cel and then overheat

hey everybody, my girl was driving last night andd the CEL came on then about 1/2 mile down the street the car overheated and instead of pulling over and calling me she drove home.
the coolant resevoir was empty and the dipstick(no not me) looked almost dry, then this morning i added water, no extra coolant added it all last night, and checked the oil and it looked dark, but almost "thin"
remember i am used to fords so when your oil gets dark it looks thick, this looked liek it had a thin sheen of nto quite pitch black on it

does any one have more clue than i, or did my description jsut confuse yall too.
i am not sure wha to do, and we dont quite have the money for a full tune up this week, and what all should i do in a tune up?
thanks
Sir longwinded of not wanting to blow up his M

What was the level of Antifreze in the Radiator?

Does the car run today?

Step 1: Fill radiator and bottle with radiator fluid and distilled water (DO NOT USE TAP or SPRING WATER)
Step 2: Change oil - You fried that oil.

Continue to closely monitor the fluid level. Confirm that the thermostat is working properly. I am guessing the thermostat is broken and you might even consider just changing it before you refill the radiator.

If water just starts pouring out of the engine when you start refilling it look for the leak - could be a hose, fitting or freeze plug.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Screamin'Screw

If water just starts pouring out of the engine when you start refilling it look for the leak - could be a hose, fitting or freeze plug.

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Or a blown head gasket... Had that happen on an old 86 Mustang.

If it really overheated bad you may have warped a head.

RJ

I'd suggest replacing the thermostat and the radiator cap anyway - I make it an annual maintenance item on these cars.

dead thermostat, according to the good ol boys at merlins in carrollton, any one know a price on those i dont have much time to look at the moment, and if haynes manual gives good instructions, or if any one is near carrollton irving plano that could loan me a enthusiasts manual to change it out tomorrow
thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dyingbreed

dead thermostat, according to the good ol boys at merlins in carrollton, any one know a price on those I dont have much time to look at the moment, and if haynes manual gives good instructions, or if any one is near carrollton irving plano that could loan me a enthusiasts manual to change it out tomorrow
thanks

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$5 for the thermostat.

Thermostats are just a couple of dollars and easy to replace...

INSTRUCTIONS HERE

damn i was hping i would be able to con my girl into getting the jackson racing cai since it has the new thermostat, should i do the 160 or 180?
thank you for the instructions

Stick with whatever temp thermostat was already in there...

Do a quick search, altiain has posted tons of info regarding thermostats.

oh yeah yoose guys rock my tube socks
good ol boys at merlins said 100 bux
i think i will attempt it after work tomorrow

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dyingbreed

oh yeah yoose guys rock my tube socks
good ol boys at merlins said 100 bux
I think I will attempt it after work tomorrow

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A hundred bucks for a t-stat? I'll do it for fifty! :twisted:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by altiain

A hundred bucks for a t-stat? I'll do it for fifty! :twisted:

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I have to undercut him.. I'll do it for 30! :twisted:

yeah but arent all of yall going to msr this weekend,
i know to search but doesnt the jackson racing cai come with a 160 degree thermostat?
going to search now on posts here

Dude!

Just do it yourself...

I'm in Lewisville... and I'm not going to the races this weekend... I'm putting in a new shower surround and fixtures. Just bring the car by. A T-Stat is NOTHING to replace.

The biggest worry is overtightening it and cracking the housing.

RJ

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Treibenschnell

Stick with whatever temp thermostat was already in there...

Do a quick search, altiain has posted tons of info regarding thermostats.

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cant find anything by him except this post.

going to do it tomorrow

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dyingbreed

going to do it tomorrow

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This may help! If you can hold a wrench, you can handle it. 8) If you clean the housing well enough, you won't need any Permatex, just use the gasket itself. (I like using an OEM thermostat FWIW)

http://www.miata.net/garage/tstat/index.html

ok so what is the deal with putting one in with different degrees? since i could not find anything using the search