redairforce

So I went and did a bad thing. I installed a Mishimoto radiator and didn't get the little adapter to use my 2006 fan switch in the giant hole for the older model fan switches. I used the old "leave the A/C running all the time to keep the fans going." I accidentally left my car running for like 2 hours without the fans running and came back to find the sucker steaming. So it definitely caused some damage.... loss in pressure\acceleration, baby poop looking oil, etc.

I promise I responsibly got the fan switch adapter for the Mishimoto and installed promptly. Haven't tried it because I don't want to start the car until I address the overheating damage.

I have a new head gasket standing by and I have the head off. I just did a the headgasket last year out of concern of a minor loss in pressure so getting the head off and to a machine shop is gonna be a breeze. Here are my concerns:

Do I need to worry about the block? Why does the book not seem to cover block removal? Does the block ever really need to be resurfaced? Can I just pull the transmission away from the block and yank the whole assembly and take it to the machine shop?

I can flush the coolant system with a hose no problem so I can get the oil out of the coolant. How do I ensure I get the coolant all the way out of the oil? I'd hate to reassemble knowing there is gonna be baby poop rolling around. Should I remove the pan and clean?

Did I hurt any pistons or anything? I know the head real well, I really don't know what's happening in the lower block. Could I just reassemble and listen for bad things?

tozerman

I can't imagine how much damage you could have done by "accidentaly" leaving the car running for 2 hours with no fan.

redairforce

I can't really tell if that is sarcasm or a relieving statement. Are you saying that "you can't imagine there being much damage at all" or "you've destroyed the engine, start looking on ebay."

cosmomiller

Not sure about the car but think twice before you have children.

redairforce

Ah, now I understand the lack of seriousness. Thank you for explaining. I'm not worried about children as such. I'll go in depth on the occurrence and maybe we can get something more along the lines of a checklist. I own an IT services company in Dallas. I was dropping off a part on client site thinking I was just getting out of car and going up an elevator to hand something to one of my employees. Once there, he informed me of a call he'd just gotten from the CEO of said client about an issue my employee was a little too green to feel comfortable on his own. In the interest of calming the big wig (this is a guy who signed a 3 year contract that makes up nearly 60% of my revenue), I walked my employee up to this guy's office and schmoozed while my guy did simple troubleshooting. Anyways, 5 minutes turned into 20 and now I was seated working the issue.

I love my car to death and enjoy the lifestyle. This is my second s2000 in 15 years (the last one hit 230,000 miles before I sold her). Unfortunately I really love my income and being able to provide job security to a very appreciative staff. When livelihood calls, interests must take a backseat.

I am actually not entirely sure of the time frame the car was indeed running without the fan. I know it to be at least 25 minutes, but that was also a very hectic day so I am allowing a span of up to 2 hours to be safe the description is accurate. My GPS logged me at the site for approximately 2 hours. I do know it was screaming steam out the radiator cap when I returned. I turned the engine off and left the key in the second position as to allow the a/c to stay on (drained battery was not a concern at this point, subtract this occurrence from the 2 hour maximum as I had excused myself to check on the car, but did have to return to finish). I had to get back to my home office for a sales meeting, so I Ubered back (subtract maybe 25 minutes for waiting for Uber from 2 hour maximum). My employee got my key out around another hour later and left it for me.

I waited until evening after traffic had died down and the ambient air was rather cool. The engine was now cool to the touch. I drove the car 10 miles to my garage and have not moved it since then. I noticed a severe loss in pressure in the engine during this drive.

I don't really need any negativity toward my actions. I understand the severity of the situation. I'm more looking for guidance in things to be aware of within the block. I guess I will just take the head in for resurfacing and replace the gasket and reassemble and listen to the engine for sounds out of the normal. But a little information on probable damage would be much appreciated, along with info on properly ensuring clean oil. I really am out of my element for anything block related. I've just never had to pull a block for troubleshooting. They are usually just so rock solid.

Thank you.

Slowcrash_101

You check the block same way you check the head. Straight edge and a feeler gauge, want warping to be less than .004", machining the block is not recommended.

tozerman

Sorry mate I genuinely wasn't trying to be sarcastic, I was trying to show empathy. What I was saying was that the engine running for about 2 hours ish with no cooling fans would possibly have done a whole shed load of damage, in fact I am amazed it didn't seize solid. My advice is carry out a compression check and be prepared to eat a foot long shit sandwich, Sorry.

Good luck.

Car Analogy

The most shocking thing to me is not leaving a car running for longer than you could have foreseen, its leaving it running at all. I cannot imagine going into any building, anywhere on this planet, with intention to use the elevator, and leaving any car I was using running.

That said, once head is off, inspect block for warping, and cylinder walls for scoring. If it lools good so far, I would just change the oil, reassemble, and hope for the best. Then assumming it starts and runs, I would let it warm up, then change oil again. Let the oil do the flushing (so no need for most expensive oil here).

You didn't hear any knocking when you drove it home, so it would seem bearings are not toast. Bottom end may not live as long as would have if this never happened, but it sounds like it might still give you plenty of service left.

I understand you need to really flush out water passages, but if you use garden hose, you'll need to get all that mineralized water out of the system before you had coolant. Keep that in mind. Use compressed air and distilled water to flush the city water.

Sent from my SM-G920P using IB AutoGroup

jkelley

I imagine you'll find that the block is out of spec on warp, but you may even have cylinder/ring damage from the poopy oil for it having run that long. But we don't know if the gasket went out earlier or later in the time period is was sitting running.

redairforce

So the cylinders seem fine. I don't see any scoring in there. I can cycle the pistons smoothly and they return to flush, that is the best I can tell without removing them.

There was a lot of coolant everywhere, including the cylinders. I'm assuming I got it turned off just in time. The gasket even seemed fine (of course I am replacing). But I think there was an issue at the front end before the chain port. I remember when I first pulled this a year ago to replace head gasket, there was an ungodly amount of the "Honda Butter," whatever the sealant is called. It was heavily gooped around the chain port. Even the machine shop questioned it's mere existence there. But I read the DIY's and spread a thin bead around it before placing the last gasket in place. Looking at it now, there were broken sections of the seal. I believe this to be the primary leak point of the coolant into the oil.

I feel like this was just a time bomb waiting to happen and my overheating experience was short enough to reveal the terror.

I'm going to take the head into City Motor Supply in Dallas. I'm thinking that I'll have them "mill" the head. It probably won't need actual milling, but their equipment will be more precise at measuring than me with a flat edge. While I have all this out, they only charge $175 (plus parts) for a valve job. Would it be prudent to have that done at this point? I really am hopeful the block is in good order and would like to do something nice for the poor girl while I have her taken apart.



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