Last night in my 2G (1997 turbo Talon), I collided into some damn road debris. The impact was concentrated in the area surrounding the passenger foglight. The force took out my fog light caving in the lower passenger corner of the radiator support beam and slightly bending the attachment point of the center beam.

At first, the damage did not look too severe (cracked fascia, misaligned right fender), but I should have realized that my radiator and a/c condenser was cracked from the impact; it was cold and raining hard so that really didn't help in noticing any leaks.

I continued driving until I noticed my stock temperature guage rise above the midpoint. That was when I knew I was out of coolant and I felt so stupid.


So I quickly turned off the car. I should have realized this.

I popped the hood and did the squeeze test on the upper radiator hose. Empty. The hose and the head wasn't too hot to touch however. Maybe luke warm-hot like a shower.

What damages may have incurred?

I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada, so it's quite chilly here.

My car is now at the body shop, and they'll be going over the damages with me tomorrow.

What (unforseen circumstances) should I be watching out for and possibly replacing? Any preventive measures I should take? Is my water pump alright since it probably ran dry? How do you tell if it's still "pumps strong"? Did I burn any valves? Warped my head? Can my car still run with a warped head? Screwed up engine/tranny mount?

At least one good thing comes out of this; this just forces me to get a fluidyne radiator.