overheating

[Soma576@xxxx]

hey all,

last night i had an overheating problem -

about 30 blocks from my house i began to notice the odor of burning wires. i 
pulled over and checked my engine compartment. no problems. i then checked 
my electrical compartment - my fan fail jumper was melting and it was 
super-hot. i unplugged it thinking it could start a fire, then drove 
straight home, knowing i was w/o fans. once home, i let the car idle for 
about 2 minutes while i inspected the rest of my compartment for overheating, 
then i turned off the car and i immediately could hear the sound of coolant 
boiling on my muffler. i looked back and there was a big plume of steam that 
rose up and soon as i turned off the car. i opened my engine bay and i could 
see about 1/2 qt of coolant had spilled out of my reservoir overflow hose, 
however there was also coolant on my driver's side engine compartment wall, 
on my belts, and on both the waterpump and crankshaft pulleys. i suspect 
that coolant came out of the reservoir and some landed on my running belts, 
and they sprayed coolant around. i let the car cool then came back an hour 
later to check it out, and i couldn't find any antifreeze leaks on my initial 
inspection. 

things to note - my temp gauge is inoperative so i do not know how hot the 
engine got. my fans were wired by a previous owner to be constantly running 
when the car is on. i do not have fanzilla as a result of this. i tested my 
coolant last week and it was good to -40F so i know my coolant isn't old. i 
have not started the car yet because i need to make a new jumper and buy some 
more antifreeze. 

any ideas on what happened to me, and is it possible i have incurred 
permanant damage in those brief 30 blocks? the air temp was about 55 degrees 
outside and i had no indication of engine damage until i shut it off and saw 
coolant boiling.

thanks for any insight,
Andy

Soma576@xxxx
1982 DeLorean DMC-12 VIN#11596
Fargo, ND 58102


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