I busted something!

Please help!! I was being stupid and was accelerating to 0-60 to see how fast it could go. All of a sudden I noticed a bunch of smoke/steam in my rearview mirror. I looked at the temp gauge and saw that the engine started running hot. I made it home and popped the hood and the steam was just coming out like crazy. I am pretty sure I either busted the water pump, one of the hoses, or the radiator. That is waht I am hoping for at least. Do you think this is it or could it be something else? Any suggestions on what I should look for? Thanks

1997 Grand Marquis 98,000 miles

P.S. After everything cooled, I noticed some puddles of Anti-Freeze sitting in some of the nook and crannies around the engine.

if there was a bunch of billowing white smoke you might have blown your head gasket, if it was just steam like you said then perhaps a radiator hose...the temp gauge likely points to a hose.

In order of best news to worst news:

blown hose
thermostat stuck causing boil-over or blown hose
busted radiator
sudden intake gasket failure
blown head gasket
cracked head/block.

Since you looked down at the temp gauge and it was already rising, my guess is that it wasn't only a sudden leak. It would take a minute or so to cause a noticable sweep in the temp gauge if that were the case. For that reason I'm going to say that the thermostat was probably involved. The stat probably stuck closed causing a boil over or pressure leak somewhere else.

It could also be a blown head gasket/cracked head/block. They could start leaking and cause overheating as well as the steam. The real test is if it was steam, its just evaporating water that was sprayed on the engine. If its actually white smoke from the tailpipe itself, its something internal like the block, head, or gasket.

I am pretty sure that there was no white smoke coming from the tail pipe. When I got it back to my house I let it cool for a little while and statred it back up. No smoke at all. The coolant in the reservoir was completely gone. What can I do to test to see if one of these options are the problem? What are the symptoms of a blown gaskets or cracked block? Any noises? What should I be looking for? Thanks so much!

When you drove it home, with whatever the problem is, you probably cause even more damage...not a smart move

I am pretty sure that there was no white smoke coming from the tail pipe. When I got it back to my house I let it cool for a little while and statred it back up. No smoke at all. The coolant in the reservoir was completely gone. What can I do to test to see if one of these options are the problem? What are the symptoms of a blown gaskets or cracked block? Any noises? What should I be looking for? Thanks so much!


No smoke then your head gasket and block are fine. You have a busted hose somewhere. You did no permant damage. Good Luck.