Something you NEVER want to do

 I am blogging about this in the hope that It might cause one of my readers to pause  and not do what I did!
Here is a picture of my 2007 Saturn Ion2:

This is a nice car, I've enjoyed driving it for the last 6.5 years, low mileage and very smooth.  Best thing about it, It's paid for! 

 

This is a picture of the engine.  Very exciting isn't it?

Well after driving about 55 miles on Weds.  I noticed there was a burning odor coming from the engine.  I checked the radiator and thought wow, bone dry, I better add some water and get to a gas station and put in  coolant and more water.  Do you see the radiator??

so I get to the gas station and put in 4 GALLONS of combined fluids.

I started the car up and it sounded really bad (  it sounded fine when I got there).  I turned if off and waited a few seconds and started it up again.  This time it sounded REALLY, REALLY bad and was billowing out smoke so bad I couldn't see the gas pump 5 feet away.  I turned off the car and then it hit me , what the problem was. I wanted to cry.  I called my Dear Husband, not good timing for him for me to have a crisis.  I hung up knowing my Husband was occupied with a military thing and I needed to figure this one out.  And I did. 

Here is a picture of the problem:

I poured 4+ gallons of fluid into the oil tank / engine.  I guess the little oil can picture and the thing that say 5x/30 (that is the type of oil you put in  the car)  Should have prevented me from drowning my PAID for car?   The moment of panic passed when I remember my friend Gus telling me 25 years ago about having to put water into his engine to get home, and that the car was flushed and it was fine.  I also thought in the Scheme of life blowing a motor isn't a really big deal.  Well I might have been without a car for a while, but I wasn't going to have a breakdown over it!

I called a tow truck, they came in ten minutes, They flushed the card ( and were astounded by how much fluid I had put into it!!) Changed the oil and 4 hours later I was driving home. Next day I went back and they flushed the car twice  and changed the oil again and told me the car should be fine. 

 

 and there it  is sitting back home and not blowing enough smoke to hide a warehouse!

I have no Idea why I did this, I'm pretty good with my car and have even done a few small repairs in my life, I understand you do not put anything other than oil into the oil tank!!

I'm sharing this in hopes I might prevent someone else from doing this!  Who know there may have been an accident that I missed because I was detained drowning my engine?  One never knows!

Have a great rest of your weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Ginny M