BMW: OVERHEATING, coolant levels, power steering pump

Question
my question is, i had a steering rack problem on my 97 528i , i know this is not an e but i figured you knew, the rack was leaking oil, the mechanic told me that as long as i kept adding oil i should be ok until i have money to fix it.  Well today on the freeway, the battery light came on so i didnt think anything of it really than i looked and the temperature gauge was on red hot, so i tried to turn the car i couldnt by power steering was gone it was hard to turn.  My question is i know that the serpentine belt boke cuz i opened the hood and saw it.  but could the car have overheated and if so what kind of other damages are we looking at that could be associated with this situation?  thanks

Answer
Nick
 The serpantine belt turns all of the accesories on the engine.  The belt turns the power steering pump, which is why you had no hydraulic assist, and it was like turning a manual steering car.  The belt also turns the alternator, which is why your battery light came on.  And finally the Belt turns the waterpump, which circulates coolant and cools the engine.  So when this belt broke, you had nothing to recharge the battery, nothing to help you steer, and nothing to cool the engine. VERY BAD!

 Fortunately belts are easy to replace, and relatively inexpensive.

 As far as damage from over heating, it all depends on HOW LONG the car ran while over heating.  So between the time you noticed the battery light (when the belt broke) and the time you noticed the temperature, that is the determining factor.
 If it was only a few seconds, you might be alright, if it was 2-3 minutes, that could be bad.  Obviously if it was over 5 minutes you probably blew a headgasket at least.

 Now you need to replace the belt and try to start the car.  If it fires up and sounds fine, doesn't smoke or make knocking sounds, then you're probably ok.  I would advise you to check the oil and coolant levels daily for the next few months.  The reason for this, is that if you have a head gasket that is cracked, it will allow for the coolant and oil to mix, or leak out.  So every day for the next few months I would check the coolant level, make sure it had not dropped, and has no oil droplets floating on top.  The same is true for the oil.  Make sure it is not loosing oil, and the oil does not contain water (will look kind of like chocolate milk).

 Hope this helps, and good luck with it.
 Josh