[Jordanl]

Hey guys. New poster here.. ill cut to the chase.. so i took my dodge challenger sxt 2012 for a coolant flush at a local valvoline instant oil change location. Its the same place ive had most of my oil changes done and ive never had a problem with them. Today i took it in for a coolant flush, i currently have 92k miles on the dash.. i left valvoline, drove about 2 miles and got on the highway when i noticed my temprature gauge was creeping into the red. I pulled off the highway qnd came to a complete stop. Right before i turned the key off my temprature light came on. I got out and away from the car since i was on the highway. I called valvoline and told them what happened. They sent the guy who did the flush out to look at my car. He tried to get me to drive it back to their shop. I said no because i didnt want it to overheat again.. he called his boss and after being denied a tow truck by valvoline they decided to send a manager out to us on the side of the highway. They proceeded to pump the coolant hoses with their hands. They also reved my car up to get coolant moving and sucked on the hoses with their mouths. After about 2 hours of pumping hoses and letting the car cool off after revving it up, the temperature finally stabilised. At that point i drove it back to the valvoline shop so they could inspect it further and add more coolant.. heres my issue: im concerned that the initial overheating may have caused damage to my engine. I believe they did not bleed the hoses as part of the coolant flush and that caused the issue. I logged a complaint with valvoline and i am supposed to get a call from a manager in 24 hours.

As members of the forum and experts that know more about this than i do: do you think my engine sustained damage and how should i go about addressing this with the company?

The way i see it, i took a preventitive maintenance step to keep my car in good working order and it should not have overheated. Im concerned for my car because i just paid it off and i have taken great care of it over the years.. this wasnt supposed to happen. Any help or advice would be great.

 

[Mopar31898]

Any idea how hot it got to?

 

[Jordanl]

Any idea how hot it got to?

No but i do know the temprature light was on for exactly like 2 or 3 seconds before the car was completely turned off.

 

[Dodgeguy]

Probably no damage, but I would be concerned with what coolant they used. I would think the overheating was do to air in the system. In the future I would use only Mopar Coolant and distilled water.

 

[Jordanl]

I agree with the air in the system. Could this have been avoided by bleeding the lines? When we got back to the shop they found a button or something on the engine that is for bleeding those lines i believe. Is this part of a typical coolant flush?

 

[jkelly16]

Some things need to be done by the dealer or qualified mechanic. Quick change oil places don't need to perform coolant flushes or transmission fluid changes as most of the guys working these places don't know enough specifics on the different cars to do it right. Hope your ride turns out OK.

 

[Jordanl]

How would i detemine at this stage if its ok?

 

[Jordanl]

Im familiar with machine tolerances and component building tolerances like heat treat and tolerance limits. Im also a welder so i understand how heat affects things and it sounds like we're dealing with all those things. Im not a car guy though and i cant tell you the first thing about this kind of situation.. everyone has their areas of expertise and i know this isn't mine.

 

[Jordanl]

Is there a way to test a cylinder or head gasket without tearing it apart? When they call me im going to need to ask for something and i just want to know if there is an issue and if there is i want parts replaced.

 

[Trimec T56]

Sucking on the hoses?

 

[Jordanl]

Sucking on the hoses?

Yes.. on the side of the highway..

 

[Dodgeguy]

If it is running correctly, not overheating and no white smoke out of the tailpipe you are probably fine. Personally I would take it to the dealer and have the correct coolant installed after another flush.

 

[Mopar31898]

I agree with the air in the system. It is extremely common after a coolant flush. Normally you running the car and use the bleeders to get rid of the air .

I am not familiar with the 3.6 exactly but for the limited amount of time, I would think you are ok .

I think you would be completely reasonable to ask toto have a qualified, full mechanic shop look at it and they should pay for it. Maybe the dealer or other full service place you trust .

 

[Dodgeguy]

Is there a way to test a cylinder or head gasket without tearing it apart? When they call me im going to need to ask for something and i just want to know if there is an issue and if there is i want parts replaced.

You can have a compression test done.

 

[nunya]

Check your oil! If it blew a head gasket it likely got coolant in your oil. Pull the dip stick if it looks like choolate milk shake then you have an issue! If not and the car is running without over heating you got off lucky.

 

[Jordanl]

Will the compression test determine any warpage to the cylinder?

 

[Dodgeguy]

Will the compression test determine any warpage to the cylinder?

It could, but bad running would indicate that.

 

[wvhemis]

These are tough engines. For my peace of mind I would take it to an FCA dealer and get it checked out. I know it is an extra expense but what is your car really worth to you?

 

[Jordanl]

My car is worth it. I worked hard to pay it off in 4 years and i drive it every day. I have also taken great care of it and had all the maintenance done on time. What is an FCA check and what do i ask them?

 

[friendoffur]

I'm with Dodgeguy on this one as far has taking it to your dealer and paying for another flush and fill. I do not think there would be any damage to your engine other than a little accelerated wear on your bearings maybe. 200k miles till a bearing failure VR maybe 250k miles for example but the real danger here is the VERY specific coolants specified by Chrysler in the past few years that if not followed can do all kinds of premature damage to many parts of this system. All these fancy new metal alloys being used in our Challengers cooling systems are picky as hell about what coolant they get.