Engine overheated. Am I screwed?

[Ludogsonthemoon]

I was driving the other day and the engine shut off suddenly. I thought it stalled because it’s been sitting for a couple months so I turned it back on and let it run for a minute. I realized that it was over heating because steam immediately started pouring out from under the hood. The coolant line had popped off which I was able to zip tie back on temporarily. I had it towed to a mechanic in Philly and they claim that there is engine oil in the radiator which may be from internal engine damage. I’m not sure I believe them because it seemed like they were short staffed rushed through the whole explanation. I’m thinking there may be stop leak in the radiator making them think it’s engine oil?

1998 TJ 4.0 auto Sahara

 

[JMT]

I was driving the other day and the engine shut off suddenly. I thought it stalled because it’s been sitting for a couple months so I turned it back on and let it run for a minute. I realized that it was over heating because steam immediately started pouring out from under the hood. The coolant line had popped off which I was able to zip tie back on temporarily. I had it towed to a mechanic in Philly and they claim that there is engine oil in the radiator which may be from internal engine damage. I’m not sure I believe them because it seemed like they were short staffed rushed through the whole explanation. I’m thinking there may be stop leak in the radiator making them think it’s engine oil?

1998 TJ 4.0 auto Sahara

View attachment 555846

Get a second opinion. If the engine is good, make sure and replace the entire cooling system. It looks rough.

 

[BlueC]

Yep, super screwed.

That's a cruddy looking radiator. I'd get a second opinion, but you really need to address that cooling system. That line to the overflow tank will not cause any issues, so your problems are somewhere else. Check your oil, make sure it's at the proper level and there is no water, then fill the cooling system with water and look for leaks. If no obvious leaks, start it, let it idle and look for leaks and listen for odd, new sounds like knocking. If nothing obvious, watch the temp gauge climb to normal, and make sure it stays in the normal range. Keep an eye on your coolant level, but never open a hot cap.

 

[Rubiconned]

I hope it's ok. If after fixing any and all cooling problems it continues to overheat it's probably a warped/cracked head, blown head gasket, or the like.

 

[JP_in_STL]

That radiator looks pretty rusty/cruddy. Maybe it plugged up to the point you are overheating? Bad headgasket goes both ways. How does your oil look, normal or chocolate milkshake which indicated water/coolant in the oil? Any baseline on when the coolant was last changed? How long have you had the Jeep.

With the engine cool and the radiator cap on, run it for a minute. Open the cap, major hiss? If so it may be a bad headgasket and leaking combustion pressure into the coolant.

Its still summer time temps, no fear of freezing, I'd limp it home and drain that nasty coolant. Then fill with distilled and some ThermoCure or similar coolant flush and flush out the system. This will also tell you if you have water pump or headgasket issues. I'd probably stop at the parts store on the way home as a new Denso Radiator and a couple hoses would not be a waste of money at this point if it doesn't start overheating on you within a few mins of run time.

 

[Rickyd]

There are no pressurized oil passages through the head gasket. Making engine oil in the coolant unlikely without coolant in the oil too.

automatic transmissions run fluid through the radiator. A leaking cooler could put atf in the coolant.

Some head gasket fix gunk can look like oil too

 

[macleanflood]

Super easy to put on a head gasket. You can check a lot of other things along the way and freshen up a lot of things.

X2 on replacing your cooling system.

Thread 'Jeep Wrangler TJ Cooling System Overhaul FAQ'

Jan 23, 2017

Should I replace my entire cooling system at once?
It's a wise thing to do, yes. Let's say you buy a used Jeep Wrangler TJ with 100k plus miles on it. Well, first and foremost you have to know that as I'm writing this in 2017, your vehicle is anywhere between 20 years old (if it was made in 1997) to 11 years old (if it was made in 2006). Either way, if you have no record of the cooling system having been replaced, then you're on your stock cooling system, and even if the miles are lower, that's still a lot of time for a cooling system. Plastic and rubber wear out over time, as...

• Chris
• Replies: 331
• Forum: TJ Resources

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-Mac

 

[tworley]

Did it actually overheat (on the gauge) or did you just see steam due to the line popping off?