Car Engine water tank, Empty and 'driven' for 10 days! Potential engine damage ?

Meganjones

No warm /hot air was being blown out, only cold air, for about 9-10 days.
The engine was making a noise louder than usual.

It was then checked, that the water level in the tank (checked after the 10 days) was minimum.
- I mean the engine coolant (added)

Car peugeot 306, petrol

Water tank has been filled now.

What potential damage could driving the car around, with no water in the tank for the 2 weeks have done to the engine?



Lets not answer and discuss why the water level was not checked, because it should have been, and lesson learned for next time.



The question is, driving around for 10 days.+ days with minimum water in the engine water tank,

What are the risk of this in them 9-10 days,
what damage can this do to the car engine, if any?

and which parts of the engine can be damaged within them 9-10 days?


Now the water has been topped up, the warm/hot air through the AC is working fine.

(ADDED)
Car driven for 10 days... many local trips,
but 3x 1 hour motorway journeys (at 60- 70MPH)

smileygill

If you mean the engine coolant (radiator), and the car didn't overheat - no red light on the dashboard - then probably no harm has been done. But I find that quite improbable; so do you mean something else?

mgdavid

can you explain 'driving around for 10 days'?
- could be 2 miles to shops and back every day
- could be 300 mile business trip every day
bit of a difference!

Meganjones

mgdavid wrote: »

can you explain 'driving around for 10 days'?
- could be 2 miles to shops and back every day
- could be 300 mile business trip every day
bit of a difference!

(ADDED)
Car driven for 10 days... many local trips,
but 3x 1 hour motorway journeys (at 60- 70MPH)

forgotmyname

Did the temperature rise? Where did the water go?

shortchanged_2

Firstly have you established the cause of the loss of coolant?

Do you have leaking radiator or hose?

Worst case scenario could be that your head gasket has gone.

Richard53

Check the water and oil daily for a week or two, especially when you have covered a few miles. If the water level isn't dropping, and the oil doesn't look like mayonnaise, you've probably got away with it. The main danger is that you have overheated the cylinder head and warped it, leading to oil and water leaks from the head gasket.


There may not have been any indication of overheating on the instruments if the water level was very low, depending on where the temp sensor is located. If the level is below that, it will just read 'cold' no matter how hot it gets.


Lesson learned!

Lomast

Can you clarify, in the title you say empty but then 2nd paragraph you say it was at minimum.

If you mean that the water level was at the minimum mark on the expansion tank than there is very likely no damage at all as the cooling system itself is still full and working properly, surprised you didnt get a low coolant warning light though.

onomatopoeia99

If the car didn't overheat then chances are no damage done. Most cars can run fine with quite a bit less than the "minimum" level of water.

However, if the temperature gauge didn't get off of "cold" at all then that's more serious as it needs some water in it to give a reading. Mind you I'd expect the car to expire if it was driven for an hour on the motorway with no coolant.

AdrianC

The fact that the heater was blowing cold says that the level was VERY low. Just topping up the tank may well not be enough, and there may well be airlocks in the pipework. If there are, continuing to drive will make matters worse.

Given that the coolant temp sensor works by being dipped into water, if the level was below that, then the temp gauge (if fitted) wouldn't work - nor would any temp warning light. Few cars have coolant level lights, although PSA do tend to be better than average at fitting them.

Potential damage? New engine. Blown head gasket is likely, warped head, cracked head or block are possible.

dave030445

Meganjones wrote: »

(ADDED)
Car driven for 10 days... many local trips,
but 3x 1 hour motorway journeys (at 60- 70MPH)

you would never of done these journeys if you had no coolant.
has the engine quieted now when the coolant was added ?
also there is alot of differences between low coolant and no coolant.
low coolant you will be fine