Alright some dumbass girl in my auto shop class decided it would be cool for her to touch my jeep without asking. I saw her touch my radiator cap and she said to herself "I think thats how you close it". I thought it was closed and all was well, so I drove my jeep home. Halfway there, I was wondering why I didn't have heat so I pulled into a parking lot and popped the hood. I noticed that there was some coolant that leaked out of the radiator cap and that the radiator cap wasn't fully shut. I grabbed some shop towels and wiped up whatever I could, then I closed the cap tightly and made sure everything else on the engine was tight just in case. I drove the rest of the way home wondering why I still didn't have heat, then I pulled into my garage and saw steam coming from my grill. I popped the hood again and noticed that it was overheated and there was a boiling water sound coming from the radiator. There wasn't a bunch of coolant spilling into the overflow tank but I did notice that there was some plastic or something melting next to where the radiator hose meets the radiator.

Would I be fine if I drove in an hour or so after it has cooled down? Did this cause any permanent damage (I live about 11 miles from school if that helps)? Also will this stop my heater from working? If so will i need to reflush my radiator? I'm REALLLLY pissed off at the moment because I spent $35 in november to do a coolant flush and I really don't want to do it again.

 

You low on coolant, the heater core hoses are at the top of the system which is why you dont have heat. Fill it up and check for leaks.

 

Any way it can be towed/hauled back to auto shop class? Sounds like a cooling system 101 lesson. The motor can be destroyed in 11 miles if overheating is severe enough. Did the gauge/light indicate overheat warning? Try to find the leak and have several gallons of coolant with you if you drive back to class just in case.

 

It's funny that you called the a dumb *** but you said that you yourself thought it was closed as well... Anyway you will have to fill the coolant up and see what the jeep does. Maybe nothing bad happened, but that's not very likely. Look on the bright side, a coolant flush won't fix it so you won't be spending that 35 again.

 

I thought she closed it. I was about 10 feet from my jeep when she was F***ing with my engine. I was busy crimping some wires and I thought I saw her close it. Im no dumbass, trust me.

 

No the gauge didn't indicate anything because I still need to swap in the new temp sending unit for my cluster swap. I carefully got over to an o'reilly's down the street and bought new coolant. The entire system was drained it took me 3 bottles to fill up

 

So, u've been driving without a temp gauge/light for how long? And it took 3 gallons to fill it (they only hold 3 gals.)......I'd be worried and wouldn't even think about driving it again, knowing it's overheated and my temp gauge still doesn't work........but that's just me.

 

I had it sitting in my garage for an hour so it could cool down, it was COLD when I took it out and I kept alternating between accellerating slowly and turning the engine off to coast in neutral. It took the full 3 gallons. The outside temperature over here today was 9 degrees so I had no problem taking it a mile and a half down the road.

Now about the Temp gauge. First off, the current temp sensor in my XJ is a simple on/off circut. It turns on when the engine gets to a dangerous overheat temp. That is what turns on the dummy light in the SE clusters. The same thing works for the gauges, If it got to the point of being extremely dangerous, the gauge needle would move ALL the way over to the right (on/off circut).

 

If you put in a full 3 gallons somethin is definately wrong. That means you were practically bone dry. That WONT happend from the rad cap being loose. You need to do a full inspection of your cooling system.

 

Don't the 2 temp sensors sit in water jackets (head & t-stat housing) so they can measure/read/sense coolant temp? If you're motor was 3 gallons low on coolant (totally dry), wonder what the sensors are measuring? How long have u been operating without temp gauges/light and coolant?

 

If it's an ON/OFF circut, it only turns on when the temp is at an extreme. It was close to 3 gallons I have about 1/8 left in the 3rd Jug. The sensors wouldn't be measuring anything obviously. I've been operating without a temp gauge since I bought my XJ and it has not had a temp gauge since it rolled out of the factory. I OWN A CHEROKEE SE THEY DO NOT HAVE TEMP GAUGES AS A STOCK OPTION. As for coolant, I operated for roughly 10-15 minutes without it and with low RPMs. My xj has coolant in it now and it runs fine. Seriously I don't come on this forum looking for smug remarks, I look for helpful answers.
I know a lot more about automobiles than you think noticing I'm waiting on 3 different state certifications that are in the mail for engine repair, steering and suspension and automotive electrical....

 

You said you were not a dumb ***, ummm running your jeep without a temp gauge= dumb ***

And your getting 3 state certs........

 

then get some coolant and put it in the radiator and get the air bubbles out yourself and drive it, you should already know that, your smart

 

Goes to show that just cuz you can pass a test, don't mean you can fix a thing!

 

Pics of said girl.