guys, it happened...friday last week...plastic manifold cracked at just a hair under 140,000 miles...so, i paid $450 to get it replaced...problem is, i drove the car 40 miles today after i got it back from the shop today, and it overheated and died on me on the highway...also, it sounds almost SURE like the engine is fatally damaged from the heat...the car won't even run...i can get the engine to turn over a bit..but it makes horrific noises that indicate loose metal on metal parts bouncing around inside the block...my question is this: did the shop do something wrong? is there something they could have done wrong to cause the cooling system to clog, overheat, and damage my engine? or was this coincidence...i need to know cause i am talking to the shop tomorrow...no coolant loss...so the manifold didn't crack again...just loss coolant through the pressure reilef cap on the reservoir...car got so hot that the new coolant boiled for over 20 minutes (after car was turned off)...i don't want to burn the shop, but if they are responsible, then i need to get things taken care of...thanks guys!
mr bean

Sorry to hear about the troubles, sounds like they could have the wrong or mis posistioned gasket block a cooling port? Hope they can take care of you, it sounds like the engine is toast?

i definitely believe so. i called a dealership...they said that when they perform an intake replacement, they also replace the t-stat. they said that the t-stat can sometimes clog after the fact because of the oily coolant...(which they didn't flush really well)...this caused the car to overheat...and damage the engine.

Very sorry to hear about that. I honestly think the shop must have done something wrong, or didn't do everything they should have done to fix the problem. Keep us updated on what happens. Hope you can get it fixed!

will do...dealer is still looking at it...
apparently the t-stat was NOT clogged...so it rules that out...next, they are supposed to pressure test the system to see if coolant was spewing...if not...then it really only leaves one thing...either a clog somewhere else in the system..(not likely) or the shop didn't get the car warmed up to the point that the t-stat would open....thus not adding enough coolant to keep the levels at a safe point...(very likely)
:? it'* frustrating to say the least...if the shop fights me hard on this, i may be stuck with a nice paperweight... :?

Finally got it all figured out…no one is at fault…just fate. After a thorough check of the engine/cooling system/oil the following very likely diagnosis was made:

I had a small amount of chronic coolant consumption I had always assumed was an external leak. Last week, the crack in the manifold became so severe that the car blew white steam and died on the highway at about 75 mph (rpm'* flew to 5000 before it died).

Towed her to the shop…shop replaced manifold, coolant, oil…I picked her up and drove her 40 miles…again, on the highway, car exhibited same manifold-failure-type symptoms…then, rpm'* flew to 5000 again, car starting making HORRIFIC metal-on-metal-deathly noises and died…for good. Boiling coolant spewed out the pressure relief cap on the reservoir for the next 20 minutes (no kidding)…took it to the dealer and they said that they had never seen engine oil so burned…the paint on the oil pan had completely melted away…they estimate that the oil reached a temp near 290 F. So, to make a long story short, I had already had lower engine bearing damage BEFORE the car went in for the first visit…the first catastrophic manifold failure further damaged these bearings…and the car overheated due to the friction created by these damaged bearings.

Now, I'm in for a $2000 engine replacement, and two weeks without a car….but who'* counting?

Thanks for your help guys…I guess life chooses whom it chooses…

10-4
mr bean

There is no curse, there is no curse.....

Man, that sucks.....

The initial coolant leak may have introduced moisture to the oil pan and rusted the main bearings and journals. Don'* had a theory on this for some time. At the EARLIEST indication of a problem drain or flush the oil immediately to remove that moisture. Rust can happen overnight.

ouch...sheesh...sometimes i've felt that way...but i never had the ability to articulate it so well

car goes in today for an engine swap. i'm getting a 64k engine put in...all total, cost to me will be about $1100. not horrific...but a hit nevertheless. i chatted with the shop about the possibility of putting in a */c engine...might actually work...but i don't even wanna go there right now...

i shalt!