Serious problem?

[Mikelb]

Hey, on the way to work this morning... my car overheated... really high, really fast, and that's really bad...
Ok, here's some facts... I live in NC (it's winter, really cold)... I had just rebuilt the tranny, and blew the water outlet gasket... I fixed it back up, but I didn't put any anti-freeze in the vehicle... it's been frosting out at nights... but I haven't had any problems outta it yet... but this morning... I went outside to start my car early (like always) and cut on the rear defroster and heater full blast... ended up scraping the windows, b/c the heater took forever to heat up...
A/b half-way to work (it's a 15-mile drive), the thermostat was on red... and there was smoke pouring from underneath the hood... I had to continue driving where I was... I found the nearest service station and pulled in... left car running... while sitting, the car began to cool down...
I popped the hood... smoke was pouring outta the reservoir... the water was boiling...
Now, since putting the car back together, one of my pulleys has been making a real racket... not a squeal... but just a noise... now the pump isn't leaking... but I've had to fill the reservoir several times since I've rebuilt it (a/b a month ago)... but I haven't found any leaks...
When I got back in the car, the thermostat was a/b half-way (a little a/b normal)... the water light never came on... but I cut the car off for a minute... then recranked it... I cut on the heater again, but it didn't seem to be blowing as hard as normal... and it never got hot again, it only blew cold... and there has been a smell of oil in the heater system...

Any ideas as to what this may be?

[Mikelb]

also, another quick question, how accurate is that thermometer in the car?...

[Mikelb]

BTW, I replaced the thermostat over the summer, so I find it hard to believe that's gone out already...

[2old]

Do you remember if the thermostate was fail open or closed? I have had these fail quite often if they are not the correct temperature range and by far it's the cheapest part of the cooling system so it might be worth changing anyways.

It's a bit disturbing that your heater blows cold air because the heater should bypass the thermostat which means there might be a blockage in the coolent somewhere... Have you checked all your coolant lines for hard/soft/bulges/etc?

[2old]

It just dawned on me...

The obvious question is "are you out of coolant"... But the next one down is "I bet your radiator is clogged up"... Trying to remember why type of radiator our cars use (I used my wifes car to work today so I can't check).

[Mikelb]

yeah, all the hoses seem fine...
Ok, now that I'm back from lunch... I know the problem...
As I said earlier... after blowing that gasket, all I put in it was water... I was cutting a corner... b/c I was gonna wait until it went into the shop again to put more coolant into it...
At lunch I poured two gallons of water in it... so the car had basically ran itself dry, the water had frozen inside the radiator... so far, I haven't seen any other problems (leaks/cracks)... but I'll keep an eye out...
I will be out shopping for Christmas tonight... so I guess I'll pick up some anti-freeze and put in it...
Sry to bother u guys, but that had me worried...

[AutostradaVR4]

if you still have any problems you may want to check your pump

[Stealthee]

Having no coolant will cause it to overheat. Its not called coolant for no reason. You could very well crack a head or block because of the water freezing.

[Mikelb]

Yeah, I didn't think it was quite cold enough to freeze it though... and I was hoping that some of the antifreeze was actually still in the vehicle...

I'm certain that's what it was now... b/c I put some 50/50 mix in the car last night... no freeze or overheat this morning... and all that trouble for a 5-minute correction...

[3000Star]

Well Hey If By Some How You Put A Crack In Your Radiator You Can Put An Egg In It And It Will Fill That Hole ...i Know It Sounds Stupid But They Did It On Mythbusters And We Tried It In A Friends Car A Few Years Ago And Its Still Find...lol

[Mikelb]

^^^That's news to me... thanks for the info though...
I've heard of the pepper trick (for a pinhole) but never the egg...
I've also found out the hard way... that anything that says it will repair the radiator/head gasket is crap... DO NOT USE...
also, I had the agony of watching a few stubborn friends gunk up parts of their engines with that stop leak stuff... if it is gauranteed to stop a leak, that's almost a gaurantee, that it will stop ALL flow... even in the places where you do want water to pass through...