engine condition

[8cd03gro]

sorry if this is in the wrong section...im new to this forum, but some of you may know me from mustangforums,cobaltssnet,clubwrx,etc.... im just trying to get as much input as possible on this. thanks guys.

copy and pasted from mustangforums.

ok i have an issue that is probably not even an issue, but its in the back of my mind driving me insane and i need reassurance. Back around the 1500 mile mark I had an issue with my coolant system where it was leaking fluid like a mother. I didn't notice until i heard some kind of ticking (either knocking or something in the cooling system) so i looked down at my water temp gauge and it was JUST a half a cm away from being in the red, so obviously i pulled over and shut off the car. Well i popped the hood and tried to let it cool, then about 15-20 minutes later after calling a tow truck i tried to start the car up for a minute cause i thought it would be cool enough to idle (i knew it was risky, but it was like 10 degrees out and i was wearing a t-shirt so i needed to warm up real quick). well when i started it up the revs just bounced around way under idle bogging like crazy and it sounded like excessive knocking in every cylidner so i shut it off after about 2 seconds maybe less. Well the tow truck showed up and everything was fixed and it has been running strong since then. I now have just over 6,000 miles and i am planning on going turbo this summer. Well i didn't even think about it until now, but do you think there could have been any damage to the internals (bearings or pistons most likely) from that night that would not have surfaced yet? Do you think it would be safe to go forced induction now and not worry about damage from that night. I would think any damage would have surfaced by now because i've put almost 5,000 miles on it since then, but i am now insane guru. I know my stuff, but i don't have neaerly as much experience as some of you like the certified techs and what not. Input is greatly appreciated guys.

[UncleBob]

I would highly recommend you learn a lot more about cars and how they work before you even think of turbo'ing it. High performance turbo applications are not for the unitiated, and will only give you pain, suffering, large creditcard bills and frustration.

That said: you may have damaged something beyond what the shop/dealer didn't fix. But since you don't seem to really know what was wrong, let alone what they did, there's no way to answer that. Since its been running fine upto now, it doesn't seem to be a real issue, but as soon as you add a turbo to the mix, any flaws or problems (with or without previous overheating) will come around and bite your butt hard.

[8cd03gro]

Originally Posted by UncleBob

I would highly recommend you learn a lot more about cars and how they work before you even think of turbo'ing it. High performance turbo applications are not for the unitiated, and will only give you pain, suffering, large creditcard bills and frustration.

That said: you may have damaged something beyond what the shop/dealer didn't fix. But since you don't seem to really know what was wrong, let alone what they did, there's no way to answer that. Since its been running fine upto now, it doesn't seem to be a real issue, but as soon as you add a turbo to the mix, any flaws or problems (with or without previous overheating) will come around and bite your butt hard.

i know exactly what was wrong and i know exactly what was fixed. I also know that it was knocking like a mother for a few seconds, but it has been running fine for 5,000 miles now. I am just getting opinions/experience with this type of situation.

i know the shop replaced the radiator (something bent a corner of my radiator causing it to leak, we still dont know how) and i know they did a compression test and everything was fine as far as they could see. I also do know quite a bit about engines and modding (go to the mustang forums or the cobalt forums and check my posts if you'd like i've done right ups on dity turbo setups on the cobalt forums, and i have helped a few people with n/a builds and what not and have contributed quite a bit on mustangforums too.) i am just trying to see if anyone has any ideas or input on my situation.