Greetings,

Recently I have been having trouble with my 89' Mazda B2200. It fires up cold and runs fine for about 20 minutes. When it gets good and hot (I think the thermostat sticks a little which is why it takes 20 minutes) the engine will start to make a rattling sound like the kind you get when you shift into 3rd or 4th gear too soon. Then, the engine dies and there is smoke coming from the engine compartment. I know I have an oil leak somwhere, and the other day I discovered that the valve cover was a bit loose so I tightented it. I suppose the smoke is burn off from a yet to be found leak, but it doesn't explain the rattling or engine stopping.

After it cools down, I can start it, but when it's still hot, it just cranks and cranks. I should mention that it ran very hot for a while the other day, and I discovered that my coolant level was very low. Could driving the truck for a while when it was hot have caused a problem? I replaced plugs and wires as the wires were a bit toasted.

Any help would be great as this is my work truck!

Regards, Brenden.

 

Correction:

It used to be your work truck -- before you burned up your engine.

 

Hi,

Pardon my ignorance. You are saying that an engine can still run normally, even when it is burned up, just because it is cold? Sounds strange.

Regards, Brenden.

 

If you allowed your engine to run so hot that it 'toasted' the plug wires, then there could be all sorts of problems. You could have a warped or cracked head. Yes, it is feasible that you could have very serious problems that only become apparent after your engine is warmed up. You are most likely in for a complete rebuild or exchange for a new or rebuilt engine. You should have some diagnostics done to verify this. For example, it would be useful to check your compression. This could tell you a lot about what's going on inside your engine. Very few engines can survive being overheated to the extent that you describe without significant damage. The odds are against it.