OT - Car advice needed

sorry for the off topic post but I was on my way into work this morning and my car seems to have died on me. One of the pipes that takes coolant to the engine has popped off, all the fluid gone everywhere and the engine has then overheated and seems to have seized up.

A lot of people now telling me that this means the car is dead which is a nightmare. I still owe a fair amount on my finance deal so if that is the car dead then I am screwed as I owe way more than I have in the bank.

Anyone know anything about cars on here that may be able to advise in any way as I am seriously stressing now as its not looking good and sounding expensive.

 

Might not be dead once it’s cooled pop the pipe back on put some clean water in for now try starting the engine if it runs and doesn’t leak then drain the system and use the correct antifreeze mix for the vehicle or take it to a garage you trust and let them look at it

 

thanks will try it

 

If it's not too far to work, get on your bike, it'll reduce your carbon footprint and make you fitter.

 

Its about 37 miles via A1 so may be a tad too far to go each day

 

Have you looked to see if there is oil in the radiator? If it is, it could be your head cylinder gasket blown. You can get a product you put in the engine to fix it, if that were the case. It worked for me once.

Good luck with it. I'm not a mechanic, but I've had a fair few older cars!

 

Don’t know the age of your car but I’d expect the ECU to detect that the engine is overheating and cut all power until its cooled down. Running a hot engine with no coolant would be catastrophic which is why most cars and bikes will cut the engine automatically to protect it. If you can get coolant during your lunch break fill it back up and assuming the engine has cooled down sufficiently it should start again ok.

 

Its a 14 plate and just before the car cut out a warning message appeared on the display. I have some coolant at home as luckily I recently ordered some.

 

I'm not a mechanic but have worked on all sorts of cars since my early twenties so here goes. First you need to make sure it is or isn't siezed, make sure ithe engine is cold, disconnect the battery ( very important for satety ), take out the plugs and number the leads so you know where they go later. Put a socket on the lower pully nut and try to turn the engine very slowly and carefully if it doesnt move or is very tight stop, put some thin oil or diesel into each bore via the plug holes and let it stand for a few hours and try to turn it again if it moves keep turning slowly and adding more oil as go. If it doesn't move it's deffo siezed and the best you can hope for is to find a garage that would put a second hand engine in for you. If you're lucky and it hasn't siezed then it's game on and a bit of work Connect the battery, leave the plugs out and put a rag over the plug holes to catch the oil or any water that may have got into the engine. turn the engine over on the key while listening for any nasty noises, if it doesn't turn over freely or their is nasty noises stop. The engine is probably ruined. If it turns freely with no nasty noises then it's good news and it's up to you how you proceed, if you want to carry on yourself then what I would do is this, Check the oil for water contamination and change if required along with the filter, refit the offending hose and fill with clean water, check the plugs for heat damage and change if needed and refit them, check all the hoses for tightness. Have a pint of beer to steady the nerves cross your fingers and try to start the car if it starts well done if not all is not lost as it obviously not siezed but the ignition timing could have been thrown out, the valve timing belt might have jumped a tooth or two or a number of other things, so I would send for a moblle tuner ( are their still such people ) to come and check it over with his equipment. Good luck, I've been there mate, it's not nice, thats why I started to educate myself as best I could to mend the bloody things. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks but I wouldn't trust myself to give that ago as I think it was me tinkering the other week that had lead to this issue to be honest so no one but myself to blame really. If the engine is seized its going to be a quick look on autotrader for a cheap runaround and this gets scrapped and I will have to just keep making my finance payments until its paid off.

 

You will have to tell the finance company if you scrap it as you don’t own the vehicle until it’s paid off

 

In that case I think you may well be ok. The ECU has detected a fault and cut the power to the engine to protect it. Fingers crossed it didn't get hot enough to warp the heads. Let us know how you get on but I think if you fill it back up with coolant ( not ever water) fingers crossed you’ll be ok

 

Sounds like a ballache and a lot riding on it. It seems a no brainer really- get a professional to look at it asap. Might cost you but in the long run may be cheaper than other scenarios.

 

its on a motor loan scheme, spoken to em earlier and essentially I have owned the car from day one just been paying this company monthly as I didn't have enough at the time to buy outright. If the engine is gone I will have to fund the new engine myself or buy a really cheap run around and scrap the current one and just keep paying the finance off.

 

Had it around 2 years I think, still a few years remaining - getting some help from my girlfriends dad, he works in motor trade so will have some contacts and also a good knowledge on what my next steps are in fixing/replacing the thing.

 

I wouldn’t use this. Can cause a lot of mess and damage in the long run. If it is the cylinder head... best getting them skimmed by a reliable garage.

 

Yea, I know what you mean, it's a bit easier than it sounds but if you've never worked on a car before it is daunting, maybe your girlfriends dad could have a look for you. Good luck mate