2008 Accord overheated, engine died
#1
03-28-2022, 10:57 PM
2008 Accord overheated, engine died
Hey guys,
Car is a 2008 3.5L V6 Accord. My A/C has been acting up for a while now (intermittent cooling, sometimes it would only blow hot air). Today, the engine started to overheat — temperature gauge pegged in the red, white smoke coming from the engine, and eventually the engine started stuttering and crapped out, barely managed to pull into a safe parking lot.
Got the car towed to my house, and it looks like there was a coolant leak somewhere — there's residue on several hoses and various spots under the hood. Zero coolant in the overflow tank. Haven't checked the actual reservoir yet but I'm guessing there's none in there, either.
I know I need to find the cause of the leak and fix that, but now I'm also concerned about the engine itself. Is there a list of things I can run down to see if I did any crazy damage to the engine? I'm guessing I should check the head gasket, spark plugs, and engine block, and I do plan on getting an OBD scanner to pull the fault codes. I checked the dipstick and it looks like the oil is fine (no bubbles or discoloration). Anything else? And are there any good resources for what to look for when inspecting this stuff for damage?
Thanks so much!
Car is a 2008 3.5L V6 Accord. My A/C has been acting up for a while now (intermittent cooling, sometimes it would only blow hot air). Today, the engine started to overheat — temperature gauge pegged in the red, white smoke coming from the engine, and eventually the engine started stuttering and crapped out, barely managed to pull into a safe parking lot.
Got the car towed to my house, and it looks like there was a coolant leak somewhere — there's residue on several hoses and various spots under the hood. Zero coolant in the overflow tank. Haven't checked the actual reservoir yet but I'm guessing there's none in there, either.
I know I need to find the cause of the leak and fix that, but now I'm also concerned about the engine itself. Is there a list of things I can run down to see if I did any crazy damage to the engine? I'm guessing I should check the head gasket, spark plugs, and engine block, and I do plan on getting an OBD scanner to pull the fault codes. I checked the dipstick and it looks like the oil is fine (no bubbles or discoloration). Anything else? And are there any good resources for what to look for when inspecting this stuff for damage?
Thanks so much!
Last edited by d_gomaiste; 03-28-2022 at 11:03 PM.
#2
03-28-2022, 11:12 PM
For others reading this in the future, if your car overheats, turn your heat to full blast with the recirculate off to help cool down the engine and get the vehicle safely off the road and shut off asap.
Depending on your tools, a compression test on each cylinder is probably where I would start. A leak-down test would give a bit more information on low compression cylinders.
For the coolant, I'd probably fill the cooling system with water and do a pressure test. Your system may have multiple leaks due to overheating. Most parts stores have radiator pressure testers as loaner tools.
Option B is to fill the cooling system with water and bleed off the air. Try starting the engine and see if the engine runs smoothly or runs at all. This would be a brief test as you will likely start losing water/coolant based on what happened earlier. Option B has some risks, so I'd say try the first two steps to start the diagnosis.
Depending on your tools, a compression test on each cylinder is probably where I would start. A leak-down test would give a bit more information on low compression cylinders.
For the coolant, I'd probably fill the cooling system with water and do a pressure test. Your system may have multiple leaks due to overheating. Most parts stores have radiator pressure testers as loaner tools.
Option B is to fill the cooling system with water and bleed off the air. Try starting the engine and see if the engine runs smoothly or runs at all. This would be a brief test as you will likely start losing water/coolant based on what happened earlier. Option B has some risks, so I'd say try the first two steps to start the diagnosis.
#3
03-28-2022, 11:29 PM
For others reading this in the future, if your car overheats, turn your heat to full blast with the recirculate off to help cool down the engine and get the vehicle safely off the road and shut off asap.
Depending on your tools, a compression test on each cylinder is probably where I would start. A leak-down test would give a bit more information on low compression cylinders.
For the coolant, I'd probably fill the cooling system with water and do a pressure test. Your system may have multiple leaks due to overheating. Most parts stores have radiator pressure testers as loaner tools.
Option B is to fill the cooling system with water and bleed off the air. Try starting the engine and see if the engine runs smoothly or runs at all. This would be a brief test as you will likely start losing water/coolant based on what happened earlier. Option B has some risks, so I'd say try the first two steps to start the diagnosis.
Depending on your tools, a compression test on each cylinder is probably where I would start. A leak-down test would give a bit more information on low compression cylinders.
For the coolant, I'd probably fill the cooling system with water and do a pressure test. Your system may have multiple leaks due to overheating. Most parts stores have radiator pressure testers as loaner tools.
Option B is to fill the cooling system with water and bleed off the air. Try starting the engine and see if the engine runs smoothly or runs at all. This would be a brief test as you will likely start losing water/coolant based on what happened earlier. Option B has some risks, so I'd say try the first two steps to start the diagnosis.
Thank you so much!!
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