chevy ran HOT past the gauge

My Chevy Blazer (Vortec 4.3) ran hotter than hell last week , so hot, the
temp sensor melted, twice until I could take care of the problem.. I did
some repairs and its running to spec now, but I am afraid I may have done
other damage. Yeah, it knocked like crazy and I got it shut down and I got
some glycol into it asap during the problem. I have changed the thermostat
and water pump to solve my original problem, but what can I expect as
repurcussions from my overheat down the line?

May be a good time to start looking for a replacement engine. From
your info, I wouldn't give this engine much more than a couple thousand
miles before big-$$$ problems start showing up.


Phil wrote:
> My Chevy Blazer (Vortec 4.3) ran hotter than hell last week , so hot, the
> temp sensor melted, twice until I could take care of the problem.. I did
> some repairs and its running to spec now, but I am afraid I may have done
> other damage. Yeah, it knocked like crazy and I got it shut down and I got
> some glycol into it asap during the problem. I have changed the thermostat
> and water pump to solve my original problem, but what can I expect as
> repurcussions from my overheat down the line?
>
>

As other posters have suggested, you could have many problems, but by far the most common result of overheating is a blown head gasket. This could lead to more serious damage because of such things as coolant in the oil.

Phil wrote:
>
> My Chevy Blazer (Vortec 4.3) ran hotter than hell last week , so hot, the
> temp sensor melted, twice until I could take care of the problem.. I did
> some repairs and its running to spec now, but I am afraid I may have done
> other damage. Yeah, it knocked like crazy and I got it shut down and I got
> some glycol into it asap during the problem. I have changed the thermostat
> and water pump to solve my original problem, but what can I expect as
> repurcussions from my overheat down the line?

--

Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

Phil wrote:

> My Chevy Blazer (Vortec 4.3) ran hotter than hell last week , so hot, the
> temp sensor melted, twice until I could take care of the problem.. I did
> some repairs and its running to spec now, but I am afraid I may have done
> other damage. Yeah, it knocked like crazy and I got it shut down and I got
> some glycol into it asap during the problem. I have changed the thermostat
> and water pump to solve my original problem, but what can I expect as
> repurcussions from my overheat down the line?
>
>

Iron block/head engines aren't too likely to warp the heads, but its
possible. The most likely thing is that the overheat ruined the piston
rings so that they don't have any elasticity (tension) left, and it will
burn oil like crazy and be down on power from lost compression. And a
head gasket leak could still show up later on, either due to slight
warping of the heads, or the head bolts losing their elasticity from the
heat.

thanks.
it is doing well at the moment. Gauges reveal everything is behaving as it
should temp-wise, oil wise etc.
I've changed all fluids with fresh except for the transmission. I am
expecting I shortened the life of the rings, and I dunno if synthetic oil
helped me or not, but at the temperature it was at, I think all bets are off
on the ring life expectancy.