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Engine not running and mechanic says "engine replacement"

2555 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  letsdriftmedia
Hi guys so i lend my friend my car for a month, 2 days later, white smoke starts coming out untill it stopped and just wouldnt start again, mechanic says new engine, i say new headgasket, but would fixing the head gasket
Get it starting again
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If the head gasket went bad, it might cost the same to just replace the engine. Plus, if other parts were damaged, the head gasket replacement wouldn't cover the rest.
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Same thing just happened to my daughter's car. Interested in what you have found out and what decision you have made regarding the car.
If the head gasket went bad, it might cost the same to just replace the engine. Plus, if other parts were damaged, the head gasket replacement wouldn't cover the rest.
My best option right now is to a headgasket kit and a rebuild kit and have it as a project to rebuild the engine myself, ive done it before on a mazda V6 this shouldnt be hard, since its just a 1.8L engine, rebuild kit will cost me 700$, and free labor since im doing it myself

Same thing just happened to my daughter's car. Interested in what you have found out and what decision you have made regarding the car.
Im rebuilding the engine myself
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Hi guys so i lend my friend my car for a month, 2 days later, white smoke starts coming out untill it stopped and just wouldnt start again, mechanic says new engine, i say new headgasket, but would fixing the head gasket
Get it starting again
White smoke is likely to be water vapour. Can you do a pressure test on your radiator? What is the water level like in the radiator? Suggests radiator water is getting into your engine hence replacing the head gasket. Do a compression test on each cylinder to see if water is getting in via the head gasket. If you can get a code reader, see what that says too. Head gasket replacement would be the cheaper option - if thats where the leak is.
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Hi guys so i lend my friend my car for a month, 2 days later, white smoke starts coming out untill it stopped and just wouldnt start again, mechanic says new engine, i say new headgasket, but would fixing the head gasket
Get it starting again
Try to spin the crank manually, If it turns freely motor is most likely fine. These engines are known for head gasket failures, And once so many codes are thrown the car is not going to allow the engine to start to prevent further damage. If you can turn the motor by hand id say head gasket. If the coolant reservoir is empty then for sure head gasket. Ive replaced headgaskets on Prius' that had been far overheated and ran fine for miles after the repair.
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Try to spin the crank manually, If it turns freely motor is most likely fine. These engines are known for head gasket failures, And once so many codes are thrown the car is not going to allow the engine to start to prevent further damage. If you can turn the motor by hand id say head gasket. If the coolant reservoir is empty then for sure head gasket. Ive replaced headgaskets on Prius' that had been far overheated and ran fine for miles after the repair.
Did changing the HG work and how many mile did you run on the replaced HG? how long was the HG replacement. Working on Mine Memorial day Weekend. Cheers!
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Did changing the HG work and how many mile did you run on the replaced HG? how long was the HG replacement. Working on Mine Memorial day Weekend. Cheers!
On my personal one I put 15k on it before giving it to a family member. I didnt even resurface the head, We never resurfaced the head when I worked at the dealer either. I put a full DIY how to video in the engine thread if you need to reference it.
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On my personal one I put 15k on it before giving it to a family member. I didn't even resurface the head, We never resurfaced the head when I worked at the dealer either. I put a full DIY how to video in the engine thread if you need to reference it.
Thanks, can you reference that link?
Thanks, can you reference that link?
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