What happened?

[PPV_2018]

Long story short, just did 150 mile drive. It’s late and I’m pushing it kind of hard to get back. Made it all the way back to the city, about a 1/4 mile away from home we decide to stop by the drive thru right quick for a fast food night cap…

But as i slow down to turn in, i hear dramatic grinding metallic, metal on metal noises… i mean it sounds horrible, like imagine and engine running with no oil.. that’s what it sounded like.

Definitely cannot afford a tow truck this time of night and i have no one to call for help, so make the executive decision to limp it home. Obviously sounds horrible the whole way back.

the truck losing power as i can see the house coming up and there’s a car riding my ass so i kill the motor and coast it home in neutral. Pouring out smoke everywhere from the engine bay. Pop the hood and the entire engine bay is soaked. does not appear to be oil. It appears to be coolant. The reservoir is bone dry. The reservoir was completely full (at max) a week or two ago when i changed the oil. I see no busted hoses, no loose or disconnected hoses. Only possibility i could see with hoses if one split open on the bottom somewhere and i can’t see it yet. Will investigate further tomorrow. It’s 01:45 currently..

What happened? Water pump failure? Head gasket? It is incredibly strange how dramatic this whole episode happened after 150 miles of trouble free driving and no precursors.. originally i suspected lifter failure.. but I don’t think so


Edit: oh and I just want to add: I always monitor the gauges while driving. The whole time the dummy gauges were exactly where they were supposed to be. Oil pressure and temp was perfect. Also, I have no CEL’s.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Noise would suggest that the H2Opump is grinding itself to death,
which could be the pump itself if there are no fluid leaks,
provided the H2Opump is old enough.
Otherwise, you haven't yet found the leak.

If you're in the mood to fire the parts cannon,
remember to always fire the lower caliber stuff first -
replace the reservoir cap as a matter of due course.

Since you did not mention, I'll assume it's the '18 PPV, not the elder pickup?
Either way, my money's on needing a new H2Opump.
One is over 130,000 miles old, other one's over 22 years old.

 

[PPV_2018]

Noise would suggest that the H2Opump is grinding itself to death,
which could be the pump itself if there are no fluid leaks,
provided the H2Opump is old enough.
Otherwise, you haven't yet found the leak.

If you're in the mood to fire the parts cannon,
remember to always fire the lower caliber stuff first -
replace the reservoir cap as a matter of due course.

Since you did not mention, I'll assume it's the '18 PPV, not the elder pickup?
Either way, my money's on needing a new H2Opump.
One is over 130,000 miles old, other one's over 22 years old.

Yes sorry, fatigue got me - forgot to say which vehicle. It is the PPV.

Looking this morning i don’t see any busted hoses, may post some pics a bit later of (potential) areas of concern? Otherwise most of the dripping on the ground is basically right below where the water pump is (thought it’s not “new” drip, looks like all the coolant was spent already by the time this escapade took place), so it’s looking like you may be spot on. In fact the driver’s side of the engine bay is basically soaked, the passenger side does have splatter but the driver’s side is practically drenched.

I still need to do some more thorough investigating to see if i am missing something and i will report back with my findings.

 

[Rocket Man]

Next time, maybe consider an Uber for that short trip home and come back for your rig the next day. Limping a vehicle home when it’s overheated might cost you an engine, and if you can’t afford a tow truck you sure as hell can’t afford an engine. Hope you didn’t do any serious damage and it’s as simple as a water pump.

 

[PPV_2018]

Next time, maybe consider an Uber for that short trip home and come back for your rig the next day. Limping a vehicle home when it’s overheated might cost you an engine, and if you can’t afford a tow truck you sure as hell can’t afford an engine. Hope you didn’t do any serious damage and it’s as simple as a water pump.

Sound advice.



I did monitor the dummy gauge. After the grinding death noises started, the temp did start rising but it never maxed out.. it got probably 3/4 up so halfway between normal and full blown overheating. That’s literally the point where i shifted into neutral and coasted all home. The aux fans were on and working when i came to a complete stop and remained on for about 30 more seconds.

Many moons ago i had an old exploder that would frequently overheat. I always just shut it down and let it cool off , and it would continue driving like normal. Nah I’m not proud of that but i was young&dumb&broke hey, i did what i had to.

So that begs the question.. how long can you let the engine run with no coolant? Until the temp rises to a certain point? That’s what i had assumed. Hopefully that “certain point” is *before* critical engine damage.

No CEL’s gives me hope that I didn’t screw anything up too bad. Let’s all just hope for the best yeah?

 

[Marky Dissod]

how long can you let the engine run with no coolant? Until the temp rises to a certain point? That’s what i had assumed.

Problem is that the temp that most people think of as critical overheating
(256F) only applies if that very hot coolant is still circulating, such that there are no hot spots.
Think towing uphill in Death Valley on a hot summer day.

If there are any coolant circulation issues, however, when the gauge states 239F,
bet that there are places closer to the interior / center of the V that are already overheating.
Where do most head gasket leaks occur? Specifically?

This is why my tune is set to activate hot mode @ 221F.

 

[Rocket Man]

Also, if there’s no coolant in the engine the sensor wont work properly. It senses coolant temp, not block temp. You said the truck was losing power right before you got it home, so I was wondering. Have you started it afterwards to listen for engine damage? You can remove the serpentine belt so the water pump doesn’t turn, and just run it for a minute.

 

[PPV_2018]

Alright so, took the serp belt off and ran it for 30 seconds twice to see…

Motor sounds fine.. i took two videos of those tests which i will upload here later tonight so that you all could be the judge and let me know your opinions.


Oh, the water pump pulley is completely loose.. it’s crazy, but yeah, that’s probably the source of the problem.


Of course now i get CEL.. but I’m 99.98% positive that has more to do with taking the snorkel Off which has all the air sensors I believe.

Anyways, update to come a little later.

And i appreciate you fella’s

 

[PPV_2018]

Here are the vids.

 

[Rocket Man]

That’s awesome, sounds good. If by snorkel you mean the cold air intake then yes you will get a CEL because the MAF isn’t reading the airflow. Sounds like the water pump just went south real quick which they do sometimes. If so, that’s an easy fix.