HELP - Baked Sierra

[Mudzuki]

Have been driving my sierra with 2" Body lift for a while with no dramas, until today. Was driving to Heidelburg to Greensborough, and as i got onto the greensborough bypass, i noticed that the temp gague was up. Thermo fan was on, so i nursed it home using low revs, as it was detonating at quite low revs. Pulled up and was greated by a small quantity of steam. Not good. Open bonnet with caution and see no fluid in resivour, top of radiator was cool so carefully removed the radiator cap. Empty too. Looked at hoses and the main two were ok, but the upper rear heater hose had let go at the block end. There fore, no coolant for a good portion of the trip. Looks like a result of added strain on the hose from bodylift and age.

I then opened up the oil cap with caution, and a small amount of smoke was wisping out . Car still ran ok, and is sitting outside in the shade cooling down now. What damage is it likely that i have done? Is it best that i replace the hose in question, and get it looked at by a qualified mechanic?

Hope it aint major.

Thanks

[sierrajim]

is the oil a milky brownish colour? (ie does it have water in it?)

[Barathrum]

Have been driving my sierra with 2" Body lift for a while with no dramas, until today. Was driving to Heidelburg to Greensborough, and as i got onto the greensborough bypass, i noticed that the temp gague was up. Thermo fan was on, so i nursed it home using low revs, as it was detonating at quite low revs. Pulled up and was greated by a small quantity of steam. Not good. Open bonnet with caution and see no fluid in resivour, top of radiator was cool so carefully removed the radiator cap. Empty too. Looked at hoses and the main two were ok, but the upper rear heater hose had let go at the block end. There fore, no coolant for a good portion of the trip. Looks like a result of added strain on the hose from bodylift and age.

this happened to me at one stage. luckly i found that i had a leak straight after i ran out of water and before i cooked the engine too much. i blocked off the pcv valve and used that section of hose to replace the broken water hose. .filled it back up with water and drove home. hasn't missed a beat ever since. It pays to keep an eye on your temp gauge at all times.
as too the damage you have suffered. get someone to look over your engine. i hope you havn't done to much and will be back to the road soon.

[Mudzuki]

Nope, but it is now a bit lower than it used to be.

[DeWsE]

I've had this happen before when I didn't have a BL. I used tape to stop leak and crawled home. Sense then I have replaced it but after putting the BL in I have really stretched it and carry a spare straight hose for replacement.

I'll say it now......you should have checked under the bonnet

[sierrajim]

fill it with coolant, check for leaks then drive it to the mechanics if you're not sure what to look for yourself.

Very hard to diagnose a problem over the internet.

If one hose is shagged be sure to replace them both (top and bottom) at the same time. Hoses $40 or so is cheap insurance

[Mudzuki]

Part numbers for the hoses so that i can get them asap? Thanks guys.

[DeWsE]

Part numbers for the hoses so that i can get them asap? Thanks guys.

I just use straight hose.....cheap and easy to find.
Carry spare all the time

[85zook]

would straight hose kink?

[Mudzuki]

Thats what i was thinking. Ill have a look at the options tommorow. Any other advice before then would be appriciated.

[DeWsE]

would straight hose kink?

Yep but do you think I care?

If it blocks then the heater won't work but the car will still be fine. But so far it's been working okay for me.

[toysuzi]

hello mudzuki

how many kms did you drive it without or with low coolant leval
??

how many kms has the zook done eg 200.000kms

id say you would have done long term damige

but id start by flushing the coolant system
no1 disconnet one end of heater hose. insert & garden hose into the heater hose
2 turn heater tap to hot. turn garden tap on slightly (low pressure)
* run untill the water flowing out is clean & rust free
3 then remove radiator cap & block the oposite end of the heater hose fitting with a finger
the water will flow out the radiator now
run untill the water flows out clean

this will flush out your entire engine.radiator.heater core all hoses & fittings etc

refit heater hose. start engine & top up radiator leval
run engine untill hot check for coolant leaks check operating temp run around block check engine perfermance

then drive to your local mechanic
get a cylinder leakige test done & a TK test also.
ull be up for around 1/2hour to 1hour labour
most shops charge around 60-70 dollers per hour

this will show up blown head gasket
this will check your compression rings & oil control rings (blow-by)
inlet valves / exhaust valve
for damige

that way ull know 100% how much damige you may have done

if you lucky and you havnt cooked the block/pistons or head
id then replace all coolant hoses theres around 5-7 hoses
replace alternator belt
reflush coolant system again & fit engine coolant/antifreeze
change engine oil + filter

hope that helps

daryl

[xtreem]

If the hoses are pulled tight you might want to get longer ones, not just new standards, or cut them and extend with copper pipe.

Daryl why replace the alternater belt?

[Mudzuki]

I had just recently done the cooling system flush and new coolant, so might do a quick flush. I didn't drive too far, probably 5 mins with engine revs low as possible. What is the tk test? Also belt looks fine to me.

[lay80n]

A TK test detects exhaust gasses in ya cooling system.
Layto.

[Guy]

Most likey the motor is fine, the all alloy block dissapates heat pretty well. I have done a similar sort of thing with mine, same prob heater hose split dumping the coolant near epping (I can see a pattern here gregs gearbox had lost its lube and chewed up a gear in the same area)

Anyway I let the motor cool a few mins limped it to total4wd and replaced the hose, topped up the motor and it ran fine for the next few years till I pulled it in favour of the larger 1.6..

They may blow a bit more smoke than it did before, but they are a pretty hard little motor to seriously damage

[Gwagensteve]

(I can see a pattern here gregs gearbox had lost its lube and chewed up a gear in the same area)

Greg did this at the end of the Eastern freeway, on Springvale road. and it lost its lube some days before

[toysuzi]

hey all

extreem ''why change the belt''

id recommend changing the alt belt & all coolant hoses just for insurance

most customers dont check hoses or belt condition & only know of faulty parts when thay FAIL .
so its just for trubble free motoring.

mudzuki normaly when the engine overheats all the slug build up comes away from the cylinders/ water calorys & blocks the radiator core etc so it would be a good idea to flush the system befor it hardens again blocking water flow

mudzuli note ur anti freeze/anti boil coolant should fill 33% of the coolant system volume

min 33% coolant normal temp days
max 50% coolant recommenderd for snowy trips etc

zook 1.0l f10a coolant capacity 3.8 Litres.
= 1.3litres anti freeze min
zook 1.3litres g13a coolant capacity 5.0 Litres.
= 1.7litres anti freeze min

daryl

[Mudzuki]

The zook is in at the mechanics today for a full service and check, as well as the coolant change as i am being lazy at the moment. The car is blowing smoke at the moment, so hopefully its fine.