Did I banjax my car?

SeanW

Hi everyone;

The coolant system seems to have failed on my car, a diesel '99 Avensis, it had been leaking a neon-green fluid from around the front drivers side wheel area for a few weeks, I've now identified that as engine coolant but I only use the car about twice a week and then often for short journies so I didn't worry too much. I just checked the coolant level and its still near the full line.

Nutshell, after a short drive today, on the way home I noticed the temperature gauge start to rise, and in the final mile or so it was hovering around the redline.

Needless to say the car's staying put until I can get it towed to a good car repair shop (advice for same in Cork city being welcome ) but I'm wondering could even that short drive at high temps have fouled up a head gasket or something.

Could anyone guess what this is going to cost me to fix it?

Henry Ford III

You may and may not have cooked it, and warped the cylinder head. The only way is to fix the leak and see.

bbuzz

If it wasn't overheating for too long it should be fine, the temperature gauge measures water temp, not engine temp.

All that will hopefully need to be fixed is the cooling system, anything from a broken seal (not that expensive) to a cracked radiator (very expensive). Normally it's something small.