Overheated engine....

[andrews]

I badly overheated an engine. Engine lights came on and car gradually lost power and I limped to a service station. My garage has told me that the water pump failed and the engine got very hot. It still turns over so its not a melted lump but there is water in the cylinder so at a minimum the head gasket must have gone. What else could I be looking at and is it actually possible to repair badly overheated engines. Toyota are asking for 7,000 for a new engine which is more than the car is worth.. so what would be my options?

thanks

[NiceCupOfTea]

Head gasket/water pump and head skim if needed, then see how you go? Expensive way to go if the engine turns out to be scrap. My worry is that you say the engine lost power - suggests it was beginning to seize to me...

Second hand engines on eBay? What car is it?

[bgunn]

Probably lost power because it lost compression (which is more than likely permanent). Usually valve seats move in the head when they get so hot, or pistons distort badly, or rings lose their tension.

Only way to tell really is to get the engine apart and see, compression/leakdown tests as a first port of call.

[HustleRussell]

The head has warped and the gasket is toast. It needs beheading, the head needs to be stripped down and 'skimmed' until the gasket surface is perfectly flat and true, then it needs re-assembling.
Unless it got hot to the point of near seizing, your bores are 'probably' okay.
The engine is probably perfectly salvagable but it's worth considering a used replacement with warranty.

[stevieturbo]

Give us a clue as to what vehicle/engine ?

But if you've driven it to the point where it stopped and it was seriously overheated, chances are it is fked and beyond reasonable financial repair.

A replacement/used unit would make the most sense. Buying a new one from a main dealer would be a bit mental.

[andrews]

The car is a 2009 Toyota Verso 1.8i. I have found an engine at a breakers yard for 1400 with 22,000 miles on the clock and it seems you can also buy a remanufactured on for 1000. I've told the garage to take the head off and see what damage has been done. If it is a new gasket and head skim then I would probably see that as a result....

[andrews]

The car is a 2009 Toyota Verso 1.8i. I have found an engine at a breakers yard for 1400 with 22,000 miles on the clock and it seems you can also buy a remanufactured on for 1000. I've told the garage to take the head off and see what damage has been done. If it is a new gasket and head skim then I would probably see that as a result....

[Mr2Mike]

If it's badly overheated then an alloy head can be softened to the point of uselessness, and the piston rings can lose tension as someone else mentioned. A hardness test can be performed on the head to check if it's suitable for reuse.

[stevieturbo]

I think you're wasting your money paying for any labour on the current engine.

As for the remanufactured engine for £1k....I'd place that in the ballpark of one of these companies that takes a used engine, power washes it and throws some paint at it and hopes for the best at your expense.

The best and likely safest thing is to try and source a good used engine. £1400 does sound a bit pricey though ?

[oakdale]

Buy a good engine from a breakers, £1000 is too cheap for a proper recon.

A badly overheated engine will have a lot of the problems listed above.

Also skimming a head by much isn't a good idea on a modern engine, some people always have the head skimmed but when I was in the trade I would only have it done as a last resort.

When a head warps, the whole head warps, not just the gasket surface.

Having the head refaced ensures that when it is bolted to the block, the the rest of the head remains bent which results in a great deal of stress on the camshaft and bearings plus possible oil leaks from the cam cover.

Edited by oakdale on Thursday 16th May 19:24

[stevieturbo]

Seems to be plenty of sellers on egay selling 1.8 engines ranging from low hundreds to as much as £1k

£1400 is far far too dear unless it's 100% guaranteed and fully fitted, and done to a very high standard.

[cptsideways]

Rebuilt = jetwashed scrapper usually

[Krikkit]

Surely a waterpump failure after only 4 years should be encouraging Toyota to help out? I'd call that premature failure.

[andrews]

so it seems that the engine block is distorted and is beyond repair. I'm faced with either writing the car off as a new engine not economic or trying for find a second hand engine. However the thought of buying an engine from a breakers yard scares the life out of me. I've seen quotes from 600 to 2,000. How do you know what you are buying?

Is it actually possible to sell a car under 4 years old with a worthless engine to anyone, is it only worth scrap value?

Thanks

[stevieturbo]

You know what you're buying by buying from a reputable seller. It's as simple as that really.

Get one from a crashed car and there is little reason the engine should have any problems.

[andrews]

Trick is to know who a reputable seller is... any recommendations? I saw an engine from Dewsbury Auto Dismantlers but didn't feel right

[stevieturbo]

andrews said:

Trick is to know who a reputable seller is... any recommendations? I saw an engine from Dewsbury Auto Dismantlers but didn't feel right

Only way is to try and ask locally. Maybe local garages who have used the breakers etc.

It is a minefield though, with so many dodgy garages and breakers out there. I'm not in England so wouldnt have a clue who you could trust over there

[oakdale]

The chances are that if you get an engine from a similar year car it will be fine, unless some fool has overheated it.

[Sardonicus]

stevieturbo said:

I think you're wasting your money paying for any labour on the current engine.

As for the remanufactured engine for £1k....I'd place that in the ballpark of one of these companies that takes a used engine, power washes it and throws some paint at it and hopes for the best at your expense.

The best and likely safest thing is to try and source a good used engine. £1400 does sound a bit pricey though ?

< Spot on my experience of Japanese recons is they are ste purely because done correctly they become beyond economical repair so 9 times out of 10 they are done cheaply and shoddy I would get a good second hand-er checking initially that the internals are clean i.e removing the oil filler cap & dipping the oil is a good start along with some of the good breakers offering a 3 month guarantee etc a lot of this modern stuff does not tolerate overheating like the old stuff use to

[andrews]

thanks for all the advice, found a second hand engine with a couple of thousand miles on it and have a 6 month parts and labour guarantee with it, company has been around since 1995 and have very good ebay scores and my Garage knew them as reputable, so hopefully be back on the road in a week. I might see some change out of £2000 all in....