engine problems

Submitted: Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 12:27

ThreadID: 40460 Views:1791 Replies:1 FollowUps:3

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ev700

While mate is o'seas, he has left his Mazda diesel ute with me to move rubbish. It is about 6 years old and has 180000 on the clock.

When doing the usual pre-drive check I found fine droplets of dark oil in the radiator water and inside the radiator cap. The water was down a bit and there was no sign of coolant additive. I topped it up.

The crankcase oil was pitch black and low - I topped it up. The motor ran OK but was rough in stopping when when the ignition was turned off. Started again easily.

Cannot contact mate who is travelling however I think he said before departing that the head gasket had been replaced.

I saw it running when hot and there was no obvious smoke from the exhaust.

Piston or leak through water pump? Any check I can do?

Thanks in advance

EV700

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Reply By: Snowy 3.0iTD - Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 12:53

Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 12:53

Top up the coolant, also locate the crankcase breather and give the discharge end a clean. Run it hard for half-an hour or so. If it gets hot and boils out your coolant head gasket would be the most likely cause. If you find a milky/oily discharge around the crankcase breather, then you would have to look at where oil and water come within close proximety, transmission oil cooler?

Cheers

Snowy

AnswerID: 210964

Follow Up By: ev700 - Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 13:34

Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 13:34

Snowy

Thanks, will check the crankcase breather.

I ended up giving it a run this am for around 8 km @ 60 kph and no sign of overheating. It is a manual. Starts easily when at running temp as well as when cold.

Any reason why it would stop with a few final 'clunks' from the engine when the ignition is turned off? Same sort of clunking noise you'd get from a petrol engine if you gave it a little extra gas when turning off engine.

EV700

FollowupID: 471009

Follow Up By: Snowy 3.0iTD - Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 14:50

Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 14:50

EV700

If it gives a final couple of clunks when you turn it off it may be running on the oil leaking in to the cylinder, but if not running smoky normally I don't think it is a hole in your piston or stuffed rings. Take the dipstick out and rev the engine a couple of times, on older engines you will probably get a little bit of oil out of the dipstick tube, but if you get a large squirt it is pressurising the crankcase and will most likely be a hole in the piston or badly worn rings. If not you could also try taking the thermostat out and then leaving the radiator cap off, repeating the process to see if you get pressure surges in the cooling system when you rev the engine. Beyond this without seeing it I don't know and you may have to run it in to a mechanic for a second opinion

FollowupID: 471024