To make matters worse between my fuel and vacuum issue, my car overheated on the way to work.
I was in stop and go traffic and noticed an odd smell. About a minute later I saw steam coming from under the hood and then noticed the coolant temp gauge was on H.
About a half mile later I managed to pull over. The coolant in the reservoir appeared full but was boiling. I let it sit for an hour. The coolant level dropped to near the bottom. Serpentine belt seemed fine. I had heard no odd noises. There was only a very small amount of coolant on the ground and no obvious dripping.
I decided to head back out since traffic had subsided and the car cooled. I figured as long as I kept it at highway speed I was probably safe. I turned the heat on full blast. At first there was a squeaking sound that I don't remember but it went away after several hundred feet.
The car seemed fine but coolant temp started rising, slowly at first then quickly. I turned the car off and kept going. I continued this cycle of accelerate and shut the car off and made it to work without further incident although the temp gauge while never reaching H did climb above midway multiple times. The air out of the vents was hot.
So... what is it? I assume the coolant pump is okay because vents were hot. I assume radiator fan is irrelevant cause I was going 60 mph. I assume thermostats normally fail open. My only theories at this point are: rad fan failed, car overheated in traffic and I lost so much coolant it can't keep cool any more, or a blockage in the radiator or lines to the radiator which likely means catastrophic engine damage, although engine seemed fine. HELP!
I was in stop and go traffic and noticed an odd smell. About a minute later I saw steam coming from under the hood and then noticed the coolant temp gauge was on H.
About a half mile later I managed to pull over. The coolant in the reservoir appeared full but was boiling. I let it sit for an hour. The coolant level dropped to near the bottom. Serpentine belt seemed fine. I had heard no odd noises. There was only a very small amount of coolant on the ground and no obvious dripping.
I decided to head back out since traffic had subsided and the car cooled. I figured as long as I kept it at highway speed I was probably safe. I turned the heat on full blast. At first there was a squeaking sound that I don't remember but it went away after several hundred feet.
The car seemed fine but coolant temp started rising, slowly at first then quickly. I turned the car off and kept going. I continued this cycle of accelerate and shut the car off and made it to work without further incident although the temp gauge while never reaching H did climb above midway multiple times. The air out of the vents was hot.
So... what is it? I assume the coolant pump is okay because vents were hot. I assume radiator fan is irrelevant cause I was going 60 mph. I assume thermostats normally fail open. My only theories at this point are: rad fan failed, car overheated in traffic and I lost so much coolant it can't keep cool any more, or a blockage in the radiator or lines to the radiator which likely means catastrophic engine damage, although engine seemed fine. HELP!