frikinyankee

So I had a small overheating event. Upper rad hose ruptured outta nowhere and started steaming from the hood. I stopped immediately, then had to drive about 2 blocks to park properly so I could come back later and fix it. I don't recall it ever going to the red. But I believe the sensor is not an accurate reading of engine temp. Anyways, I fixed the hose and got back on the road.

Now it runs underpowered. It runs like it was running before I fixed up some vacuum leaks around the injectors that was causing trouble some while back. Simply underpowered.

I'm not certain if it's burning coolant or not... it doesn't seem to be, but it might be dripping a little into the engine, which I guess would mean I blew a head gasket. I'll check coolant level these days, smell and look for smoke. But.. common! for 30 seconds of overheating??? really??? please no... what else should I be looking at? Could overheating maybe cause valve clearances to go outta wack? Maybe something else got damaged from heat, maybe a new vacuum leak somewhere? Any tips on what to look for?

Kolton5543

The hose failing wont cause it to overheat immediately. Driving it after the hose blew might have. I'd pull the plugs to make sure you don't see any signs of coolant getting into the cylinders. Maybe do a block test. If the cooling system doesn't pressurize very quickly I'd think you are good. Pull the distributor cap. Maybe you got coolant in it when the hose blew.

frikinyankee

You mean pull a plug and turn the engine? How does this work.. do i pull them all or one at a time?

I tried a block test, not sure if i'm doing it right... does the thermostat have to be open for the tester to suck air through? I run the car, plug the cap, pump the ball, and it doesn't suck any air through...

I took a look at the distributor cover, it wasn't doing too good. The tips were eroded, and they crumbled a bit when i tried to file them. So i replaced the cover. But no better.

It's still underpowered. It tends to come after a while of driving, after the engine is at temp.

frikinyankee

So I think I ruled out head gasket.

Now I'm tinking it's something EFI / electrical related since it's intermittent. The problem seems to come after it's warm, but not always -- sometimes it seems to run fine for a while. I haven't felt it happen cold.

Thinking to test the temp sensor, coil, AFM... any ideas guys? I understand if many of these parts had problems, it would be running worst than it is...

Plugs are pretty new, as are plug wires, new distributor, injectors have been cleaned and rebuilt, ran sea-foam. Also had new timing chain / water pump / oil pump done.