Stuffed engine

[ytt105]

Looks like I've stuffed my engine!

Thread below about noisy injector now turns out to be buggered gudgen pin or big end.

Some 'idiot' changed the oil filter 10,000kms ago and didn't put the filter cartridge spigot into the hole properly.

That 'idiot' would be me....


Two mechanics have confirmed the diagnosis.

Any idea about costs of a rebuild, anyone suitable in Canberra or Sydney?

[Rich84]

Ouch, that's tough mate!! I can't believe the engine still lasted 10,000km like that!


How exactly did you install the filter? Into the housing first?


Pricing for a new engine IIRC is from around $10K drive in-drive out. I have heard it going to $20K but I assume that was worst case - ie warranty work.


Good luck with it mate!


I also noticed this TDV6 engine on ebay - http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XTD V6&_nkw=TDV6&_sacat=0&_from=R40

[BobD]

Sorry to hear about your engine and your part in it. I must admit that when you mentioned the squashed bit in your oil filter I thought that there must be an oil problem causing engine damage and hence the ticking noise. There was a TDV6 D3 at Rovertech a couple of months ago making the same sort of ticking sound you described and the mechanic told me that it ran out of oil when the owner didn't put the oil filter on properly.

Bob

[chuck]

YTT 105

Have you investigated your insurance policy.

From what you have described it is accidental damage.

It would be no different to putting the wrong fuel in & blowing the motor or driving it in to water that is to deep.

Perhaps get someone with a legal mind to read your insurance terms & conditions before you make a claim.

[~Rich~]

Not the first and won't be the last.
DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Another engine bites the dust... (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic106349.html)
I doubt you have any call back on insurance seeing the cause was not done by a mechanical workshop / licensed mechanic.
But good luck with it.

[101RRS]

Two mechanics have confirmed the diagnosis.

Any idea about costs of a rebuild, anyone suitable in Canberra or Sydney?

Where did you take it to get it checked??

Supposedly new bearing shells are available but service providers on the Disco 3 UK site indicate that they cannot get them. You might have to get a new long engine or get a used engine but then you might end up with the same issue.

However how an engine with a main/big end or gudgeon gone is still able to travel over 800km while towing 2tonne at highway cruising speed does seem a bit hard to comprehend.

I would be getting advice from someone who knows and there is no one in Canberra who I would trust to provide that advice - one of the indies in Sydney should be able to advise however the question is then how do you get the car up there.

Garry

[ytt105]

An update on my 'stuffed' engine.

Still going fine, if I was deaf I wouldn't have a problem!

Took the sump off yesterday. Very easy job, just a dozen 8mm bolts and its off. You can't see anything of the underside of the engine though, you have to take A LOT MORE OFF to get up that far.

Check the sump and there was virtually NO metal bits in there at all.

I say virtually because I could see a couple of dozen 'golden' specks but I showed it to the 'technicians' at the Landrover dealer and they said it was less than could be expected for 130,000kms.

If the bearings are gone there should be metal, not so with the gudgeon pins though.

Said dealer also spent some time listening and probing and doesn't think the engine is stuffed.

His thinking is injectors.

So, in a couple of weeks, they will get it for a few hours to take out the injectors and poke a camera inside to have a look.

Funny how a couple of grand for injectors sounds so much better than a new engine.

I've had quotes of between $6,500 and $8,800 for a 2nd hand engine to $12,400 for a complete new engine. Remove/replace seems to be anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 plus.

Also, Gary the original diagnosis of gudgeon pin was done by a Bosch mechanic in Fyshwick and I have to say I was very impressed with the local dealers attitude.

Hopefully they will find something cheap!

[101RRS]

As I said to drive the distances you did after the noise started does not sound like bearings at all or gudgeon pins etc - the engine would have died with a broken crankshaft before you got to Melbourne. Likewise if the oil filter was cutting supply of oil - the engine would have died soon after installation.

TerryO had to get work done on his engine and the mechanic found either bearing cap or main bolts loose so while your sump is off get the torque on these checked.

[ytt105]

You can't get to the caps without a lot more work.

When the sump is off all you can see is a cast plate, and the oil pickup which looked fine, sort of like the underside of an auto after removal of the pan.

[Graeme]

As I said to drive the distances you did after the noise started does not sound like bearings at all or gudgeon pins etc - the engine would have died with a broken crankshaft before you got to Melbourne.Loose gudgeon pins will rattle away for ages as long as the pins can't move and wear the bore. Insufficient oil pressure is likely to reduce the sprays from the piston cooling jets so its quite conceivable that gudgeon bearings and piston skirts could wear significantly over the time but not haved been damaged enough to sieze the engine. However a faulty injector would be good to hope for.

[ytt105]

Did another test today.

Removed the fuel pump relay and turned motor over via starter.

NO NOISE!

So, I'm now thinking its definitely fuel related.

When running you can hear the noise at the fuel rail and at the fuel pressure sensor.

Does anyone know if you can get this sensor without buying a complete HPFP?

[101RRS]

There are some who will always look for the worst scenario but in my experience it is best to eliminate the easiest and simplest first - you are back to your original thoughts - I would fix or eliminate that first as you now seem to want to do.

I have never used Cooma Diesel Service in Fyshwick - I do not know what they are like but I understand they do know their diesels both old and new. They are the owners of Waterwatch in Aust.

Good luck with it.

Garry

[chuck]

Sounds like good news - hope it continues.

[Rich84]

Sounds encouraging... Normally I'm the first to suggest that it might be anything other than a dead engine too, but as mentioned on the UK forum, most of the dead engines appear to have happened for this reason (oil filter not installed correctly).


A good mate of mine had his Patrol 4.2 petrol die from oil starvation (no oil at all, forgot to check it) and it developed a rod knock while we were driving it. We stopped the engine and got another mate to pick us up. Returned, filled the engine with oil and drove the car home. The car would run fine and probably would've gone a lot longer, but it had a very audible rattle at around 2000-3000rpm. We weren't game to take it higher than that!! Worth noting that it was completely quiet when turning on and idling, just when it reached 2K it became noisy.


Hopefully this isn't your situation... fingers crossed.