engine trouble!

[GALLARDOGUY]

my engine has let go. i was on the motorway & it stuttered & started billowing white smoke from the area of the left exhaust (not sure if it was from the exhaust itself). on pulling over it was losing its coolant but no oil loss.

firstly, does anyone have any idea of what the problem may be?

and

secondly, i have contacted a local tvr specialist & have been quoted £1500 + vat just to open the engine up & diagnose the problem!

that seems steep to me to say the least!

i'm based in essex, does anyone have any recommendations of knowlegdable independents that could help? i know about leven but they have a 6 week waiting list!

i was told by a cateram racer about some guys who are ex mole valley tvr technicians who have set up shop not too far away (cambridge i think it was). does anyone know of them?

any help woul;d be much appreciated.

[Fume troll]

Oh dear! Not sure what it could be - head gasket failure maybe? It could just be a coolant hose that let go but I doubt it.

If the engine's let go, I'd look for a proper engine builder rather than someone that does a bit of servicing. Austec aren't too far away for example http://www.austec.co.uk/


Cheers,

FT.

[jvr]

I would go with a massive failiure on the head gasket on one of the cylinders,hopefuly no further damage was done.To replace will be about £1800 but when you open up there is always something else to do while you are there.
Goodluck
Paul

[LastCerbera]

Agree with the above, I'd get it down to Austec if I were you. I've only used them once, but when I did, I met their Speed Six engine guy - ex Aston Martin, need I say more.

[ec1 eex]

£1500+VAT for a diagnosis? Even at £75 an hour, that's 20 hours labour!

I'm shocked.

[Flintstone]

Call Matt at Sebring International. Not a milion miles from Essex (big county I know).



http://www.sebringinternational.co.uk/

[Boosted LS1]

You could do a compression test and check oil and coolant levels. Then decide where to take it once you've an idea of the problem.

[yzf1070]

Boosted LS1 said:

You could do a compression test and check oil and coolant levels. Then decide where to take it once you've an idea of the problem.

Agreed, and if the comp check proves ok check out the coolant hoses, in particular the hose that runs from the heater matrix down to the block. This runs relatively close to the front bank of exhaust headers. (Its a light blue hose on mine and I have slipped a cable/hose heat barrier over the top to protect it from the high temp).

Good luck and if you do end up needing a rebuild I would urge you check out STR8-SIX, superb work.

[Bodmin]

Thanks for the comments but please can I just clarify that we have not quoted for this work.

I totaly agree, there are numerous checks that can be done externally. I certainly would not recommend anybody have their engine removed unless all the other checks had been carried out first.

To the OP; a word of warning, if you are not going to run the engine for a while before deciding what to do make sure the engine will turn over by hand before trying to start it so you do not get a hydralock situation. We recently had a similar situation & luckily the recovery driver did not try & start it as when the head was removed the cylinder was full...there was even a tide mark on the cylinder bore

Richard
Austec Racing

[Boosted LS1]

^ What he said. Also remove the plugs before turning the engine over and a squirt of WD40 in the bores won't go amiss.

[GALLARDOGUY]

Bodmin said:

Thanks for the comments but please can I just clarify that we have not quoted for this work.

I totaly agree, there are numerous checks that can be done externally. I certainly would not recommend anybody have their engine removed unless all the other checks had been carried out first.

To the OP; a word of warning, if you are not going to run the engine for a while before deciding what to do make sure the engine will turn over by hand before trying to start it so you do not get a hydralock situation. We recently had a similar situation & luckily the recovery driver did not try & start it as when the head was removed the cylinder was full...there was even a tide mark on the cylinder bore

Richard
Austec Racing

bodmin YHM

[Bodmin]

GALLARDOGUY said:

Bodmin said:

Thanks for the comments but please can I just clarify that we have not quoted for this work.

I totaly agree, there are numerous checks that can be done externally. I certainly would not recommend anybody have their engine removed unless all the other checks had been carried out first.

To the OP; a word of warning, if you are not going to run the engine for a while before deciding what to do make sure the engine will turn over by hand before trying to start it so you do not get a hydralock situation. We recently had a similar situation & luckily the recovery driver did not try & start it as when the head was removed the cylinder was full...there was even a tide mark on the cylinder bore

Richard
Austec Racing

bodmin YHM

Have you received my reply?

I have had two mail delivery failure notices so hopefully third time lucky.

Richard

Edited by Bodmin on Wednesday 23 July 15:23

[GALLARDOGUY]

Bodmin said:

GALLARDOGUY said:

Bodmin said:

Thanks for the comments but please can I just clarify that we have not quoted for this work.

I totaly agree, there are numerous checks that can be done externally. I certainly would not recommend anybody have their engine removed unless all the other checks had been carried out first.

To the OP; a word of warning, if you are not going to run the engine for a while before deciding what to do make sure the engine will turn over by hand before trying to start it so you do not get a hydralock situation. We recently had a similar situation & luckily the recovery driver did not try & start it as when the head was removed the cylinder was full...there was even a tide mark on the cylinder bore

Richard
Austec Racing

bodmin YHM

Have you received my reply?

I have had two mail delivery failure notices so hopefully third time lucky.

Richard

Edited by Bodmin on Wednesday 23 July 15:23

hi, yes i got your mail, thanks for the info. i've emailed you back.

[Fimbo]

Can't offer a diagnosis but second the recommendation of Matt at Sebring. V sound bloke. Knows what he's doing.

[GALLARDOGUY]

just had compression test & coolant tests done & cranked it over.

coolant spewed out of the passenger side exhaust when i started it up, as well as dropping some coolant at back end of engine.

no 'mayonnaise' in oil top up chamber though.

i think i vaguely remember that No.6 cylinder failure is the most common?

is that the case?

obvioulsy i need to open the engine up, but does this sound like a routine engine failiure?

[Flintstone]

Sorry, can't answer as I'm relatively new to Tuscans though I'm sure one of the resident experts will be along soon.

Just thinking of your 'standard engine failure' comment. you know the Porsche poofs will throw that back at us during the next inter-forum spat, don't you?

[so called]

Hi Gallardoguy,

Try giving Jason at Str8Six a call.
He will give saome advise before you proceed.
He is an ex-TVR Speed Six man from Blackpool.