HELP!!! Please its my bday

Heyy wats up guys my name is chris i am 19 n i dj all over NYC. ok here is what happened. I pull up and make a u turn last night and as I am half way through something pops under the hood and my power steering went out. I have an 89 Cherokee... WEll like an idiot i go oh my power steering pump went. PS I go and do my job and at 3 wen i was done get my car no power steering and drive home. I had to drive 25 or 30 miles... When I got off the exit my car is steaming like old faithful i mean it was bad and i really smelled anti freeze BAD. (the sweet smell). And my temp gauge was really overheating. (past red goes up to 260 it was registering like 280... way bad.
I continued the last mile and a half of my journey on the streets this way (needed to get my equipment home)

From when i popped the hood this morning it seems like a belt went and that is what happened... but did i permenantly wreck my motor by overheating it?

Please I need this truck for work and well my father is pitching a fit. (What should I do?) (btw he is mchanically inclined but won't speak to me and i want to help because i am trying to be a good son and i want to fix this myself.)

ok so i popped the hood and checked the pulleys where the belt goes and all move free except the water pump one its frozen (won't turn) and is bent at an angle... So just wondering if there is anybody out there who can help.

Sounds like you are going to need a new water pump. They can be fairly easy to replace but it sounds like you will want to take it to a shop. You're jeep may be ok. You can destroy an engine running it without water but if it was still running when you got home, could be that it will be ok. Only way to tell is to replace the water pump, replace the belt, fill it up with water/antifreeze and go from there.

thanks so much rae. Yah my dad i think already said something similar but u hav no idea how much i did not need this right now but thanks alot for the advice.

thanks so much rae. Yah my dad i think already said something similar but u hav no idea how much i did not need this right now but thanks alot for the advice.

Hey, no problem. Wish it could have been better news but...

Happy Birthday by the way. Hope you can make the best of it and have a good one!

heyy man thanks will try...

edit: sorry, didn't read all the responses before I answered.


After you get it refilled and started up, you'll need to check for leaks. In a big overheat like you're describing you could have warped the head or blown the head gasket; so make sure to look closely for leaks.

how do i check for leaks?

leaks in where what is the process

Well, once you've got the new coolant in, start it up and let it run for maybe 15-20 minutes. Look around underneath the valve cover, about 3" under it where the head meets the block; if the head gasket is hurt, you'll see coolant and/or oil coming out there. It'll probably be dirty, so look good.

Also, check your oil to make sure there's no water in it, and your coolant to make sure there's no oil in it...oil and coolant mixing indicate a bad head gasket internally.