Blown radiator hose while driving >>> Now no cranking power

[austinringding]

Howdy all:

I wanted to bounce this issue off of the forum in hopes of figuring this out.

First off, the details:

'96 4runner
SR5 4WD
262K miles

Last week, I was driving on interstate and all of a sudden coolant started spraying out of sides of hood. Being a few miles from a service station exit, I opted to keep driving, monitoring the temperature gauge the whole time, to attempt to get to the service station.

The temperature gauge held steady for awhile, not going up at all, but as more and more coolant leaked out (hole in top hose), the temp gauge started going up. I turned heater on full blast in hopes to get a little further, but then all of a sudden lost full power and had to pull over. At no time did temp gauge go all the way up.

I put on a new hose and filled up with coolant / water and tried to start the vehicle but it wouldn't start as it didn't have cranking power. I had to get to work so I just called AAA to come get me, and I flew out that night so I haven't had time to mess with it at all.

I know the next step is to jump it / check the battery, but I'm just really perplexed as to why the vehicle would lose cranking power just because the vehicle lost coolant.

Thoughts? Ideas? I'd like to know what i'm up against when i get back to Austin.

Thanks!

 

[thegipper]

When you say it has "no cranking" power, can you give us more details?

Does the motor crank but not start? Or does it just click or not crank at all?

Your rig didn't just loose coolant, it over heated. It is possible that you seized the motor from overheating but let's not assume that quite yet. The coolant spraying everywhere could have shorted the battery and killed it.

Give us some more details and we should be able to help.

 

[nissanh]

You had all the warnings and you continued to drive: Not so good.

What do you mean by loss of power? Did the engine stall? If it did, the outcome will not be good.

 

[JayRolla]

The temp dummy gauge starts to move at 230*. You most likely hit over 250* which can cause major damage. Warped head, blown head gasket, seized motor bearings, ect....

We need more info. Does it crank? If so compression and leak down tests should be done.

 

[69project]

Howdy all:

I wanted to bounce this issue off of the forum in hopes of figuring this out.

First off, the details:

'96 4runner
SR5 4WD
262K miles

Last week, I was driving on interstate and all of a sudden coolant started spraying out of sides of hood. Being a few miles from a service station exit, I opted to keep driving, monitoring the temperature gauge the whole time, to attempt to get to the service station.

The temperature gauge held steady for awhile, not going up at all, but as more and more coolant leaked out (hole in top hose), the temp gauge started going up. I turned heater on full blast in hopes to get a little further, but then all of a sudden lost full power and had to pull over. At no time did temp gauge go all the way up.

I put on a new hose and filled up with coolant / water and tried to start the vehicle but it wouldn't start as it didn't have cranking power. I had to get to work so I just called AAA to come get me, and I flew out that night so I haven't had time to mess with it at all.

I know the next step is to jump it / check the battery, but I'm just really perplexed as to why the vehicle would lose cranking power just because the vehicle lost coolant.

Thoughts? Ideas? I'd like to know what i'm up against when i get back to Austin.

Thanks!

You need to define no cranking power. If it isn't turning over due to no battery, batteries sometimes just die and yours may be a victim of circumstance.

If the starter tries to engage but nothing is turning over or it isn't starting, I am going to bet you locked up the engine. An engine can run hot for a while but once you shut it down then it seizes.

 

[19963.4lsr5]

When you lost engine power and had to pull over I'm pretty sure that was a bad thing. Your temp sensor was only accurate when it was in coolant. As the coolant went away your engine got hotter and the gauge never shown you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JohnMc]

/\ /\ /\ What he said. Once the temp sensor is hanging out in an empty air filled passageway instead of being submerged in coolant, it wasn't reading properly. You may have severely overheated the engine. A loss of power while driving is not a good sign *at all*.

It's possible that you blew a HG and coolant flooded one of the cylinders after it sat for a while? If the battery itself isn't dead, try pulling out all the plugs and cranking it over. If you get coolant squirting out of one of them, then you need a HG swap, although you may possibly have done even more damage. Warped heads, scored cylinder walls, etc.

 

[flipty]

If that were me I would start preparing for the worst. Either start finding a wrecked 4R and start planning an engine swap, or consider a full replacement.

 

[4flyer]

Sorry to hear that happened. Big rule when you are overheating: pull over and turn off the car ASAP. A $100 tow is cheaper than a new engine.

 

[baja1]

ugh! had the same thing happen south of the border where calling a tow truck wasn't an option, I was lucky to limp it home.....start looking for a replacement.:doh:

 

[austinringding]

Thank you for all of your ideas. I am totally aware that the engine could have major issues. I'm having it towed in to a mechanic tomorrow as they'll be able to figure it out for me. Too darn hot here in Texas this (every) summer to diagnose myself.

To answer some of the earlier questions, the vehicle died i.e. stopped running while I was still doing about 50. I put into neutral and tried starting it again, the battery / solenoid just clicked. Same thing when I came to a stop after refilling with coolant / water and replacing the blown hose. I didn't have jumper cables on me or a battery jumper, so i didn't have a chance to try and jump start.

Guess I'll know what the dealio is tomorrow afternoon. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[austinringding]

So what's a good source for a rebuilt SR5 engine? Obviously I'll call around the local junkyards. Check ebay. Any other online reputable sources?

 

[jgue467]

.... the vehicle died i.e. stopped running while I was still doing about 50. I put into neutral and tried starting it again, the battery / solenoid just clicked. Same thing when I came to a stop after refilling with coolant / water and replacing the blown hose. I didn't have jumper cables on me or a battery jumper, so i didn't have a chance to try and jump start.

I'm hoping based on description above something electrical just shorted out with all the coolant everywhere, hence the clicking. Don't start looking for engines just yet! Luck. :cowboy: