Major Engine Coolant problem

Ok so last night on the way home the heater stopped working. That's when I noticed my temp gauge starting to rocket. I pulled in the driveway and I was seeing coolant getting spewed everywhere. Looking at it this morning I found my belt in tact but a little shredded. I checked my radiator for visible damage but found none. Water pump still spins freely and has zero play.

Thinking the ECT sensor? Any other input would be appreciated

 

A hose most likely, why was the belt damaged? Any pics?

 

Checked my hoses. Here's the belt. You can see a chunck came off and wrapped around the fan too however the fan was spinning

 

Lol a little shredded? Fill it with coolant or water and see where it comes out. I would think it would be a catastrophic failure of something by what you described. I guess I should say it has to be distilled water, but it's your choice. Your belt flinging may have cut a hose.

 

Haha last time one shredded it turned into slivers so I thought a little shredded yeah.

I'm rechecking all my hoses now for damage again. Any other possibilities? Just trying to get as much input as possible

 

The water pump, but you said it spins good... Do the bearings feel rough?

 

Nope its smooth as butter. No play and smooth movement. Hoses are all good too. Guess I'll go ahead put in water and work from there

I just don't understand what caused it to overheat and do it if everything was working. I could understand if my belt grenades or pump goes but it was still on with enough belt to work and pumps fine.

 

Well if the coolant was pissing out, that would cause that. The heater core is at a higher point in the system so if it's leaking, the level will drop, causing issues.

 

Good to know. Guess I'll start reworking everything together and burp the system.

Hopefully no problems

 

Hopefully!

 

Check the heater core. Plus I don't know all that happened at that time but if the belt wasn't able to turn the pump at the time it will cause it to spike and over flow. I'd top it all off put a new belt on and go around the neighborhood. See if maybe the belt just caused the real issue. And if all goes back to normal.

 

It's my humble opinion that the clue to your overheating lies more in why the belt was damaged vs. the ECT sensor. I could be wrong.

 

Your heater stopped working because your heater core's coolant was evacuated out when the serpentine belt damaged one of your hoses. As far as to what hose it damaged, you will have to take a look and see for yourself. Could be your lower main rad hose, or your upper. I would take a bucket of water and put it over the engine bay then allow it to dry before I start filling the rad up with water that way you are not chasing your tail.

The reason your gauge started shooting up was because there was no longer sufficient coolant in the block to keep your temperature maintained and your ECT sensor picked that up. As long as you didn't allow it to exceed the max for very long you are okay. As far as what is wrong with the truck is concerned, it is strictly a coolant hose replacement as well as your serpentine belt and that is it. The rest should be okay pending me knowing if you didn't let your engine temp shoot up to the max for too long.

 

I feel your pain, but worse in one way, better in another. I'm working on a VW Jetta. Just got thermostat replaced and covered up again, broke one of the plastic hose barbs off last night so I put some jb weld on it in hopes that will hold. If that doesn't work, I do have a plan B. The plastic flange mounted to the block had cracks in it, and I'm pretty sure that is where it was leaking from. I think there may be something blocking the heater core.

As far as your truck, find where is was blowing coolant out. I suggest adding just water for now to fill the system, then when you find and fix your problems, do a coolant flush and fill with new coolant.

 

Thanks for all your help guys. Filled with water for leak checking. Found like 5 spots leaking from various hoses and possibly on the water pump seal. Once the dealership opens in the morning I'll be getting parts as I couldn't find a few today otherwise.

 

nice! Was the belt bad? Like cracking severely or anything like that? Wondering why it just shredded.

 

if you change the pump its cheap assurance to change the thermostat too.

 

That's the weird thing, the belt was totally fine otherwise and was only 8 months old

I agree hence the plan to do that tomorrow!

 

Quite possible a small rock / pebble was kicked up and into the belt causing the damage. It's not common, but not rare either, happened to me last year on a low mileage belt, thankfully no other damage or leaks. There is a reason I put the old belt behind the seat when I replace one that is still servicable - a free spare is worth a lot more when you need it to get home.