Suzuki: 1996 Geo Tracker overheated, head gasket, leak down test


Question
My 1996 geo tracker overheated and was smoking/steaming due to a busted antifreeze hose. I replaced the hose, filled up the antifreeze and took it for a drive. It seemed to have no power and the catalytic converter caught fire after only driving a couple of miles. Any advice is appreciated.

Thankyou.

Answer
How long was it operated with the hose broken?
If it boiled ALL the coolant out, the engine may well be "toast"
First do a compression test, and then a cylinder leak-down test WHILE you have a pressure gauge on the radiator filler.  If you get a pressure rise during either the compression or leak-down, at the minimum the head gasket is bad.  It's also possible that other engine parts are bad, and only a teardown and inspection can determine anything if the compression and leak tests give bad results.