Broke Down need help QUICK

[barefootmx-3]

I was driving my car and it was losing power and i went to pull over and i braked and mid turn it shut off and i rolled into i driveway. My engine was well over red and was smoking really bad. when i looked under the hood the radiator cap was not hot it was warm and the actual radiator was really cool. i called someone and they said that it was the thermostat but when i went to start my car all you could hear was the starter trying to turn over the engine but the engine didnt have a response. i have full oil and the radiator is full. i need quick responses because i need to know if it is a quick thermostat fix or if the engine is seized up and i have to get someone to take it.

[Inodoro Pereyra]

First, look at your oil. Is it milky? If it is, you blew your head gasket.
If it isn't, wait for the engine to cool down, and try to start it again. Does it start?
If it does, is it still smoking? Is the smoke really white?
If it's smoking white, you have the same problem, you blew the head gasket. If it's not smoking, take off the thermostat (turn the engine off, of course), and put it in a can full of boiling water. Does it open? If it doesn't, replace it. if it does, it's time to take a look at your water pump.
Of course, I'm assuming you already checked your belts...right?

[barefootmx-3]

yea the oil is fine and the belts are good the only problem is that it is on the side of the raod and my insurance doesnt cover towing and im in a different state. but the REAL kicker is that im broke and trying to find out the best way. like i said that the oil is fine and the belts are good but it was pouring rain so i couldnt see smoke and i dont have the tools toremove the thermostat. thanks for replying so fast

[mitmaks]

Is your check engine light on?

[barefootmx-3]

when i bought the car it was onbecause the guy did and engine swap so it never got fixed so its been on since i have bought it. i am no longer at the car cause it was terential downpour earlier. sorry for the lack of info but its the best i could do.

[mitmaks]

Is the car in your driveway?

[Inodoro Pereyra]

You're welcome. If the belts and the oil are ok, wait till the engine cools down and start it.If it doesn't blow white smoke off the exhaust, the engine should work fine, and you'd be good to go FOR A FEW BLOCKS, until the nearest gas station or so, where you will at least have light and a roof to work on the car. If you don't have a way to check your thermostat, you can take it off and drive without it, but keep an eye on the temp gauge. Remember, the thermostat can be good, and you may have a busted water pump.

[barefootmx-3]

i wish it on the side of the road on a random dirt road

[wytbishop]

When you say you tried to start it and you could hear the starter trying but no response, do you mean it was turning over but not starting? or not turning over at all? The fact that the engine stalled is the most worrying part to me. Without the cooling system, the engine will basically run until it melts a piston.

There's a good chance you just blew a hose. The hoses to the heater core on the firewall are notorious for breaking the little plastic quick connectors. I had one break one day in traffic. Everything was going fine and suddenly I could smell coolant and my temp gauge went through the roof. Before you start it again make sure there's coolant, or at least water in the engine block, not just the radiator. There is a second coolant filler cap on the passenger side of the engine. Add water to that one to fill the engine block. If the block is low or empty then you most likely blew a heater hose. If you blew a heater hose you'll see water pouring out the back as you pour it in the front.

It's a pain in the a$$ to get it back together but it's not an expensive fix.

[mitmaks]

i wish it on the side of the road on a random dirt road

Id be careful. Someone might tow it and youll end up with huge tow/impound fee

[Whisper]

What year is the car? Is it OBD-I? If yes, then get a paper clip and check the codes.

[barefootmx-3]

yea i going there now to go look at it but im going now to check to collant place on the passenger side and it is a 93 MX-3 GS. i dont know that much about this car because i have had it only for a few months

[barefootmx-3]

and what would i have to do to fix the heater hose if it is broken cause i cant afford a tow

[Inodoro Pereyra]

and what would i have to do to fix the heater hose if it is broken cause i cant afford a tow

It's not the heater hose. If the heater hose was broken/punctured, your radiator would be empty. For what you said in your first post, your car didn't overheat for lack of coolant; it overheated for lack of circulation. That leaves us with 3 possible culprits: a busted thermostat, a broken water pump, or a clogged radiator (or coolant system).
If your problem is the thermostat, you can just take it off, replace the water outlet gasket (it's about $2) and drive the car home. Then, once home, flush your system and replace the thermostat. However, as I said before, if you can't test the thermostat, you should drive very carefully, because there's a possibility the thermostat was ok, and the water pump is damaged. If it's the water pump or the radiator, you'll have no other option than to tow it back home, cause either job is too involved to do it in the middle of nowhere.

[barefootmx-3]

ok i am going down today to tow it back to my house to look at it