Car overheats, now won't restart, I will vote 98 Cavalier 2.4 twin cam?

Question

I am fixing this myself and will figure it out but if you want points I will vote best answer to the one who gives me the best way of diagnosis. here is what happened to my 98 Cavalier 2.4 twin cam
1. driving with cruise on 60 
2. water pump starts leaking and we loose antifreeze
3. while trying to get to closest exit safely water level light comes on and temp gauge begins to rise
4. motor starts revving higher by the looks of the tach so I assume tranny is slipping from loss of coolant heating it up but gauge has only raised a few degrees
5. I turn off cruise, car continues to move and exit is half mile
6. I get to exit and while pulling off warning lights come on car dies ( possibly all at the same time so understandable )
7. We get pulled off safely
8. yes I get steam but it's from water pump leaking onto exhaust but temp gauge did not rise to danger level and motor all though hot still cranks easy right after dieing
9. Car will not fire, Yes fuel is fine. This is electrical I am sure. besides the leaky water pump there is no water in the oil and in my thoughts I am wondering what could have gotten hot enough to cause lack of fire now. Is this possible?
 OK I give you the series of events. Keep in mind this all happened within a 2 mile drive before my wife wakes me up telling me low coolant light comes on and I can get safely to the next exit getting us off major highway traffic which I have no regret because at 2am in the morning I prefer to be off the road on an exit than a major highway so for safety reason's for my wife and I that was my choice so please don't tell me I should have pulled over instantly because of the danger it was not an option for me. I did not want help from a stranger at that time and place and I had my cell to get a wrecker. I am not car stupid. I was a body man all my life but most of mech experience came from what I have had to fix on my own cars and ones I have purchased to fix up. Like I said I can figure this out but since I don't ask very many questions on here I thought it would be fun to see what answers I get and also hoping you save me diagnostic time and money   I have every part I need at my disposal, Please without being sarcastic tell me what direction you would go next, I can by another car or motor if need be so I am not desperate just want to see a best answer I WILL VOTE  Thank You for understanding all my choices were made based on safety for us and in a matter of just a couple minutes after being awaken by my wife who was driving.

Joseph · Accepted Answer

car will not fire - causes - bad coil, bad coil drivers, in the computer, dead wire set, bad connection at coil. but none of these seem to fit from an over heating. causes from overheating - warped head- loss of compression, or a crack in cylinder chamber( most likely in the head), open windings in injectors, and piston weld. when you get the head of look for little silvery bumps on the cylinder wall, if none present then no piston welding there. with the head off you will want to take a straight edge, about 2feet in length and check for warp, which i can garauntee there will be, but see how much there is. if under .005 then you really don't have to have it milled, though as a professional i would recommend it. next check for proper valve seating, you can do this by tapping each individual valve to pop it open for a split nanosecond, pour water into each port and see if it leaks out the valves. if yes, valve job it. next you will want to check for valve guide alignment, look into each port and see if a guide has slipped due to over heat.the problem you describe sounds like it might ju8st be head related only how ever the injectors need to be looked at as well. an ohm test should do the trick to tell you what you need to know as far as those are concerned.

Neil B · Answer

The reason the temperature gauge didn't continue to rise was there was too little coolant left in the engine so it was happily boiling away with the temperature sender unable to warn you that it was.  You've cooked the head and probably have very low compression now, but that can be easily tested, and probably other problems too such as the overheating making the oil fail to do it's job properly (especially if it was overdue a change) which could have led to further engine damage.

J · Answer

You dont have to justify your decisions to anyone around here, you made a choice and now we will deal with the issue on hand, with that being said:
You can test the spark to ensure you have spark but i would be willing to bet the reason it wont start is becuase you have blown your head gasket. The best way to check is to do a compression test, doing a cooling system test wont show acurate results since you know your W/P is leaking. 
Someties you will get mixture Oil/water Water/oil but sometimes you wont, thats just a quick check. 
Also try dis-connecting the battery for ten minutes and re-connect and see what the outcome is.

Anonymous · Answer

expensive Sir, impressive You Has carried out each of the Cooling structures Repaired yet nonetheless not clinically determined The Engine- How Is The condition verify As-Compression-Timing- in case you opt for You Periodical Timing Belt Chg. If Exceed 80,000 Km ought to get replaced The Timing Belt.My Request That First hint the problem then you definitely can start up The replace The parts Or upkeep.

Anonymous · Answer

The moisture from the steam could be shorting the spark to ground.
When it's all dried up and the coolant is refilled, see if it runs.

It doesn't have to be simple...
look at this...

Mech · Answer

I'm a Mechanic. The GM 2.4L twin cam engine is notorious for blowing the head gasket.

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Car overheats, now won't restart, I will vote 98 Cavalier 2.4 twin cam?

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