2009 i30cw CRDi carked it (potential head gasket)

[zatos99]

Hi All,

For about 6 years I have been raving about my i30, never had an issue beyond globes or minor electrical. BUT, coming home today, this happened...

• After a set of lights went green, I decided to give it some...as you do. As I crept past I believe 3000 revs, I heard what I thought was the death of my turbo, sounded like a short sharp whistle
• After laughing about it because someone told me a few weeks earlier that he thought the turbo was going bad just off the sound I said "No way mate, I'll bet you a beer it's not", I had stopped at another set of lights. I was thinking, 'ok no turbo, very little torque, don't expect a takeoff'
• As I went to accelerate, there was little to no power at all, accompanied by a thick white smoke out of the exhaust which f***ing stunk! Thinking it was overheating (gauge did not reflect this), I still wanted to get off the road ASAP, so i crept in 1st for 30m, then heard engine clunking so i turned the engine off and pushed it into a side street...lucky I was wearing high viz

Since then (about 3 hrs ago), I stumbled upon a post on here that describes very similar symptoms: 2010 crdi i30 cw head gasket, and have semi-concluded that I have a head gasket leak. However, I believe that every second that I left the car running after the first noise, was an exponential curve in money for repair. I believe the total time running after the noise was approx 2 mins 30 seconds, at which point I heard the clunking.

The clunking? I think it was the engine seizing up as i had left it running too long after the noise, and the coolant removed the lubrication effect of the oil, and friction began to cook the engine (causing the white smoke), which in turn caused a part to break, causing the clunking.

Cause and effect in full swing, just not the nicest example. Anyway, is what it is, let me know your thoughts and I will keep you informed as the circus begins

[Paolo5]

Gees! 
I hope that it is something simple!

[Dazzler]

Damn! Doesn't sound good.. I'm very good at understating the bleeding obvious. 

Certainly unlikely to be a cheap fix. 

[Paolo5]

Well there has to be at least one optimist on every forum! 

Hope your diesel is diagnosed and repaired soon.

[sundiz]

Was the exhaust smell "sweet"? Like burned sugar?

[zatos99]

Hi sundiz,

A brown sugar smell would've been lovely. My thick white smoke smelt like burning oil. I hadn't thought of gearbox until writing this reply. Considering that the coolant level is still fine, perhaps it's gearbox based. I was having issues getting it into gear sometimes (manual) after the car had been driving for 45 mins to an hour, so maybe a gear let go and blended the other gears🤷. Thoughts?

[Dazzler]

Sounds more motor related to me. I'd be looking out for a good cheap 2nd hand engine. Your only viable option for a cost effective repair. If the engine and gearbox are both stuffed then might as well leave her where she is and use her as a flower pot.   

[zatos99]

Ok, mechanic had a look...it's f***ed. He managed to get it running for a little while, but then the white smoke came back and heard the clunking. He concluded that it was a broken rod in the motor can then gave me some options:
1. Buy a replacement motor to be fitted. I have found one for $1000 with warranty, however the mechanic said he may have to replace other parts along the way e.g. radiator, turbo, so they don't ruin the "new" motor. The labour is expected to be approx 11 hrs and will cost more than the motor itself. Others have said that a replacement motor is like lucky dip and I should be careful.
2. Sell it to a scrapyard and get something else.

I want to hear your thoughts, I've never had to do something like this. Perhaps choose an option, why/why not and some advice? Appreciate any assistance in this sh*t either way decision making process. Cheers

[Paolo5]

Sorry to hear the really bad news...
Did the mechanic give you an idea of what could have caused this damage?

[sundiz]

Personally I would go with 2nd option.

No sense to put few thousand to car that is not much more worth when working, unless you really like that car. Might be worth if you did the work yourself.

[Covi30]

I want to hear your thoughts, I've never had to do something like this. Perhaps choose an option, why/why not and some advice? Appreciate any assistance in this sh*t either way decision making process. Cheers

@zatos99  you need some local advise will PM

[zatos99]

Update: I decided to change the motor, mostly for the learning experience. I have disconnected everything except axles so far, and found the cause of my problems...the turbo. It's badly beaten internally, and there was 3L of oil in the intercooler. Amongst a few mates the consensus is that pieces of the turbo got into the engine and caused major damage, hence the 'clunking' mentioned before. Nevertheless, I'll crack the head once it's out to see the damage and put some pictures on here for leisure.

[zatos99]

Update: "New" motor is in, and it runs!! I have never been so happy to hear the rattling diesel and whistling turbo that I so easily took for granted! Have been busy with work, so the motor change took place over 3 weeks, but for anyone wondering how long it would take if you went full ham on it, I'd say 2-4 full days. I add extra time as there will be several trips to auto parts stores and late nights where you just have to call it.

Once the wheels are back on, clutch line bled, and I know it rolls, i'll take the old engine apart as mentioned before to see what the damage really was. I did happen to find the turbo teeth in the bottom of the intercooler, looked like a silver version of museli hehe.

Side note, this has been extremely educational and i've discovered things under my hood I didn't know existed!

[Slade]

Very cool!

[zatos99]

Conclusion: I didn't need to buy another engine... That's hindsight for you.

Upon taking the engine apart to bits, there was no bent rod, no metal pieces, nothing like what I mentioned in the original post. All I found was oil. I spoke to a mechanic mate and he described it as oil lock, where there's so much oil in the cylinders that it can't turn as it's trying to compress an incompressible liquid. The hindsight fix? Take engine out, remove glow plugs and turn engine on side to drain. Yeh, that simple.

Regardless, i've learnt so much and have an infinitely higher level of respect and patience for the magic that happens under my hood everytime i turn the key, I think it was probably worth it for an AUD$850 engine. I also have some pistons on a shelf in my bedroom now, quite cool hehe. 

[Paolo5]

That is interesting....

Do you know how/why the oil gathered enough to cause this lock?

[zatos99]

My best guess is that when the turbo failed, the oil that flows through the turbo to cool it, was allowed to accumulate in the intercooler, making its way to the intake, and leaving the car going for 2.5 mins was perhaps enough to suck in a significant amount and lock it up

[BrendanP]

It could have been worse, the oil getting into the cylinders could have ignited and the engine run away until it flies apart. Indeed, if the engine was running and burning diesel I would expect that would promote the oil burning, unless the oil arrived in such large quantity that there wasn't enough air to combust with.

Can you put your old engine back together to sell on, or keep as a spare?

[sundiz]

There has been luck if the rods are still straight. Fluid in the cylinder can easily cause piston rod to bend.

[zatos99]

I cant put the engine back together because when I was taking the oil pan off, I snapped some s shape tube that was attached to the timing chain cover. Scrap metal is the most likely, unless I sell individual parts

[Covi30]

pity you didnt take my PM advice; whistle +power loss + smoke = stuffed turbo. another turbo is  all u needed.

Ok, mechanic had a look...it's f***ed. ... heard the clunking. He concluded that it was a broken rod in the motor

your so called mechanic  is a prat, his "broken rod" experience is limited to personal self infliction. 

[BrendanP]

Taking the engine out to drain oil from the cylinders seems a but excessive. Wouldn't it be easier to leave it in-situ, remove the injectors, and suck any oil out from the top of the piston using some plastic tubing?

[zatos99]

I mean you could give it a go. The workshop manual speaks of removing the injectors as if it were a sin but I managed to transfer the ones from the old engine to the new one no dramas so I guess that'd work

[sundiz]

If you change injectors they should be coded to ECU for best performance. But if ECU is same and injectors went to same cylinders, it should be ok.