Jeep ran without coolant, now it will not start

Question

I ran my jeep around 10 miles with no coolant and actually melted the sides of my plastic radiator , now it won't start, did I completely f it up or can it be saved , and how can I diagnose what's wrong

Answer 1

Lot of steps to figure this out. I would start with:

Is it seized?

Does it turn over? Turn key do you hear click, or does it go grr grr grr grr grr? If it clicks, very likely ceased. Can validate manually by pulling ignition and fuel-pump fuses and turning manually with a wrench (don't forget the fuses, you don't want it starting with a wrench on it). Can't turn, pull plugs see if you can then turn, incase by some weird case it is hydro locked. If nothing in cylinders preventing rotation, ouch.

If not seized

Now a number of things could be wrong: fuel, air, spark, compression, timing. I would start with looking at oil dip stick. Milkshake? That could designate head gasket. You mention radiator melted? some rads have trans cooler on it and when fail can mix, filling trans fluid with coolant - milkshake. Make sure fluids are all good - oil is oil, trans is trans. With 10 miles without coolant I think I would next start with with compression test. You can sometimes tell by sound something is wrong compression wise... if you turn over and hear grr grr grr greee grr grr, then one cylinder compression is low. Try and recall how it used to sound starting and see if the sound is lighter, less forceful.

If compression is in spec then you may not have completely messed it up. Check the coils are firing correctly and not escaping through the boot damage by heat (or distrib wires on older vehicle), If okay, check you have fuel pressure. If fuel pressure and spark is okay, then it gets more complex because you have to figure out if one or more injectors are bad (assuming not carb'd) and you have to determine if timing is out, or if it is even connected - if it is belt timed, did it skip or break, or chain timed, did it jump a tooth. Are cam and crank signals bad, etc. Should start with the basic first. Each of these tests is a separate research topic. There are videos for each of these tests on the tube.