Engine overheated and died. Possible to un-seize?
Discussion
Is it possible to unseize this?
The story-
Was heading back from a round trip to Manchester from Leicester.
I was on the A50 heading toward Uttoxeter (on the way back to Leicester) when the car decided to die.
I managed to make it to a layby.
Pulled the hood and there was steam coming from the engine.
The engine temp gauge was on the red and the coolant tank was empty! the oil light was also on even though the oil level was between min and max. maybe a faulty oil pump?
The coolant tank was empty!
Called out the RAC who trailered the car back to Leicester.
Tried starting the car the next day and all I got was a clunk.
I once owned a Vauxhall Zafira MK1 that went into limp mode because of a lack of engine oil!!
The story-
Was heading back from a round trip to Manchester from Leicester.
I was on the A50 heading toward Uttoxeter (on the way back to Leicester) when the car decided to die.
I managed to make it to a layby.
Pulled the hood and there was steam coming from the engine.
The engine temp gauge was on the red and the coolant tank was empty! the oil light was also on even though the oil level was between min and max. maybe a faulty oil pump?
The coolant tank was empty!
Called out the RAC who trailered the car back to Leicester.
Tried starting the car the next day and all I got was a clunk.
I once owned a Vauxhall Zafira MK1 that went into limp mode because of a lack of engine oil!!
Hang on a minute, I’ll just give Mystic Meg a call for you......
It would be better to ask a professional to look at your actual car and run some diagnostics rather that ask the internet for a guess. Why did the engine stop? Was it because it shut down By the electronics to protect the engine due to the overheat! Or has it actually mechanically seized? If the latter you can probably forget salvaging the engine.
It would be better to ask a professional to look at your actual car and run some diagnostics rather that ask the internet for a guess. Why did the engine stop? Was it because it shut down By the electronics to protect the engine due to the overheat! Or has it actually mechanically seized? If the latter you can probably forget salvaging the engine.
chrisch77 said:
Hang on a minute, I’ll just give Mystic Meg a call for you......
It would be better to ask a professional to look at your actual car and run some diagnostics rather that ask the internet for a guess. Why did the engine stop? Was it because it shut down By the electronics to protect the engine due to the overheat! Or has it actually mechanically seized? If the latter you can probably forget salvaging the engine.
Well if you can't determine that it's fIt would be better to ask a professional to look at your actual car and run some diagnostics rather that ask the internet for a guess. Why did the engine stop? Was it because it shut down By the electronics to protect the engine due to the overheat! Or has it actually mechanically seized? If the latter you can probably forget salvaging the engine.
ked from that explanation....It sure as hell doesn't take a "professional" anything.
vtchequers said:
The engine temp gauge was on the red and the coolant tank was empty! the oil light was also on even though the oil level was between min and max.
You pressing on until you reached a layby probably killed the engine, even if it wasn't terminally damaged before that. Didn't you stop to think how much damage you were doing when the temperature went into the red and the oil pressure warning lamp came on?I suggest you start planning to replace either the engine or the vehicle. You might be pleasantly surprised and find this engine can be repaired, but I wouldn't count on it. More likely the engine will be beyond economic repair, which might mean the vehicle is too.
GreenV8S said:
You pressing on until you reached a layby probably killed the engine, even if it wasn't terminally damaged before that. Didn't you stop to think how much damage you were doing when the temperature went into the red and the oil pressure warning lamp came on?
Engine switched off before coasting to the layby.The only thing I was keeping an eye on before the engine conked out was the speedo. I hadn't noticed the temp gauge or low oil light until after popping the hood. I would've thought the computer would've kicked in to prevent damage. It didn't.
The oil light's the killer. If you can't rotate the engine with a spanner on the crankshaft then it's probably toast. I once drove 9 miles in a saab with a burst top hose before the temp guage went off the clock alerting me to an issue. Next day I replaced the hose, filled with water and that was 5 years ago.
Boosted LS1 said:
The oil light's the killer. If you can't rotate the engine with a spanner on the crankshaft then it's probably toast. I once drove 9 miles in a saab with a burst top hose before the temp guage went off the clock alerting me to an issue. Next day I replaced the hose, filled with water and that was 5 years ago.
Just tried it. it won't budge. definitely toast at the moment!vtchequers said:
The only thing I was keeping an eye on before the engine conked out was the speedo.
I hadn't noticed the temp gauge or low oil light until after popping the hood. I would've thought the computer would've kicked in to prevent damage. It didn't.
Driving around hoping the ECU is clever enough to stop the engine before terminal damage occurs is unfortunately a tad naive. I hadn't noticed the temp gauge or low oil light until after popping the hood. I would've thought the computer would've kicked in to prevent damage. It didn't.
I appreciate that most modern cars not having gauges for oil temperature and pressure even coolant temperature in some cars does make it harder for the driver to know what's going on until tonnes of steam or smokey oil vapours make an appearance. It annoys me, I like to think I know all the temps my cars run at an find checking oil/coolant temps part of my normal driving routine.
The clunk of the starter trying despiratly to turn your engine could well be total death from a seizure , no oil pressure an no collant is a terrible combination. I'd try turning the engine by hand an going from there in terms of how much of the engine to remove before deciding if its better to buy a complete engine or whole new car depending on your budget/timescale/diy or paying a mechanic.
Or to be positive you could be seriously lucky and have a flat battery, was your battery light on when the engine was running/overheating.... check your accessory belts, a snapped belt might run the alternator and water pump so it could be a case of belt+fresh coolant+charged battery an go.
vtchequers said:
Engine switched off before coasting to the layby.
The only thing I was keeping an eye on before the engine conked out was the speedo. I hadn't noticed the temp gauge or low oil light until after popping the hood. I would've thought the computer would've kicked in to prevent damage. It didn't.
Like the two big warnings you already ignored wasnt enough ?The only thing I was keeping an eye on before the engine conked out was the speedo. I hadn't noticed the temp gauge or low oil light until after popping the hood. I would've thought the computer would've kicked in to prevent damage. It didn't.
The computer doesnt override those intent on destroying
aka_kerrly said:
The clunk of the starter trying despiratly to turn your engine could well be total death from a seizure , no oil pressure an no collant is a terrible combination. I'd try turning the engine by hand an going from there in terms of how much of the engine to remove before deciding if its better to buy a complete engine or whole new car depending on your budget/timescale/diy or paying a mechanic.
Or to be positive you could be seriously lucky and have a flat battery, was your battery light on when the engine was running/overheating.... check your accessory belts, a snapped belt might run the alternator and water pump so it could be a case of belt+fresh coolant+charged battery an go.
Good advice - turn it by hand and see if it's seized. I wouldn't worry too much about the oil pressure at this stage - the oil has probably got thin because it's too hot, and dropped the pressure, but there should still be some lubrication properties there (had a Jeep that would bring the oil pressure light on all the time, and was fine for 120k miles). But realistically, I would be surprised if the head had not suffered due to coolant loss, and the engine is scrap. If the engine is bad, I would be tempted to scrap it for a replacement. Best of luck. Or to be positive you could be seriously lucky and have a flat battery, was your battery light on when the engine was running/overheating.... check your accessory belts, a snapped belt might run the alternator and water pump so it could be a case of belt+fresh coolant+charged battery an go.
It rather depends whether it overheated due to a complete lack of oil pressure (in which case the cheapest solution will probably be a new engine), or the oil pressure dropped slightly due to it overheating (in which case it might be fairly heap to repair).
By and large, if the engine is jammed it's dead. If you can turn it over (using a long breaker bar on the crank nut) it may not be too catastrophically damaged, although as above it might still have suffered pretty severe damage.
ETA: Ah I see you've tried to turn it over by hand. If the crank won't budge at all, it's dead. If it shifts a bit and then feels as if it's coming up against a sort of sprung stop, you'd just hot pushing hard enough to overcome compression.
When it "died" did it lock up (which would have locked the driven wheels) or just stop running but still turn over?
By and large, if the engine is jammed it's dead. If you can turn it over (using a long breaker bar on the crank nut) it may not be too catastrophically damaged, although as above it might still have suffered pretty severe damage.
ETA: Ah I see you've tried to turn it over by hand. If the crank won't budge at all, it's dead. If it shifts a bit and then feels as if it's coming up against a sort of sprung stop, you'd just hot pushing hard enough to overcome compression.
When it "died" did it lock up (which would have locked the driven wheels) or just stop running but still turn over?
Edited by kambites on Saturday 20th June 10:44
vtchequers said:
What's the science behind taking out the injectors and putting a spoon full of diesel down each barrel? How does it get past the rings?
I've googled but can't find any answers.
Not a lot in your case. I've googled but can't find any answers.
.In some cases, where the engine has been standing for some time (Or if the engine has been horizontally stored on a pallet for example, they can occasionally loose compression. So a slurp of engine oil down the hole can restore compression as it seals the small gap between the piston and the cylinder.
vtchequers said:
In which case you`re up s
t creek I would suggest. Looking at the image I`ve found, that looks to be an engine breather valve in the rocker cover that feeds engine fumes back through the air intake to be re burnt.
If you have coolant coming out of there it`s Donald Ducked.
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