8cd03gro

So a while back i had a major cooling system problem, but i had to drive a few more minutes and it was not debatable i HAD to drive, it's a long story, but anyway... i did not let it get into the red area on the stock egt, but when it got too close i just pulled over turned off the car and popped the hood and stopped driving because i knew if i let it get there it could do some serious damage. Now i let it sit for a good 30 minutes and then i tried to start it up (at this time all of the collant was probably completely out of the car) and it started, but just bogged like a bitch and it sounded like it was knocking in every damn cylinder so i just shut it off and called a tow truck. Now please don't ask why i had to drive, because it really was a very bad situation and if i had to do it again i still would have tried to drive it. This was a long time ago and everything has been totally fixed up and all and the car runs totally fine now, but i need to know something before i spend a ton of money on my car. To my knowledge, i think if there was any internal damage, it would have come out by now, but i am no pro engine builder. Is there anyway i could have done any damage to my internals that would cause major problems if i were to put the extra load that comes from forced induction on the engine? I am probably going to get a built block as my graduation present next year, so if the thing doesn't last 100k miles it's not a big deal, but i am jus twondering if i could have done any damage that would cause problems quickly if i were to have a mild forced induction setup...I personally think the damage would have become apparent by now, but once again any of you guys out there that have major experience, your input would be appreciated.

8cd03gro

buuumpage.

JochenHeiden

Running an engine without coolant in any situation can't be good. I would imagine there's some sort of damage even if it's superficial.

8cd03gro

thats my biggest worry right now because i plan on going turbo this summer... I want to get at least 30k out of this engine once i have f/i if something goes after that it's not really a big deal, i just don't wanna have the turbo kit all set up and have one of my pistons go because of something wrong that i didn't know about before hand after only like 500 miles on the turbo....i talked to the ford tech that worked on it about this specifically and he said the engine is fine from what he could tell, but they didn't open it up or anything so i guess i will just have to put some mileage on it and see...anymore insight would be great.

JochenHeiden

Well if the engine's toasted after you blow it, buy a new engine and bolt the blower onto it! Problem solved.

8cd03gro

well if i blow a piston and my stock block is salvagable i will just build it up with forged internals, but i can't have the downtime for the turbo, then the downtime of a blown engine right after...i mean i could, but i want to avoid it at all costs. Is there any way of checking if there was any damage without taking off the heads and taking a looksy? even then, i guess you couldn't be certain, but how could i be fairly confident there was no damage? anyone?

JochenHeiden

I don't know of any way to check for damage to internal parts of the engine without taking the entire thing apart and inspecting it very thoroughly. Personally I would do that after a catastrophic failure like the one you experienced.

NickSezz

Well the way I see it...whats done is done right?? If there is damage it's not going to go away. I know you really want thatFI factorso IMO, I would stop worrying about what you can't change. If you keep worrying about bad things happening, then they will. It's the way it goes. Have some fun now.