It definitely could.
We had a 'leaker' that would fluctuate between 230 and 250* steadily up and down. Never overheated, just ran hot and fluctuated.
And there was always a steady stream of tiny bubbles in the coolant.
Gasoline's ignition/burn temp is 495*, and the temp inside the combustion chamber, with the gases burning under pressure, is around 2800* and can approach 4000* under certain circumstances.
So, YES, even a small amount of combustion gas will heat the coolant up really quickly.
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