Was driving my 2015 st from school and the engine light came on and my temp gauge went all the way up and my engine seemed to be cutting out. Stopped and turned my car off. Waited about 5 minutes and started it again and the temp gauge was at operating temps. Wasn't cutting out. So I drove it home like 3 blocks going really slow like 10. Came home opened the hood and there is a light tan clearish oil all over my radiator, throttle body/intake manifold. Engine oil is at a good level and not dirty. Transmission shifted fine. But the coolant/antifreeze reservoir is empty. And I didn't think antifreeze is oily and almost clear. What could be up? Don't see how I could have cracked my block from overheating or anything because the temp gauge went down so fast. And since I still had a normal level of engine oil. Power steering seemed fine and I don't get how that could cause the engine to overheat and act weird. Last night I changed my shift bracket bushings. Idk if I accidentally dropped something into the engine by a moving part causing something to get punctured. Any ideas? Most likely will end up towing to a local shop if I can't figure it out.
Check Engine Light/Overheat.
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Temperature sensors need coolant to read. When it's all gone, you will get erratic readings or false ones. 5 minutes isn't near long enough to safely cool down an overheated engine block either. If you only went 3 blocks, you may not have done any further damage, but that's not what you should have done after only 5 minutes. I would have waited at least an hour for cool off before starting it at all. Running it (very gently) more than about a minute without coolant and it needs to be trailered, or you are risking some very expensive damage.
Start by filling the thing back up with plain water (to start), warm it up and find the leak. Also, make sure your engine oil still looks like oil and is not over-filled. If the level is high or it looks at all milky, you have water in the oil and the damage would have to be located via engine disassembly. Could be a hundred different things so your first task is to check the engine oil, then locate the source of the leak.
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The line from the coolant reservoir runs over to that side of the engine, near the shift bushings and can be knocked out of place if your not careful. Check and see if it is still plugged into the engine.
engine oil is completely normal and looks fine.
Where is it located? i’ll check that right now. Also the leak is nowhere near that area really. it’s all on the radiator and intake manifold and below.
Pressure test that mother!
That little thin coolant pipe from the expansion tank to the plastic manifold right above the transmission shifter area can actually fracture INSIDE the fitting but still look OK at a casual glance - ask me how I know.....🙃) Given the evidence I’m betting it’s that hose - cheap and easy enough to replace - pick up some new coolant of the right type too. And your motor is probably OK - think positive!
The hose seems to not have a leak at all there wasn't even fluid on the hose when I checked last night. I don't think the anitfreeze would have evaporated that fast anyways.
The fitting looks fine, but could be what you said and is cracked on the inside. And there wasn't any liquid around it when I pulled it and I tried blowing into it and it didn't seem to leak. How can I tell if its this hose? I'm kinda new to these gassers. The liquid is a really light tan color with a thin oily consistency. Could it be a head gasket problem?
Well it certainly could be - probably next best step is to pressurize the system and see what happens.
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