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My wife was driving home when the problem occurred. But, from what she says it didn't take long - the temp gauge went to full HOT, and the check engine light came on, that is when she noticed it. By the time it got home on the tow truck (could have been spillage putting it on the truck and getting it off) there were only about 20 oz. of coolant that came out via the lower radiator hose.
I just assumed that the head had warped and pulled it off and took it to Clearwater Cylinder Head to have the "T" cam and sodium-filled exhaust valves transferred to one of their cores and have that properly overhauled and set up. The reason that I jumped to the conclusion that the head was warped was that this all happened about two years ago, but the leak was not nearly as bad then, just a little split in the heater control valve that let out a needle-thin jet of hot water and steam. It happened within a mile of home, and the coolant was nearly full when the car got home. After letting it cool, I capped off the heater pipes, filled it up, and returned it to service. But, slowly, over the course of two weeks, it started both drinking coolant and occasional spikes of overheating. In the end the temp gauge went into the red and stayed there. It needed to have the cylinder head repaired or replaced anyway.
Moral of this story: Keep a good eye on yours. Maybe you got lucky, but just in case you didn't, keep a close watch on the coolant level, and on the temp gauge when driving. Check the coolant level every morning when the car is cold, and after EVERY use of the car. If it starts dropping you might have a more serious problem. And it is better to head it off (pun not intended) before it strands you somewhere and makes the damage worse. But, if you go a month with no coolant consumption and without any overheating, you may be out of trouble. I wish you luck.
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1955 Human, Scott; 1991 745 Turbo, Brunhilde; 1990 745GL, Snuggle Bunny
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