head work done. Just wont know until you get the cooling system fixed and back on the road. You would have odd drivability issues and soon likely leaky head gasket.

[FRiSson]

Originally Posted by s2d4

Sounds like you are way over reacting on everything.

Sounds accidental by the dopey driver. No need to go all Texas over it.

[HunterGreene]

Hope the car is back in working order soon!

On a side note, what the hell do they make the cones out of in CA? Titanium?