Urgent Help! Engine!

[caaznkid]

How can I tell if my engine is still salvageable? It got overheated and....now it idles horribly when I try to start it. Had to tow it back home. Help anybody? :(

[jlevie]

It is entirely possible that the overheat caused the head gasket to fail. If that is all that's wrong the engine is probably salvagable. A compression test might be illuminating.

[caaznkid]

So what do you expect me to do at this point?

[aschmidt]

It is entirely possible that the overheat caused the head gasket to fail. If that is all that's wrong the engine is probably salvagable. A compression test might be illuminating.

Hey, I'm Caaznkid's friend. With what you said in mind, the oil doesn't have a milky color to it and I don't see any oil in the coolant...so do you think that it might just be a failed head gasket? It seems like we're going to have to pull the head to see anyway, but what do you think?

[winstontj]

It is entirely possible that the overheat caused the head gasket to fail. If that is all that's wrong the engine is probably salvagable. A compression test might be illuminating.

+1

Go to any parts store and grab yourself a $20 compression gauge. Pull all the plugs and do a compression test. make sure the throttle is wide open (WOT) and all the plugs are out. Look for all cylinders to be within 5% of eachother. If any one cyl is more than 10% off than you have an issue. Also you can put a few drops of oil into the plug holes to seal the rings and see if the numbers go up. This will give you an idea of how the rings vs. valves are. I see no need for you to just start tearing things apart unless you know there is a problem. Also if I were you I'd change the oil....

So what do you expect me to do at this point?

Not trying to be rude here.... I expect you to fix your car. Either tow it to a mechanic and have it checked out or buy a manual and figure out how to fix it.

How hot did it get? How long did it run hot? Why did it overheat?

Change your oil, filter, buy new Bosch W8LCR spark plugs... DO NOT BUY PLATINUM PLUGS. Put a fuel addative in the tank, fill with decent fuel and drive. It's entirely possible that nothing is wrong and its all in your head...

Again, why did it overheat, how hot did it get, how long was it hot???

[aschmidt]

+1

Go to any parts store and grab yourself a $20 compression gauge. Pull all the plugs and do a compression test. make sure the throttle is wide open (WOT) and all the plugs are out. Look for all cylinders to be within 5% of eachother. If any one cyl is more than 10% off than you have an issue. Also you can put a few drops of oil into the plug holes to seal the rings and see if the numbers go up. This will give you an idea of how the rings vs. valves are. I see no need for you to just start tearing things apart unless you know there is a problem. Also if I were you I'd change the oil....


Not trying to be rude here.... I expect you to fix your car. Either tow it to a mechanic and have it checked out or buy a manual and figure out how to fix it.

How hot did it get? How long did it run hot? Why did it overheat?

Change your oil, filter, buy new Bosch W8LCR spark plugs... DO NOT BUY PLATINUM PLUGS. Put a fuel addative in the tank, fill with decent fuel and drive. It's entirely possible that nothing is wrong and its all in your head...

Again, why did it overheat, how hot did it get, how long was it hot???

I'll get the compression gauge for sure. It got pretty hot. We drove down about an hour to pick up the car, then drove it back up. After that I drove about an hour north and then it started smoking on the way back and broke down on the freeway. There was oil leaking through the valve cover gasket and steam coming out of the coolant reservoir.

We already replaced the valve cover gasket and changed the oil/oil filter. The idle is SUPER rough. I have to keep the acceleration pedal down to keep the car alive, or it just stalls. It feels like it's really fighting to stay running. I checked the hoses and it doesn't seem like a vacuum leak is the problem.

Why do you suggest new spark plugs would help? Would that really make the rough idle go away?

Thanks again for the input!

[caaznkid]

Oh yeah....we also found this coolant hose that is completely detached from where it's supposed to be. Does that have to do with anything?

[winstontj]

OK first thing first. If I were a betting man I'd bet that your detached hose is the culprit as far as overheating goes. Check over your ENTIRE cooling system to ensure nothing is leaking. So you drove the car with the hose detached or did it fall off?

I suggested plugs because they fall under a broader umbrella of general tuneup. Many guys believe that when it comes to plugs more expensive is better. McParts stores sell you the idea that platinum +10000000 plugs are better when in fact for our cars they are not. The right plug can make a huge difference while the wrong one can cause rough idle, pinging (pre ignition), poor fuel consumption, warm or hot runnung, etc.

Whenever I buy a new car I take the time to bring it into a known good state of tune. I would reccomend inspecting the motor (valves, rings and compression) then address some of the cooling issues, tune up next, adjust your valves, check your motor & trans mounts, ball joints & drive it.

You could have done many things so start with the easy (cheap) ones and go from there.

BTW I got your PM. Hope this answers your questions.

[aschmidt]

Alright, I'll check into that stuff. I'm more concerned at the moment with getting the car running at all though. I'm sure spark plugs would help if his current ones were tired, but I don't see it completely helping the problem at hand (I will replace them anyway though, thank you).

As far as the coolant line goes, it was completely rusted off from somewhere on the block. I'm sure it happened quite some time ago. After the car overheated and got towed to my place, I checked the coolant reservoir and it was very empty. I'm assuming the leak from the disconnected line was what caused the overheating, like you said.

Does anyone else have any further suggestions as to what might fix the problem? Thanks again for your help!

[Ablice]

I'll get the compression gauge for sure. It got pretty hot. We drove down about an hour to pick up the car, then drove it back up. After that I drove about an hour north and then it started smoking on the way back and broke down on the freeway. There was oil leaking through the valve cover gasket and steam coming out of the coolant reservoir.

We already replaced the valve cover gasket and changed the oil/oil filter. The idle is SUPER rough. I have to keep the acceleration pedal down to keep the car alive, or it just stalls. It feels like it's really fighting to stay running. I checked the hoses and it doesn't seem like a vacuum leak is the problem.

Why do you suggest new spark plugs would help? Would that really make the rough idle go away?

Thanks again for the input!

New spark plugs could help rough idle if they're badly damaged or worn out. Otherwise, if they'll still good, it won't.

*stifles laughter, I can't help it* Was the coolant gauge working by any means? Somebody wasn't watching it? Or maybe the common problem of a flickering gauge? When my 325e snapped the belt and I had to get home I would let it run until just under the red mark, then pull over and shut it off, wait 45+ minutes, and try again. At that point the coolant was steaming out the coolant overflow tube.

However, if you say oil was oozing out the valve cover gasket, I believe you have engine damage. Normal temps even at the 3/4 mark don't do that (max I've had my 325is, and it didn't spit out coolant or anything) and my 325e didn't do that when I had run it hot. Did it run fine before the overheating? Could mean a number of things...first things that come to mind is headgasket, followed by warped head...

A motor swap from a 325i or M50/M52/S50/S52 could be worthwhile.

[aschmidt]

New spark plugs could help rough idle if they're badly damaged or worn out. Otherwise, if they'll still good, it won't.

*stifles laughter, I can't help it* Was the coolant gauge working by any means? Somebody wasn't watching it? Or maybe the common problem of a flickering gauge? When my 325e snapped the belt and I had to get home I would let it run until just under the red mark, then pull over and shut it off, wait 45+ minutes, and try again. At that point the coolant was steaming out the coolant overflow tube.

However, if you say oil was oozing out the valve cover gasket, I believe you have engine damage. Normal temps even at the 3/4 mark don't do that (max I've had my 325is, and it didn't spit out coolant or anything) and my 325e didn't do that when I had run it hot. Did it run fine before the overheating? Could mean a number of things...first things that come to mind is headgasket, followed by warped head...

A motor swap from a 325i or M50/M52/S50/S52 could be worthwhile.

There is a possibility that the oil leak was unrelated to the problem, but it probably had something to do with it. I think we're going to be swapping an i motor in there anyways, but thank you for your help!

[Inoka]

Does it run, what's the status?

In addition to the above, I would double check the breather hose. If it's not on it can cause a car to idle off. Same goes with air flow meter and Idle control valve connections. (the wires going to them).
Finishing some other work, I got WD40 on the oxygen sensor (connected to the exhaust) and I had to get the engine warm before it would idle on it's own.
Use a Bently manual and double check all connections.
Hope that helps.