I May Have Ruined An Engine

JadeyBlitzen · June 11, 2009

I was having a wicked day in colombo when i noticed a tiny oil leak. just below the front bumper

so i opened the bonnet and inspected the whole engine bay. and weirdly all the oil seemed be leaking out of the radiator reserve tank. so i popped the radiator cap expecting the worst. and i was right. oil started gushing out of the top

so i'm guessing the gaskets are ruined from inside the engine. mixing oil with coolant. i'll know for sure tomorrow morning.

what i'm trying to figure out is how this happened. first of all this engine (a toyota 2c) was rebuilt a month ago. and i heard after the build the mechanic topped up the engine with 6 L of oil claiming its a new engine and since the engine was empty more oil was needed than the standard 4.5 L capacity to reach the f mark on the dipstick.

i was also told to drive a bit gingerly for the first few thousand kms. which i perfectly understood as the engine needs to be run in. however i must admit i've revved it over 3000 rpm quite a few times (the redlines at 5200). which i dont think would have had any effect on this.

my idea is it would have been

a ) some poor quality gasket

b ) having too much oil in the engine

what do you guys think?

GTAm · June 11, 2009

6L sound like a lot for a 2c. ......

That said going over 3000rpm could not be healthy for a recently built engine.

Was the head fazed before the gasket went on? Maybe it wasn't a good job. Did they pressure check the head and block (water jacket) for hairline cracks?

Could be so many reasons. My sympathies, I know how you feel. Had this experience repeatedly on a Mazda van we had and a couple of times on my VW Jetta D.

JadeyBlitzen · June 11, 2009

GTAm said:
6L sound like a lot for a 2c. ......
That said going over 3000rpm could not be healthy for a recently built engine.

Was the head fazed before the gasket went on? Maybe it wasn't a good job. Did they pressure check the head and block (water jacket) for hairline cracks?

Could be so many reasons. My sympathies, I know how you feel. Had this experience repeatedly on a Mazda van we had and a couple of times on my VW Jetta D.

well its done 1000 kms since the build. and i could feel the performance getting better and better. and it still feels the same. i just poured water into the radiator and the reserve tank to flush out the oil. and the engine still had more than 3/4ths of oil left. and we got home with no problems whatsoever. even the temp gauge was reading ok.

can you please explain a bit more about why its important to go easy on the engine during the run in period? and how hard revving could damage the engine?

thanks!

Mani · June 12, 2009

Better than average chance that your head gasket is blown. The main cause is either it was installed wrong or the head bolts were not tightened properly.

charitha19 · June 12, 2009

well i a did an engine rebuilt recently too.. mine had clocked over 300K.. i was told not to rev over 2500 latest... since i had a shift light i adjusted it to signal me so i was on my guard.. they told me to stay under that amount for atleast a 1000KM's... think i agree with mani here.. and about the oil.. when u do a rebuid usually they put a better oil than standard.. because the engine isnt lubricated at all.. so i am wondering wheather they did that... what i meant from a a better oil is a better grade... so that the lubrication and protection is much more in the run in period...

run in period is very important if u just did ur engine.... but if it was just a couple of times u took over 3000 then pretty sure its the job they did....

shanX · June 12, 2009

Guys just an off topic question from a n00b....

Replacing the head gasket and stuff should be considered as rebuilding an engine?

Mani · June 12, 2009

Generally rebuilding an engine involves a little more. Pistons, rings, block work, bearing etc...

GTAm · June 12, 2009

JadeyBlitzen said:
well its done 1000 kms since the build. and i could feel the performance getting better and better. and it still feels the same. i just poured water into the radiator and the reserve tank to flush out the oil. and the engine still had more than 3/4ths of oil left. and we got home with no problems whatsoever. even the temp gauge was reading ok.
can you please explain a bit more about why its important to go easy on the engine during the run in period? and how hard revving could damage the engine?

thanks!

Hmmmmm so you did the running in before going above 3000rpm...... So maybe your engine has not gone bust after all. Maybe its the oil that spilt into the water jacket during the rebuild?

Running in - In Garage speak - "Okkoma set wenakan arrinna hondha naha" What needs to happens is that the pistons and bore/sleeves have to bed in. High revving could damage the sleeve/bore. On the other hand the tolerances between piston/rings and bore/sleeve can be made higher when putting the engine together. This would eliminate the need to "run-in".

"Gaththa gaman arrinna puluwan"

But this will obviously reduce the life span of the engine.

Good luck and do let us know what happens.

JadeyBlitzen · June 12, 2009

thanks a lot for your advice guys! the problem is sorted

it turned out to be the oil cooler at the base of the oil filter. the mechanic was confident his work on the engine was good so we dismantled the oil cooler and was about to replace its gasket cos it looked bad. but then we accidentally discovered a microscopic hole behind a rubber seal on the body of the cooler. so we replaced it and everythings fine now.

i guess the problem was the engine was running at its full potential once again. and the components that weakened with the engine before the rebuild suddenly had to withstand higher forces. i wonder what will go next