I was driving to work today and my B210 overheated. Not too sure what happened. I checked my coolant and the reserve still has some in it but the radiator seemed to be low. Could I have done some serious damage and does anybody have any suggestions?

Depends on how long it ran after overheating ... If it just blew steam out, it probably didn't damage the engine. If it ran for 5-10 minutes after that ... do a compression check.

Did you recently change the coolant? That's when they usually overheat, after being filled back up due to air being in the system.

The thermostat might also have stuck. You can test it in a pan of boiling water on the stove. Use a kitchen thermometer and make sure the thermostat opens at the rated temp.

To check the radiator itself, (let cool down)remove bottom hose and cover bottom outlet with your hand. Fill radiator with water from a garden hose. When full, remove your hand. The water should pour out in a huge rush the diameter of the bottom outlet. If a smaller stream comes out, the radiator is blocked internally.

I hope nothing is seriously damaged. Do you live in a hot state? What temp was it outside?

ddgonzal, thanks for all the information!! Well the temperature gauge was climbing up and then the car just shut down. I pulled off right away into a parking lot. Some steam came out and that was it; I hope! I haven't changed the coolant lately, but it seems like the radiator is not pulling from the reserve coolant because that hasn't move but the radiator seems really low.

I think I will fill the radiator back up with coolant, drive it around the block a couple of times and see what happens. Can I fill it almost up to the top? If it still starts to run hot, I will have to test the thermostat and the radiator like you suggested.

Thanks so much for the information. I hope I did no other damage to the engine, it will break my heart.

Let us know what happens.

I think the coolant is supposed to be filled to 1 inch below the filler. But it needs to cover the radiator cores. If you have a catch tube, no worries, it'll push out whatever is too much. Then, when it cools back down, it sucks more coolant out of the catch tank.

If the cap doesn't seal properly, it won't suck water back in.

yea i had a similar problem in my 1200. turned out that the radiator cap was stuffed and the coolant was leaking from there as the engine heated up. Unfortunatelly this overheating blew the head gasket so id check this to make sure everything is ok.

This might be a silly question but I am going to try to get my car fixed tommorow and wanted to test the thermostat. Is it located right in the radiator cap??? And can I by a generic one somewhere cheap?

I am not too engine savvy, so any technical assistance would be greatly appreciated! I would rather fix it myself so it doesn't cost me a fortune at a garage.. Thanks in advance.

Follow the top radiator hose to where it meets the engine. In that roundish housing( with two bolts) that the hose attaches to, is the thermostat. Be careful when tightening the bolts. Do not crank down on them. I don't know the official torque(how tight). Just snug them. ..........Hey, anybody know how to test the radiator cap?..........Hey Chad, remember...righty tighty, lefty loosey! Except for a Skillsaw.

Hey, I suppose there's a chance your overflow tube is plugged up. Also, what is your radiator cap rated at? I have a 13 pound aftermarket one.

Hey no, thanks for the info. I am not sure what my radiator cap is rated at. I will check tommorow when I get down and dirty!