Hi. this is my first post and it may be a little detailed, but i need advice. My daughter took her Z3 1.9 into a dealership for an oil change. After leaving the shop and driving approx. 5 to 10 miles, steam boiled from under the hood and also into the car, through the vents i suppose. After pulling the car over to the side of the road, she called the dealership. they told her to bring it back in. (they meaning having it towed ,i suppose.) She called a friend and he came to get her and thought they could get it back by adding water to the radiator. The engine had cooled down, as it was very cold and sleeting at the time. The friend drove the car and watched the temp. gauge carefully not letting it rise to the red zone with out stopping to let it cool down. Drove it into the shop with no noticible engine problems. After diagnosing it as a blown radiator, the tech. replaced it with a new one. Came back to pick it up and the service manager said there must be another problem, and as they were about to close for the Thanksgiving holiday they would have to come back after the weekend. She told them she had to have it, so they reluctantly looked at it again. In about 30 minutes, they came in and told her the engine was ruined. Now my question is could they come to that conclusion that quickly then and not before? Before buying another engine is there any thing easy that will tell if it is toast? The oil is very clean, no water. Engine is not seized. Plastic impeller on water pump looks like new. ( They removed it and broke the flange in doing so!) Sorry for the length of this but thought details might help. Thanks , Tony.
Overheated 1.9
- Thread starter tonypeltz
- Start date
Did they say WHY the engine is ruined? If there is no water in the oil, check for oil in the water. I assume they are saying the engine is ruined because of overheating? The following can happen when an engine overheats:
- blown head gasket due to warped head - usually can be fixed by machining the head. This can be diagnosed very quickly (compression check) - 5 to 15 minutes. BUT you will usually have oil/water cross contamination.
- Failed/Cracked piston rings - can be diagnosed pretty quickly (compression check)
- Scored piston/cylinder walls - only diagnosable by sight. If they have a fiber optic bore scope this can be checked quickly, but how many dealers would have one?
Apparently this happened last fall? Did it sit all this time? What concerns me is that if water did get into the cylinders or crankcase, and was not cleaned out back then, you probably have major rust problems inside the engine...
- blown head gasket due to warped head - usually can be fixed by machining the head. This can be diagnosed very quickly (compression check) - 5 to 15 minutes. BUT you will usually have oil/water cross contamination.
- Failed/Cracked piston rings - can be diagnosed pretty quickly (compression check)
- Scored piston/cylinder walls - only diagnosable by sight. If they have a fiber optic bore scope this can be checked quickly, but how many dealers would have one?
Apparently this happened last fall? Did it sit all this time? What concerns me is that if water did get into the cylinders or crankcase, and was not cleaned out back then, you probably have major rust problems inside the engine...
Thanks Kirby for the input. They never told us exactly why it was ruined. After some legal issues, they (notice They) had an adjuster come in to diagnose the problem who said excessive gas pressures were found in the cooling system after the engine was started. As far as checking for water in the radiator, the radiator they installed was removed, along with the thermostat housing and water pump. Didn't find the thermostat housing but the other parts were in the trunk when we picked the car up. Don't realize why these parts would be removed to take their radiator out. I just feel like this was kind of a shady deal, but just wondering where to start with the repair. Thanks anyway for your help. Tony.
Gas pressure in the cooling system is a sign of a possible problem. Exhaust leaks past the head gasket, or thru a crack in a cylinder wall, and pressurizes the cooling system. You can check this by removing the cap when totally cold and starting the engine. If you sense air pressure coming out of the radiator, by hand or by laying a piece of paper over the cap hole, there is a problem. But usually another symptom will show up as well to help confirm the problem.
Still, a blown head gasket is by far the most common cause of this. That's a lot cheaper than a new engine, but a tear down is the only way to know exactly what's wrong.
Still, a blown head gasket is by far the most common cause of this. That's a lot cheaper than a new engine, but a tear down is the only way to know exactly what's wrong.