Finally got my wagon back together and went for a test run to my local 7-11. Long story short, I replaced my water pump and forgot to tieoff a radiator hose (didnt doublecheck my work, flame me). The coolant then gushed out by the end of the drive way, i drove without -any- coolant for 2 and a half to 3 milles, discovered the prob and waited for the engine to cool. Then i coasted back home, only turning the engine when i needed to. What damage did i cause
Ahhh! Your fine! I’ve done worse! I once drained the oil out of a car, ate lunch, came back and started it for some stupid reason. No harm, no foul! Unless the car shut off, or the check engine light came on. ( i don’t think you have a temp gauge?) your good to go. It’s running alright? Right?! It’s still November where you are ain’t it?
If you have blue smoke on start-up when the engine's cold, then yes, the rings and likely the valve guide seals got toasted. But the Eighties 302/5.0 and 351W/5.8 engines had pretty darned good metallurgy, and it would require some serious overheating to ruin the rings. I would be more concerned about warped heads (the metal may have been really good, but they had thinner-wall and deck castings) and blown head gaskets, which my friend and I are dealing with on Dad's '90 F150 5.0L
Plus the coolant looks like coolant, and the oil looks like dirty oil. Everything is how it should be, damn that metal must have been casted by the gods.
My last shop had a customer bring their near-new Taurus in because it was making a godawful rattling racket. He took his car over Snoqualmie Pass (I-90 East of Seattle, 3000') and into Eastern Washington (can't remember where he'd gone, but a couple hundred miles past the Pass); anywhoo, it started rattling, but he had to get back over for work the next day, so he drove it back. Next day, he goes to work, it rattles worse. So after work, he rolls it in it us. We lift it up, come to find out, he'd had Jiffy Lube service it, but the dumbass who did the oil did not tighten the filter, so from that point the filter turned backward, then allowed all the oil to leak out. Of course, the engine was shot to Hell, and Jiffy Lube paid for a good used engine, even though he drove it over the pass and back with the noise. If he'd checked the oil, he could've filled it, then looked for the source of the leak before driving it. I tell ya, some people shouldn't be allowed to operate anything more complicated than a ham sandwich.
Perhaps none. Not knowing what car you have I'll assume an otherwise healthy cast iron V-8. Unless you really roast one of these old lumps they usually survive an overheat pretty well. If it stunk really bad then you might have damaged it, a head gasket most likely. Scored cylinders usually only when they get REALLY hot or have seized. In my destructive youth a friend and I played a game which involved buying a beater car on Friday with the goal of having destroyed it by Monday. I recall two that were run without coolant to point of the engine seizing but once cooled started and ran again. Fill 'er up and carry on I say.
My neighbor across the street just narrowly escaped the same scenario with his Toyota truck. He asked me if I'd have a look for an oil leak as it had been dripping. Loose filter and about a quart(maybe) remaining in the crankcase. He changes his own oil now.
