Say you blow your engine up ?
Discussion
This happened to my Dad & me. Van 1 was in bits on the driveway so we took our spare van, which died about six miles from home at 3am. No mobile phones back then so we laughed at our luck (the sort of laugb when you've had a year of crap and have now learned that the world is in fact playing a cruel joke on you) and walked all the way home.
Had a pal collect our van, we jumped in Mums Capri and drove to work. On the way home it started sounding really rough and the engine siezed just as we arrived in our town! Turns out the temp and oil gauges were both stuck. My family have never been good at bangernomics bht to go from three vehicles to none in the space of a few days was pretty exceptional!
IIRC the capri got a new engine from the scrappy, the renualt vans got combined to form one "good" one.
Had a pal collect our van, we jumped in Mums Capri and drove to work. On the way home it started sounding really rough and the engine siezed just as we arrived in our town! Turns out the temp and oil gauges were both stuck. My family have never been good at bangernomics bht to go from three vehicles to none in the space of a few days was pretty exceptional!
IIRC the capri got a new engine from the scrappy, the renualt vans got combined to form one "good" one.
J4CKO said:
Was just pondering the cost per month thread and someone mentioned crying "if it went pop" and was wondering what the usual response to it is ?
So, you are on the way home, its early afternoon on a nice nice day, some music on, accelerating hard onto an A road, 20 miles to go, you hear a loud bang, some grinding and then there is silence and no drive, you coast to a halt on the hard shoulder, you see a trail of fluid, steam, some oily smoke and some "chunks", a quick look under the bonnet confirms it is pretty terminal.
What next ?
A debate with the woman who has to put up with the stress. So, you are on the way home, its early afternoon on a nice nice day, some music on, accelerating hard onto an A road, 20 miles to go, you hear a loud bang, some grinding and then there is silence and no drive, you coast to a halt on the hard shoulder, you see a trail of fluid, steam, some oily smoke and some "chunks", a quick look under the bonnet confirms it is pretty terminal.
What next ?
My engine wrapped a conrod through the block, smashing the starter motor into 1000 peices, leaving bits of debris across the Runcorn bridge, and spread across the front of the car behind. I managed to coast somewhere safe. I sat on my work phone to the RAC waiting 25 mins for an answer. The lady I spoke to was clearly bloody stupid. I told her that the engine had exploded, the oil and conrods were no longer in the engine, there was no coolant, the starter motor was in bits, and she would need to send a low loader, because the car as standard could not be lifted and towed on an A frame.
2 hours later a van turns up. The poor bloke, tells me his paperwork says it won't start. He takes one look and calls to get the right transport.
2 hours after that I get home.
The next day we go on holiday in my wife's car, and during the holiday, a bloke from the owners club agrees to buy it off me. Wife insists I accept. This is the end of 6 months of pain, trying to own the car of my (mental) dreams.
I regret to this day, some 9 years later that I sold that car.
The story, started in 2003, when I saw a mk2 cav sri 130 for sale. I really wanted it, but it was sold, so I started on what I now regard to be a completely mad journey.
I went to look at a dodgy Calibre, various 130's and CDi's and was not happy with any of them. I bought a stop gap Cdi auto very cheap early 2004. I bought a 1.8 Sri very cheap and paid for the insurance by the profit on selling the Cdi auto. I got close to buying a very knackered Calibre and a convertible in a deal involving the Sri but backed out.
Roll along to 2006, I still had the Sri, but came into a small inheritance, and went searching for a Calibre.
I found one not 15 miles away, bought it and had months of teething issues. At the time my wife was being diagnosed with ME (Chronic Fatigue) so life was very stressful.
The Calibre had low oil pressure. A mate had a 1992 cavalier mk3 with SEH engine, and gave it me. Obviously I ended up in A&E taking it out of the Mk3.
I paid someone to fit it in the mk2 and then spent weeks fixing the teething issues (down to the coil and dissy having different holes from the mk2)
Anyway, finally got it all sorted and started enjoying it. A seriously weird looking mk2 cavalier with a factory fitted irmscher bodykit. What's not to like?
Then on the hottest day of the summer, the day before we were due to go on holiday, when my wife needed me home, I was just 4 and a bit hours delayed.
When I got home from holiday, I insured the SRi bought some tax, and started using that for another 16 months. On it's first trip out it pissed petrol all over the engine bay to say "f
k off you tt" 1987.
Purchase X reg RD350LC. I decide to go visit my granddad some 60 miles away for the weekend.
5 miles from home, it seizes at 95 mph. I survive.
I push it all the way home.
I go and find a phone box. Explain to my granddad why I'm not coming.
I take the engine apart. Grooves are massive, a conrod is bent
I end up with 3 mm oversize pistons and 375 cc, and a welded crank from Spondon, via old fashioned cash on delivery.
I put it back together, reconnect the oil pump, and take it to The Isle of Skye (From Redditch) to run it in.
Purchase X reg RD350LC. I decide to go visit my granddad some 60 miles away for the weekend.
5 miles from home, it seizes at 95 mph. I survive.
I push it all the way home.
I go and find a phone box. Explain to my granddad why I'm not coming.
I take the engine apart. Grooves are massive, a conrod is bent
I end up with 3 mm oversize pistons and 375 cc, and a welded crank from Spondon, via old fashioned cash on delivery.
I put it back together, reconnect the oil pump, and take it to The Isle of Skye (From Redditch) to run it in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryT-Kad2Qzs
Get some mates to push off airfield into car park, call AA, deny any suggestion that car was being raced, relay to mechanic for super dooper new engine!
Get some mates to push off airfield into car park, call AA, deny any suggestion that car was being raced, relay to mechanic for super dooper new engine!
Not engine but most of a Cosworth transmission.
Christmas day 2010.A30 in Devon,250 miles from home.
Front prop or front diff breaks,don't know which went first,flailing prop takes out much of the bellhousing.
AA called,nice man in Freelander stops to as if I'm ok as that year was a cold ,snowy one.
AA drag me back to Exeter services where I have to wait for a 2nd truck to take me home.
Fit 2nd hand gearbox,faulty,buy 2nd 2nd hand gearbox,fit that,back on road about September 2011.
Christmas day 2010.A30 in Devon,250 miles from home.
Front prop or front diff breaks,don't know which went first,flailing prop takes out much of the bellhousing.
AA called,nice man in Freelander stops to as if I'm ok as that year was a cold ,snowy one.
AA drag me back to Exeter services where I have to wait for a 2nd truck to take me home.
Fit 2nd hand gearbox,faulty,buy 2nd 2nd hand gearbox,fit that,back on road about September 2011.
kambites said:
Phone around to find someone to pick me up, having picked up my fixed tow bar on the way. Tow car home.
Then buy a second-hand Honda K20 engine from ebay and a conversion kit and fit it.
Actually it's probably quite likely to happen over the next few days since I just changed the cambelt.
Especially without that cam belt tensioner spring Then buy a second-hand Honda K20 engine from ebay and a conversion kit and fit it.
Actually it's probably quite likely to happen over the next few days since I just changed the cambelt.
Edited by kambites on Friday 6th March 13:05
/selocJ4CKO but edited for accuracy said:
Was just pondering the cost per month thread and someone mentioned crying "if it went pop" and was wondering what the usual response to it is ?
So, you are accelerating out of a long left hander on track and then you loose power and the engine sounds like someone smacking an anvil with a hammer, you nurse it off track, accept its dead.
What next ?
I phoned a recovery truck and paid to get it home, then I phoned up a motorsport company and priced up having a better more powerful engine fitted in the old ones place. Then I came on here and found the guy who transports broken cars for a sensible cost and sent my car off with him. I didn't see it again for a few months, but when I did again it's redline had gone from 7000rpm to 8250rpm and power from 138bhp to 190bhp and the original quote didn't remotely resemble the huge bill I paid. I continued to use it about 10 times a year on track for a couple more happy years, then other stuff got in the way and now I'm waiting for its new owner to take it away. All in 4 year ownership cost approximately £8k.So, you are accelerating out of a long left hander on track and then you loose power and the engine sounds like someone smacking an anvil with a hammer, you nurse it off track, accept its dead.
What next ?
Daily snotter - park up, leave key in ignition, get out, continue journey on foot.
Cavalier - phone a friend/acquaintance for a tow/recovery, fit spare engine, continue as normal
E38 - phone a friend/acquaintance for a tow/recovery, plan to remove engine from spares car to fit in place of broken one, remember how much of a it is to remove same engine from 540i, put off job for months, car falls in to state of disrepair, ends up being scrapped.
Cavalier - phone a friend/acquaintance for a tow/recovery, fit spare engine, continue as normal
E38 - phone a friend/acquaintance for a tow/recovery, plan to remove engine from spares car to fit in place of broken one, remember how much of a
it is to remove same engine from 540i, put off job for months, car falls in to state of disrepair, ends up being scrapped.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff