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How would I get my 93 Mercury Sable LS (3.8 L) up and running again?
My car has been broken down since about January. Mostly it was my fault for not maintaining it properly, I was unemployed for a couple months and couldn't get the oil changed or the radiator flushed. I drove it to Riverton about 30 miles away and it overheated, I'm thinking cause I didn't flush the radiator. Now it won't start at all so I'm thinking the battery is dead too. Did not flushing the radiator totally destroy my car? Would an oil change, new battery, and a flush help things? Any help would be great, thanks.
It got hot to the point smoke was pouring out of the hood of the car. The cops stopped us, then it wouldn't start again. (Thanks a lot, Lander cops....) It ran about 40 miles getting overheated but it was steaming for only a few minutes. I checked the oil and it wasn't milky, it looked like regular oil (golden brown/dark brown) The radiator is almost bone dry. I just need to find someone who can jump my car. I might also buy a battery charger. I had another question, should I be worried about the gas that's been sitting in the tank since January?
3 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
The fact that you didn't do an oil change and a radiator flush probably has nothing to do with it over heating. The first thing is to make sure you don't have a bad head gasket that 3.8 engine always blow head gasket so before you put in money into it have someone check and see if the head gasket is okay. If it is then you probably only got a bad water pump or maybe just a blown hose. The not starting could be from to much coolant all over the engine. and no need to worry about the gas in it gas doesn't go bad that quick if it set for several years then you would have to be concerned about the gas. Get someone to jump start it and it should run and look for the leak you might have to put some water in it and yes just put water in it until you find the leak.
- 1 decade ago
i need to more info pinpoint the problem, (how hot did it get, how long did it run hot,etc.), Before you spend more money, the first thing is to check your oil, does it look milky? if so your engine is probably shot. Also check to see how much (if any) antifreeze is in your radiator. If it is empty and it overheated, a flush probably isnt going to help matters. However if the rad is empty, try filling it with water first and jumping your car, if it seems to run fine, drain the water and fill with antifreeze, you may have gotten lucky, but you'll need to check the antifreeze level for a while to make sure your not losing it somewhere. hope this helps, and good luck
- HandymanLv 61 decade ago
Before you go spending money on it, you need to get it started . Most of the time they will start back up once they have cooled down . get the battery charged back up and put some water into the radiator and try to start the car, make sure THAT YOU HAVE GAS IN THE CAR . tHE GAS IN YOUR CAR IS STILL GOOD , BUT MAKE SURE YOU DO HAVE GAS IN IT. IF IT STARTS UP THEN CHANGE THE OIL AND YOU MAY NEED A NEW THERMOSTAT AS WELL AND ONCE YOU KNOW IT'S OK THEN PUT COOLANT BACK INTO IT.
Source(s): KNOWLEDGE OF VEHICLE'S.
