[crumpet]

So, yesterday being the first day I've been able to drive my car in about two months, I decided to go for a spin. Nothing stressful, didn't rev beyond 4k or anything like that. All was fine for the first 15 miles or so until I started coming up a hill on the way back. The temperature sensor shot to red and the engine lost 90% of it's power so I pulled off onto a side road and let it cool down. I noticed that coolant was leaking at an alarming rate from somewhere above the big plastic rock protector. Luckily I had a big bottle of pre-mixed coolant in the back seat, so after it cooled down a bit, filled it back up and tried to limp home. I made it another 2 miles or so (not going above 2500rpm) until the engine started clicking -- the clicks were directly proportional to the revs of the engine, at which point I decided to pull over and call AAA. Well, the car completely stalled as I was pulling off to the side of the road. I tried to start it and it kept turning over but would not actually start. While waiting for a flatbed, I checked the oil level which was completely normal.

So, what I know:
-Leaking coolant at an alarming rate from somewhere towards the front of the car
-Overheated, even after refilling the coolant (coolant not getting to the engine?)
-Clicking noise coming from the engine. Frequency is directly related to engine revs.
-No apparant loss of oil.
-Car won't start (at least, when it was way overheated). Turns over, but sounds distinctly 'dry'



Any ideas? I will be trying to get it to a shop tomorrow. I searched the forum before posting but didn't see anything matching these symptoms.

 

[venzon]

I will just take care of the coolant leak first and go from there. IMO, (sure some will diagree) if the car overheats because of coolant leak, refilling with coolant will not do good since you will have air in the system and bleeding will not be possible due to the leak somewhere. Best thing to do in this situation is tow it home then fix the leak.

 

[crumpet]

It's already been towed and will hopefully be looked at by a shop on Tuesday-wednesday.

Overheating causes engine ticking whos frequency is related to engine revs?