Con Rod Change On A 1.9d

[Penguin]

Hi

 

Had problems last night due to the floods. Think I may have got water in one of the cylinders as I forded a particularly deep bit of flooding. The car cut out, but I eventually managed to get it started but it was only running on, at most, 3 cylinders and producing large clouds of black smoke! Discussing this today with one of the guys at work (who knows a thing or two about engines), he reckons the conrod would have bent/broke due to not being able to compress the water in the cylinder.

 

How easy/expensive would this be to fix? As the car cost me £200 is it better just to write it off?

 

Cheers

 

Penguin

[Guest Colin Hunter]

Easiest bet is a replacement engine from a breaker. The con-rod won't have broken or it would be sticking out the side of the block. May have bent though due to the water ingress and if that's the case there may be other damage as well. If you have the facilities get under the car and take the sump off for a look.

 

Cheers

[Penguin]

Easiest bet is a replacement engine from a breaker. The con-rod won't have broken or it would be sticking out the side of the block. May have bent though due to the water ingress and if that's the case there may be other damage as well. If you have the facilities get under the car and take the sump off for a look.

 

Cheers

 

Thanks for the reply Colin. I don't have the facilities or knowledge to have a look myself and I reckon I'll be better off scrapping it and getting something else rather than getting the engine replaced. The car cost me £200 and it will be well in excess of that to get a replacement engine installed.

[Shemer]

Don't rush scrapping it yet.

 

Di you hear any strange noises coming from the engine ? if yes, then your motor is probably dead.

 

If not, first, Unplug the spark plugs, and try to start the engine. if water are coming out, keep starting until water flow stops.

 

As Colin suggested, take the sump out (after draining the oil and water), check for metal pieces, stuff like that.

 

If none, fill the engine with the cheapest oil you can find, put the spark plugs in (after cleaning them well), and try to start the engine.

 

If you managed to start, and no exssesive noise, bless your luck, let the engine run for an hour, change the oil and filter to proper ones, and keep going.

 

For the future - never attempt to start an engine which is suspected to be full with water/ coolant or what so ever.

 

It will cause an Hydrostatic lock, which usualy bends or breaks the con rod, and possibly other parts of the engine.

[iannez]

Penguin. where do you live mate. i have a zx estate standing doing nothing on the drive. its a 1.9d, its mot'd and the engine is 100% but the car wanders when driving and i dont have the time to sort it. thinking about sticking it on ebay but if you want it for the engine and other spares or even to repair yourself just give me a shout.

[Guest Colin Hunter]

Well Boys! That warms the cockles of me heart! Human nature is alive and well!!!!!!!

[Penguin]

Thanks for the info and offers guys. Shemer I assume you are talking about a petrol engine (re spark plugs) whereas this one is a diesel. The damage was already done before I tried to restart as it was misfiring before it cut out.

 

Iannez, thanks for the offer, I live in Torbay which is usually miles away from anyone! I don't have the equipment, space or know-how to change an engine myself and I'm thinking the costs may be prohibitive? Even if you are local (which is doubtful). But the offer really is appreciated though.

 

The car has done 165,000 and rattled quite a lot, the gearbox I think was nearing the end of its life as it was difficult to use particularly when cold so I'm not really sure the effort to revive it would be worthwhile even though the bodywork is in excellent condition considering its age.

[Guest Colin Hunter]

Aye! Cheapest option is probably to get another ZX and keep yours for spares! Have a look on Autotrader http://www.autotrader.co.uk and do a search. There are few on there cheap as chips! Later ZXs had almost fully galvanised bodywork so they'll go on for as long as you can be bothered to keep fixing them!

 

Cheers :D