D2 overheat - my mom needs advise

[whiskeynipple]

My mom has a D2 2000 w/ 8*k miles - stock
never had any issues other than new plug wires

the other day on the way to work the vehicle overheated (within a few min after starting - her comute is only 10 min and this was half way there)- as soon as the red light came on she pulled off the road and shut off the engine - (note: she also noticed no heat, as the heat was on)
pops the hood and theres steam coming out.
she put some water (about a quart) in it and continued to work (after leetting it cool)- the temp gauge started to creap up again (little past normal) and she pulled off and shut the engine off again, added more water and continued (yes she continued after the engine cooled back down-both times) after that the temp didnt rise above normal and heat was coming out of the vents
so a few days go by and it happens again - but not to the extent of the light coming on (meanwhile running like a champ) and the check engine light is on- she has it towed to the stealer (anyone know a good machinic in south carolina?) - they tell her (she told them not to do any work on it - ie I dont want to pay you **** till you know whats up) she needs a new engine.
I personally think how can they determine this without a lenthy investigation - ie compression check , pull the heads... etc....
I instructed her to have them explain how they determined this without chaging her any money? - will post those results when she finds out tomorrow
she said there is no smoke from the exhust and no water in the oil and it runs fine (of course she put normal radiator fluid back in).
I believe its the thermastat and hopefully no serious damage has occured.

question - where is the temp sensor located - engine block or radiator?
could one overheat toast the engine?
if no heat is coming from the vents - wouldnt that say thermastat?

how hard is it to change a thermastat on a 2000?

my poor mom still owes on the dam thing and shes freaking out

thanks
Chris

 

[joey]

Changing the T-stat is hard, my concern here is that she had no heat from the vents and all she had was steam coming from the engine bay, not water pouring out of the overflow.

I hate to say it, but is sounds like there wasn't any water in the radiator possible slow leak (very common in most rovers) it tends to leak at the back of the engine from the intake or valley gasket.

If she ran it without water (just saying if) then yes it could overheat and drop a liner or two and this could in effect toast the engine (I am not saying this is what happened)

I would change the T-stat and hope for the best, but I would also have the anti-freeze tested for exhaust gases (tool is about $50 at NAPA) can't remember the name of the tool though.

I would also start watching the fluid levels more often... minimum once a week, best case every day before going anywhere.

 

[whiskeynipple]

thanks for the machanics links joey
correction to last post - there was antifreeze in it when it overheaded and it was the overflow that was spraying onto the engine creating the steem..

so the dealer said they pulled the heads and #3 cylinder sleeve is cracked...
(should they have pulled the head with out checking with the customer first?)
how do they really know the dealer pulled the heads, is this something they should request to have the mechnics show them?

dealer said 8k for a reman engine - they are on crack

she said she found a place with a remanufacured engine for 2100.00 and they will install it for 2500.00 - does that sound like a good deal? (compared to 8k...hell yeah?)

 

[joey]

$2500 to install an engine... good Lord. that is still very high