Early last week whenever I would turn the key to the on position the gauge cluster would flicker but the car would still start fine. It only seemed to do this when the car was cold and had no effect on the performance of the car.

Today I started it up after it sitting for about 30 min and it started smoking really bad. Smelt like it was burning oil so I pulled off to the side and we popped the hood to look at it. Didn't see anything out of the ordinary and the engine wasn't making any bad noises, just smoking a lot.

We shut it back off and waited for my friend to show up and when I tried to start it for him it wouldn't turn over at all. Just a thud sound when the starter tried to turn it over. We then noticed a smell of coolant that wasn't there before.

Did I blow a head gasket?? Is my engine hydro-locked??? Any help would be great.

 

Have you checked the oil, does it look milky?

 

Haven't had a chance to check the oil. It is sitting a couple miles away from my house and on an incline. When we pulled the dipstick it looked normal but there was a smell of coolant coming from the oil filler neck. There was also a small puddle of coolant under the car.

 

I would check the condition of the oil. Has the car been overheating at all to the point where it was in the red?

 

The car got into the red once about 2 weeks ago. I think that might have caused it. It somehow ran out of coolant without me noticing so I just had to fill it back up and it was fine.

 

Anyone else have any ideas???

 

I think that caused it too. Most times, you get a motor that hot, something's gonna give. At any rate, there's nothing good that could've come out of letting the car get that hot. As others have stated, check the oil. What color is the smoke?

 

I would change the oil and check the condition of it for any signs. Is the oil level higher than last time you checked it ? I got coolant in the oil and it was very obvious. I also noticed as i was draining the oil as soon as the plug was loose enough for fluid to come out it was straight coolant. I guess it settles on the bottom. This way you don't have to drain the whole thing if you just changed it and i look black. Mine was light brown in color unlike the dark black. Where is the coolant leak if you can tell?

 

If the car was overheated, it is very possible that you could have blown a head gasket, or even worse, cracked the block or head. Know way of knowing until you inspect the engine a little further.

 

Yea we towed it to my brother's shop and he is gonna look at it. I hope it just blew the headgasket and didn't damage anything else.

 

I hope for the best for ya. I'm a little nervous though that the car died and you couldn't restart it. If there was indeed a coolant leak and it mixed with the oil creating a sludge, that could have easily plugged up the engine bearings. Good luck to you though and hopefully your brother can get it all fixed up.

 

Yea I really hope they can just replace the headgasket and that fixes it. If not its gonna be a pain in the *** and I just might have to stick a cam in there while its out.