Q: Radiator busted, car overheated, shut off, did I blow the motor ?

asked by on April 18, 2017

I have a 2000 Mazda protege with a 1.8 motor, my radiator busted at the seal on the top of the rad by the cap, so I turned the heat on high as I was told to do so I could try to make it where I needed to go to get a new radiator, it was working fine and then it went hot & stayed there, I started losing power and my mph was decreasing, I pulled over and the car shut off completely, smoke coming out from under the hood, oil light came on and all, there was a slight rattle sound prior to the deceleration and shut off. . . Did I blow the motor completely ? Or is there a chance I can put a new radiator in it and top off all the fluids & it'll be okay ? I know it's a slim chance but I'm trying to see what my odds are

My car has 200885 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

Radiator Replacement $353.55 - $1403.40 Get a Quote
Oil Pressure Light is on Inspection $94.99 - $114.99 Get a Quote
Car is overheating Inspection $94.99 - $114.99 Get a Quote

Hi There, Unfortunately, it sounds like your motor may have gotten hot and resulted in some kind of damage that caused it to lose oil pressure, which may have made the problem worse. As you know, there are generally two sources of cooling for the engine. One of these is the cooling system which includes your radiator and the other is the oiling or lubrication system. When the oil pressure drops and the oil light comes on, this means that the oiling system is not properly lubricating various internal components, which can cause the engine to heat up beyond the normal operating temperature causing damage. The rattling sound could have been any number of damaged internal parts that could have resulted from the overheating or lack of oil pressure. I would suggest having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to take a look at your vehicle to properly diagnose any damage.

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