is my car dead?

[tommygunzit]

it's died a bunch of times. I've replaced alternator, water pump, thermostat, rad hose and i can't remember what else. i 've owned it about four months. it's an 89 2.5 litre four cyl with automatic. Iron duke has had rad leak which i've neglected. It runs out of water pretty quick. The engine has gone very hot a few times. I was driving home from work yesterday and it just died. It didn't appear to overheat it just got quiet all of a sudden. No band or anything. No smoke nothing. I pulled it over off the highway and tried restarting. It turned over but wouldn't fire. I can hear fuel pump going on, i tried jumpstarting. I let it cool off and tried again nothing. What could it be. There is no pool of oil under car or anything. I"ve pulled plugs and cleaned. i put more gas in there. Nothing has worked. Any ideas
Any help appreciated thanks

[rixGAphx]

Well, you seem to realize that driving with a leaking radiator was one of the dumbest things you've ever done, so let's move on.
:D :D

You haven't daid: Was there any coolant in the engine/rad, or was everything dry?
Did the oil on the dipstick smell burned?

ASSUMING your coolant was empty, then-
When an engine is EMPTY of coolant, lots of interesting things start to hapeen, none of them good:

* Only air is in the passages of the block and head, as well as the hoses, rad, waterpump, etc.
* * Waterpumps can't pump air to any significant extent, so the air is stangnant.
* * Air doesn't transfer heat very well, so the gage sensor (which normally is submersed in water) is reading hot air, and the gage continues to read ok.

* There's a LOT of heat building-up in the aluminum piston, in the cylinder walls, and especially in the wall of the combustion chamber (the inside of the cylinder head).
* * The piston is being sprayed (from inside the crankcase) by oil, which is heated and drips down to the crankcase. Nonetheless, this aluminum piston is getting hotter than usual, and it is expanding. Pistons can get so hot that they warp or distort, or even melt :eek:
* * The head has a bunch of dripping oil (at the valves) that is removing heat from the outside of the combustion chamber wall, then dripping into the crankcase.
* * The oil in the crankcase is getting pretty hot, and so is the metal oil pan. The air rushing past the oil pan is removing a lot of heat. But the oil is getting VERY thin, and the molecules are breaking-down into non-slippery oil residue.

* The head is getting so hot that it wants to expand.
Eventually, it will, and mebbe crack itself or bust a head bolt. Meantime, it is warping. The head is bolted tightly to the block, and it kinda 'sandwiches' the head gasket with extreme clamping force.
As it warps, the clamping force is relieved at some points, and the head gasket leaks or 'blows'.

I think this is where you're at:
Severe head damage, if not block/piston damage.
At the very least, do a compression check to see which cylinders are leaking.

I'm not familiar with the computer system on the '89, but I suspect that the extreme engine heat has damaged an electrical component, perhaps the Crankshaft Position Sensor.
This would absolutely prevent firing, even if the coolant system were fine.

Hope this helps.
-Rick

[tommygunzit]

you're totally on the money with me being partially retarded. lol. I was driving it as my work car and had hole in rad that was leaking bad so i would refill daily. It was straiht water at that point i'm sure, oh and air. The motor ran with hesitation with the leak. I am in denial of the car being wrecked but know it most likely is. Anyway I'll check it out now that it's here and see if I can fire it up. It does rotate but will not fire so I'll ive it a try and see if this iron duke is as though as the duke himself, lol. Somebody pinch me i'm dreaming lol
Thanks for you input

[Prospeeder]

Originally posted by rixGAphx
Well, you seem to realize that driving with a leaking radiator was one of the dumbest things you've ever done, so let's move on.
:D :D

You haven't daid: Was there any coolant in the engine/rad, or was everything dry?
Did the oil on the dipstick smell burned?

ASSUMING your coolant was empty, then-
When an engine is EMPTY of coolant, lots of interesting things start to hapeen, none of them good:

* Only air is in the passages of the block and head, as well as the hoses, rad, waterpump, etc.
* * Waterpumps can't pump air to any significant extent, so the air is stangnant.
* * Air doesn't transfer heat very well, so the gage sensor (which normally is submersed in water) is reading hot air, and the gage continues to read ok.

* There's a LOT of heat building-up in the aluminum piston, in the cylinder walls, and especially in the wall of the combustion chamber (the inside of the cylinder head).
* * The piston is being sprayed (from inside the crankcase) by oil, which is heated and drips down to the crankcase. Nonetheless, this aluminum piston is getting hotter than usual, and it is expanding. Pistons can get so hot that they warp or distort, or even melt :eek:
* * The head has a bunch of dripping oil (at the valves) that is removing heat from the outside of the combustion chamber wall, then dripping into the crankcase.
* * The oil in the crankcase is getting pretty hot, and so is the metal oil pan. The air rushing past the oil pan is removing a lot of heat. But the oil is getting VERY thin, and the molecules are breaking-down into non-slippery oil residue.

* The head is getting so hot that it wants to expand.
Eventually, it will, and mebbe crack itself or bust a head bolt. Meantime, it is warping. The head is bolted tightly to the block, and it kinda 'sandwiches' the head gasket with extreme clamping force.
As it warps, the clamping force is relieved at some points, and the head gasket leaks or 'blows'.

I think this is where you're at:
Severe head damage, if not block/piston damage.
At the very least, do a compression check to see which cylinders are leaking.

I'm not familiar with the computer system on the '89, but I suspect that the extreme engine heat has damaged an electrical component, perhaps the Crankshaft Position Sensor.
This would absolutely prevent firing, even if the coolant system were fine.

Hope this helps.
-Rick

God your so good with the whole cooling system thing, i learn alot from you :cool: