What Do You Do When...Your Engine Overheats?

"We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment." ~ Jim Rohn

It's vacation time and you're on the road. You're visiting your sister Anna in beautiful Chicago. It's mid-morning on the third day of your visit and you're both on the Kennedy Expressway enroute to enjoy a Cub's game in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.

It's a beautiful day for a ball game. The sun is shining in a cloudless sky. The temperature is 82 degrees, and the A/C is on keeping you and Anna cool and comfortable. When you began your trip to Wrigleyville the traffic was light and you made good time. But now you're closing in on your destination and the traffic is becoming more congested. You're slowing down. About a quarter of a mile ahead you can see traffic has stopped. Then your pace slows to a crawl.

You are now ensnarled in a traffic jam. But that's OK. You've planned your excursion wisely and you're not worried. There's plenty of time to get there, park and find your seats before the first pitch.

Hey. What's that funny smell? Something sickly sweet is wafting through the air. You vaguely remember that smell from the time your Dad's car overheated on that family trip to Disney World way back in ... '99 wasn't it? Oh! Oh! Something is not right. Oh, No!! The temperature warning light just lit up.

What do you do now? Can you still get to the game? Can you do it without destroying the engine?

Here's what you do:

1. Turn off that air-conditioner immediately! The A/C makes the engine work harder, give it a bit of a break right now.

2. Turn on the heater. Yes, turn it on right away. I know it's going to make you very uncomfortable, but you need to draw the heat away from the engine and this is how you do it. Flip the climate controls to vent, turn the heater all the way up, and turn the fan all the way up. Open all the car windows or you will roast .

The heater in most cars works by using extra heat from the engine to heat the incoming air. (This is why it always takes the heat a few minutes to "come up" in the winter.) So turning the heat on full-blast pulls as much heat as possible off the engine and blows it into the passenger compartment of the car.

3. Turn off your engine, but only if you are sitting in traffic and not moving for more than a minute. Keep a lookout ahead for when the traffic will move and turn your engine on and put it in gear before everything gets moving. (This will help a lot because as soon as your engine turns off the cooling system gets a break.)

Keep a steady, slow pace in stop and go traffic. This beats moving so fast that you catch up to the vehicles ahead and have stop again. This stop and go cycle contributes to the overheating. (Don't worry about people cutting you off. Everyone is stuck in the same situation.)

4. Pull over if you think your car will break down in stop and go traffic. Turn off the engine and wait for the traffic to start moving normally. Once the traffic starts flowing again, it is better for you to drive faster than slower as more air will come in and cool your engine.

If your car does overheat and steam starts to come out from under your hood, you'll have to pull over. You can add coolant (or water if you don't have coolant) to the radiator, but be careful opening it. When you take the cap off, steam will pour out and scald you. Instead, place a towel over the cap and radiator, grip the cap through the towel, twist and pull away quickly. It is better to open the radiator cap while the engine is idling rather than turning it off. Do not turn the engine off to add water. If the cold water you are pouring in comes in contact with the very hot engine it will crack the block and it's then time to replace the engine! It ensures that no steam will pour out when you twist open the radiator cap because hot water is still circulated by the water pump.

If your coolant is leaking somewhere, then you will have to continually replenish it. Pull into locations likely to have a garden hose that they won't mind you using. Churches are usually a good bet.

5. Take your car to a mechanic ASAP.

Sorry you missed the game. Maybe you can go tomorrow.