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Old 08-29-2017, 02:02 PM   #9
Qmulus
inveniam viam aut faciam
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Arvada, CO
Posts: 440
The only way to know how much damage there is is to get it all back together, brought up to temperature and see if you have leaks, misfires, etc. It looks me like $500- $1k or so in parts to get to the point where you can see if you have warped or cracked a head, etc. It is impossible to diagnose with a couple of pictures. You are in a tough spot.

Hopefully you did not damage the engine by driving it, but experience tells me that it is never a good idea to drive without coolant. Remember that when your engine has no coolant in it, the temperature gauge will not read correctly. In fact, it likely won't read higher than boiling once the system is open, so you may think you are OK, when in fact the engine is getting incredibly hot. In my experience, most damage is done after the driver already is aware that there is a problem, but keeps driving.

For example, last week I saw a Cayenne Turbo at a shop that was driven until it stopped after a coolant fitting failed. What could have been just a bad day with a tow and couple hundred dollar repair turned into a very expensive totaled car because the owner decided to keep driving with coolant spraying from the engine bay. The owner just wanted to get it home, 10 miles away. He thought that because the temp gauge did not show that it was overheating (it pegged, then fell just above normal - boiling) that he was OK to keep driving, even with other lights flashing and the smell of burning plastic. It made it about six miles and seized in the middle of the road. The first glance showed that the engine covers had melted. The wiring harnesses were destroyed. Pretty much everything plastic or rubber in the engine bay was damaged. The engine had seized. It was just incredible that it did not catch fire. My guess is that repairing that vehicle would be $20k+, if it even gets repaired. Had he just stopped and gotten a tow in the first place, the repair would have been cheap.

It is a good sign that the engine runs smoothly, but having two problems that happened at different times (broken coolant fitting and missing/spun off alternator clutch/pulley) scares me. Until you get it back together I wouldn't say that you are in the clear.
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Last edited by Qmulus; 08-29-2017 at 02:08 PM.
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