Hi all, old newbie here. Have a 2002 CRV with the 2.4 vtec engine. Stepson (now known as "deadguy") ran into a tree and then proceeded to drive with crushed radiator till the engine stopped running. When i arrived the next morning there was a 6" round moist spot under the radiator and NO coolant in the engine. It still runs with no knocks or complaints, but I have this bad feeling about an alluminum engine that has been grossly overheated. My question is (thought I'd never get to it) is there engine overheat cutout protection in the ECM on this model? Am I worrying unneccesarily?
dave

 

No

besides once the radiator runs out of water, the temp will return to the ambiant temperature of the radiator (without water starts to cool down very quick)

 

Isn't there a sensor on the head as well?
dave

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by davrob &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Isn't there a sensor on the head as well?
dave</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, the sensor is on the head. It's the only sensor. But it works the same way. It'll just measure the temperature of the ambient air around it, which is significantly cooler than the superheated coolant/water temperature.

 

So, that confirms my suspitions. Next question is would you keep the car with an engine that was run several miles with no coolant, to the point the engine stopped running? It did start the next morning and since it's return from the body shop has run well for several hundred miles. I work on older cars, but know little of modern engine design. How fragile are these alluminum blocks? I have been told that once cooked like this they are not likely to last very long.
Thanks for the replies, dave

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by davrob &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So, that confirms my suspitions. Next question is would you keep the car with an engine that was run several miles with no coolant, to the point the engine stopped running? It did start the next morning and since it's return from the body shop has run well for several hundred miles. I work on older cars, but know little of modern engine design. How fragile are these alluminum blocks? I have been told that once cooked like this they are not likely to last very long.
Thanks for the replies, dave</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, no I wouldn't buy one, but since you already have it and own it, I would suggest trying to find out what's wrong and repairing it.

I'm surprised it started up and ran fine for a few hundred miles. Was it losing coolant? Burning/losing oil? You should do a compression and leakdown test to see what is going on in there.

Best case, you might be lucky and nothing happened.

 

Well actually it is running fine now and I don't think anything is wrong at the moment. However a respected mechanic and two local young autocrossers (run crx's) have warned me to get rid of it while it still runs , rather than take the risk of it turning to slag within 1000 miles. I assume it is an expensive engine to replace. And I doubt the insurance company will take kindly to my call asking them to foot the bill ;-) Just wondering if any here had direct or indirect knowledge of this sort of thing. Of course now that I think of it, anyone hanging out here would be smart enough NOT to drive the thing after a major front end collision!!!
dave