My accord overheated today, seeking advice.

[jerrydavalos]

SOrry for the newbie post. my car overheated today as a result of poorly placing the radiator cap on.

I didnt drive too long before noticing the tempurature way above normal, almost to the top. my car didnt stall and still turns on and idles normally. I also checked the oil and it looks and feels normal. should i be worried about any unforseen damages done to the engine? I drive a 2001 honda accord v6.

I great appreciate any advice feedback you guys have.

[Raley]

Id recommend an oil change and radiator flush (if not done) but you should be fine if you dont see leaks or anything out the exhaust.

[Hockridge]

If it overheats very quickly, and if it overheats while you are moving through the air, then it's not your fan circuit.This really leaves two possbilities. One would be a stuck thermostat, which can cause a pretty fast overheat, and the other would be a blown head gasket.There should be no mystery about this. Both a stuck thermostat and a bad head gasket are easily testable, sohere needn't be any guesswork.If you can get the thermostat out yourself, you can test it by placing it in a pan of hot water and watch it open. If it doesn't open, well there you go.For the head gasket, the best test is to pressurize the cooling system with a pressure pump, leave it pressurized and then extract the spark plugs and look for coolant on the tips of the plugs, or use a bore-scope to see coolant in the cylinders.Sometimes the head gasket will not fail in this manner, but instead either a bad gasket or a cracked head will force combustion gases into the coolant.You can buy a chemical that tests for combustion gases in your coolant.your mechanic should have been able to demonstrate to you scientifically how he knows the head gasket is bad.

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