How bad is my Armada engine damaged?

[georgea0731]

I just got home and had to bum a ride. Vehicle made a noise like underpower with cheap gas having trouble accelerating (values pinging). Notice the service light came on and then saw the vehicle "HOT" gauge was maxed out. Pulled into gas station, looked for steam or singles of issues, checked out. After calling for a tow and was told 90 minutes, waited an hour then opened the radiator cap, no steam, nothing. I put in a lot of water. Didn't see any leaks, but there's a brush guard hiding the under carriage. Turned the key, coolant gauge showed norm. Drove it less than a mile to a repair shop and left it until Monday.
So what can I expect. It has 240,000 miles. Not sure what to do?

[03 35th Anniversary]

What year?

Most late models have fail safes that will shut it down before it gets so hot that rings start collapsing, heads or block cracks.

[sp00ky]

I just got home and had to bum a ride. Vehicle made a noise like underpower with cheap gas having trouble accelerating (values pinging). Notice the service light came on and then saw the vehicle "HOT" gauge was maxed out. Pulled into gas station, looked for steam or singles of issues, checked out. After calling for a tow and was told 90 minutes, waited an hour then opened the radiator cap, no steam, nothing. I put in a lot of water. Didn't see any leaks, but there's a brush guard hiding the under carriage. Turned the key, coolant gauge showed norm. Drove it less than a mile to a repair shop and left it until Monday.
So what can I expect. It has 240,000 miles. Not sure what to do?

yikes its an aluminum block. so how long was it overheated?

[georgea0731]

2007, and drove less than 1/2 mile

My best guess is less than 1/2 mile. There was no where to pull over when I saw the light and the gauge, so I milked it to the nearest gas station. I hope the lack of power and hesitation was it going into a safe mode.

[sp00ky]

My best guess is less than 1/2 mile. There was no where to pull over when I saw the light and the gauge, so I milked it to the nearest gas station. I hope the lack of power and hesitation was it going into a safe mode.

You probably did good. I did the same thing with a 2002 Maxima years ago and it went to 238k miles.

[Thrall]

How did it sound after it cooled down and you filled it back up with water?
Either it runs or it doesn't. Wouldn't sink too much into the repair, since unfortunately the whole vehicle isn't worth what any sort of major work would cost, especially at a shop. $2500-3k out here buys a clean Armada with less miles than yours.

[georgea0731]

New Radiator, $615 fixed the 1st problem

Well got over heating problem fixed. They drove it 16 miles and asked them to look it over since my usual shop does the standard 25 (or more)? inspection, you know all fueled levels, etc.
I drove it home 35 miles, it started having power issues 5 miles from home. Just drove 65 mph and now at 30 mph is having trouble going up little hills. I get in front of my house and it won't back up, no power, rpm revved up 4K and moved slightly. Keep playing with it and got it into the garage. There's fluid under the engine, fluid all over the bottom and the rear end. There's so much I can't tell where it's leaking from. A tow back to town, est. $150 for the shop to look into the new issue. Could it just be a gasket from overheating or more?
Oil level looks o.k. I'll check xmsn in the morning.

[sp00ky]

Well got over heating problem fixed. They drove it 16 miles and asked them to look it over since my usual shop does the standard 25 (or more)? inspection, you know all fueled levels, etc.
I drove it home 35 miles, it started having power issues 5 miles from home. Just drove 65 mph and now at 30 mph is having trouble going up little hills. I get in front of my house and it won't back up, no power, rpm revved up 4K and moved slightly. Keep playing with it and got it into the garage. There's fluid under the engine, fluid all over the bottom and the rear end. There's so much I can't tell where it's leaking from. A tow back to town, est. $150 for the shop to look into the new issue. Could it just be a gasket from overheating or more?
Oil level looks o.k. I'll check xmsn in the morning.

Give it up. Time to go car shopping and

[JP-OH]

is that transmission fluid?

[bcd]

Is it low on transmission fluid? Sometimes the trans cooler is integrated into the radiator, and if the car overheats, it can cause enough expansion difference between the two coolers that one cracks. It happened on my 96 Chevy truck when my belt broke and overheated the engine. My radiator cracked because the trans cooler didn't expand as much. Something to check.

Revving up to 4000 rpm and not moving sounds like a transmission issue and not an engine issue. Losing power could be something slipping in the trans or not enough trans fluid in the torque converter.

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[moosehead]

Gaskets are commonly damaged and need replacing after an overheat, even if all else ok.

[sp00ky]

At 260k+ you are gonna just chase one problem after another after and overheat. Tranny could be 3-5k or more. I'd try to cut your losses here and not keep throwing money at it.

[georgea0731]

Well its in the garage and running again with no leaks.

Thanks for all the help. After driving it home and finding all the transmission fluid, I called the repair shop and got them to tow it in. They found a transmission hose leaking. They repaired that and didn't charge me anything for the tow or the follow up. I guess 600 for a new radiator was enough. BTW it was a 35 mile tow.
I drove it home 35 miles and it's been parked for 2 days. I pulled it out, washed all the transmission fluid off the rear end. Checked the floor and found a little residue (I hope). The shop did try to clean most of the fluid off the bottom of the SUV so I hope no more leaks.
I will continue to look for a replacement since it just a matter of time or money before it's done. I didn't realize how little it's worth, but 12 years old with 240,000 miles I'm just glad I don't have a car payment since we just retired and moved into our final home (on the lake).
I use it mostly for gas can runs (36-48 gallons) and pulling the boat/ski jets in and out when needed. I'm lucky if I put 60 miles on it a week (now) compared to 250.
I washed the garage floor and will check it again tomorrow for any leaks. It seems to have more power now and didn't hesitate coming home or backing up. I did buy the crew pizza since I wasn't charged. Thanks again!

[03 35th Anniversary]

If it doesn't hold any real value and you aren't relying on it for transportation for more than 60 miles a week. I'd drive that thing till it was DEAD, get all your money out of it type thing!!!

Doesn't sound like it was really that bad of a repair.

Thanks for all the help. After driving it home and finding all the transmission fluid, I called the repair shop and got them to tow it in. They found a transmission hose leaking. They repaired that and didn't charge me anything for the tow or the follow up. I guess 600 for a new radiator was enough. BTW it was a 35 mile tow.
I drove it home 35 miles and it's been parked for 2 days. I pulled it out, washed all the transmission fluid off the rear end. Checked the floor and found a little residue (I hope). The shop did try to clean most of the fluid off the bottom of the SUV so I hope no more leaks.
I will continue to look for a replacement since it just a matter of time or money before it's done. I didn't realize how little it's worth, but 12 years old with 240,000 miles I'm just glad I don't have a car payment since we just retired and moved into our final home (on the lake).
I use it mostly for gas can runs (36-48 gallons) and pulling the boat/ski jets in and out when needed. I'm lucky if I put 60 miles on it a week (now) compared to 250.
I washed the garage floor and will check it again tomorrow for any leaks. It seems to have more power now and didn't hesitate coming home or backing up. I did buy the crew pizza since I wasn't charged. Thanks again!

[Blmeanie]

If it doesn't hold any real value and you aren't relying on it for transportation for more than 60 miles a week. I'd drive that thing till it was DEAD, get all your money out of it type thing!!!

I agree with this, especially since you are retired and on the lake, use it only for putting boat in/out as necessary. My 17 year old Sequoia went through a rough patch this past winter and had similar issues, overheated on me on highway, pulled off, got to a safe place, smoking everywhere, got it towed, radiator replacement, another month goes by, some other repairs needed for $1000-$1500. Seemed to be coming more frequently, 232,000 miles, got $3500 in trade (I know, worth a bit more than what they gave me) and now have no vehicle to pull boat. Luckily for me we only need to trailer it a few times in the fall and a few times in the early spring, otherwise it stays on the lift.

Milk it for the boat launch until it dies.