How Hot is Too Hot?

[jaimysessanna]

I live in one of the Southtowns of Buffalo. It snows. A lot.

I ended up ditching my 1994 LeSabre.

A friend of mine pulled me out, the serpentine belt ended up coming off because of the snow packed in there.

I tried to drive my car home but the temp light ended up coming on. It was on for about 30 seconds to a minute before I could pull over. I ended up getting it towed the rest of the way home.

My question to everyone is this: Did I do any terrible amount of damage to the 3.8 in my LeSabre?

I replaced the serpentine and started it up and it all sounds normal. It runs the same as before and everything seems fine.

I'm just wondering this because I've heard before that if you overheat an engine you run the risk of warping the heads.

Thanks for your advice and happy holidays!

[maxwedge]

Only time will tell.

[polarzak]

I don't think you would have done any damage, and you say everything seems fine. I think it would take a lengthy time of over heating to do any real damage. I had a 75 Monte Carlo with a stuck thermostat that I drove for about 100 miles.....stopping every so often to let it cool.... and once I replaced the thermostat...I drove it for years without any engine problems.

[Blue Bowtie]

You might consider changing the oil, especially if it isn't synthetic. The polymers added to oil will have baked once the oil overheated,and you will have additional sludge and very poor viscosity once the engine reaches normal operating temperature.

[HotZ28]

Originally Posted by jaimysessanna

I'm just wondering this because I've heard before that if you overheat an engine you run the risk of warping the heads.
Thanks for your advice and happy holidays!

Overheating & warping heads are more common with aluminum heads, which fortunately you do not have. The cast iron block & heads can take much more abuse without damage. I don't think you will have any problems, just keep an eye on the temp gage in case the thermostat was damaged. Sometimes they will stick open after overheating, then your engine will run much colder than normal.

[jaimysessanna]

Okay, I thank everyone for their advice. Like I said, it runs fine so I'm just going to follow what I've believed all along. You can't kill a 3.8.
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[jaimysessanna]

I will however change the oil.
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[jaimysessanna]

So I've been ruinning around for the past few days and I'm pretty sure that everything is alright with my engine. I ended up changing my oil. Thank you everyone for your help.
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