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Posted

Hi all,

My dads got a 1.6 berlingo petrol. It's overheated and ground to a halt. Apparently the water pump failed.

The garage tells him there is no compression so I assumed the head has warped and it needs a skim and new gasket. Except he's being told something about Pistons expanding and potential catastrophic engine failure. Possibly even a hole in the block. The guy says it's an issue with this engine. Does any of this make sense?

Posted

Welcome to the forum.

 

Maybe the garage prefers to fit a replacement engine than repair the existing one, then there is more of a guarantee that any potential heat related damage is overcome. If the engine stopped due to it seizing then there may well be damage to the pistons and cylinder bores and possibly bearings and crankshaft. The only way to check what damage has been caused will be to remove the cylinder head and have a look, then the garage would be able to give a better estimate of the repair costs. If you have the car at home then you could do some tests yourself without incurring labour costs, such as see if the engine can be turned over, check for coolant in the engine oil, remove the cylinder head and have a look for damage in the cylinder bores and the pistons. You could enquire at a Citroen dealer to see what problems are common on this engine from overheating but a general internet search suggests there could be damage to the pistons and cylinder bores.

 

Cost wise I would suspect it may be lowest if you fit a second hand good engine (or depending on the age of your car just to scrap it and get another). This would limit the labour costs and you would know at the start how much it will cost whereas trying the repair route you will not know the cost until the engine is stripped down. As a minimum it would need a water pump, gasket set, timing belt, cylinder head checking for cracks and if ok possibly skimming but if not a replacement head, maybe new pistons/bearings/cylinder liners (if not a cast block), thermostat and coolant temp sensor since this must have failed otherwise there would have been a high temp warning to stop the car (unless this was ignored)

Posted

Thanks. Yes I guess if it seized that may explain it. It was on the motorway when it died. Unfortunately it's my Dad's runaround in Lanzarote so frustratingly I can't just pop round and take a look.

His mechanic has always been pretty trustworthy but the old man isn't as sharp as he once was and with that and the language issues I always worry people may try to take advantage.

Posted

Just thinking, if the water pump failed they usually just start to leak a bit which over time gets worse but if the coolant is not topped up the engine will overheat, but if the bearing in it failed the timing belt could have jumped and then the engine could have stopped if the pistons and valves met rather than the pistons expanding and seizing in the bores. This though would also need expensive repairs of valves/possibly valve guides but the pistons may be ok but it would give no compression on a test.

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