Engine Failure

The beginning of my trip went pretty well. Electrics seemed to work, engine ran fine and weather was wonderful! But, of course, this Corvette has a problem for every situation to sour the mood.

After a few kilometers the engine temperature rose pretty high again. After a bit more it went past the red limit. Just to be safe I stopped at a gas station to take a look. And I saw hot steam pouring from under the car. The engine had overheated quite badly and was spewing cooling liquid from the radiator to relieve pressure...

After some time I dared to open the radiator cap and saw that the radiator was almost empty. I had not given up completely yet so I fetched some water from the gas station and filled it up again. I had to add over 6 liters of water! There had not been much left in the system...

Bravely I continued slowly but after a few kilometers more, the engine overheated again. This time I stopped immediately at a bus stop but still there was steam pouring from the overflow hose. I had only driven about 30 km and was now sure I was not going to make it to my friend.

I waited a while and checked the radiator again. It was missing some water but not as much as before. Luckily I had filled a few bottles with water in the gas station so I could fill the radiator. I started driving towards home but had to stop every few kilometers to cool down.

"There is a lot to work on this car but at least the engine and driveline are working!", we had thought. Now the engine had failed big time. I was pretty pissed...

The engine overheated faster and faster and finally about 10km and three stops later I pulled over at another gas station. I checked the oil and it seemed like there was water mixed together with it. That was it, the car could not be driven any more.

Luckily my wife had been following me in another car so I left the Corvette at the gas station and we drove home.

I had a basic insurance taken for the car that protected agains theft (as if anyone wanted it), fire (much more probable) etc. I checked the papers and noted that it also covered towing if the car fails on the road. I called them the next day and they agreed to tow the car to my friends place as the engine could be fixed there. My friend said he could take the engine apart so we agreed that the car would be towed there in a couple of days.

While waiting, I bought a complete gasget set for the engine from Felpro and placed it in the Corvette when I went to meet the truck driver. He lifted the car on the truck and this time the car actually managed to get to my friends place...