Hi guys - Newbie poster here but I have been looking round the site for quite a while and its full of great info imho.
I am however in need of some assistance. Last Monday whilst travelling around the north side of the M25 I experienced what can only be described as the most rapid engine failure I've ever seen.
I was cruising at approximately 90mph (6am in the morning) when I suddenly detected a loud tapping noise from the engine. Thinking christ what the hell is that I prepared to pull over to the hard shoulder. Within the space of what could only have been no more than 10 seconds the engine blew and I coasted to the hard shoulder instead.
Quick inspection in the engine bay revealed loads of steam/smoke and a trail of oil accross the motorway and under the car.
I know for a fact that the car had plently of oil as I had only checked it the day before and there where absolutely no warnings as far as the dash was concerned. No rise in temps or low oil pressure warning. The engine is an 2000 model and had only done 30,000 miles
I have read a lot about the pre cat failures in the forum is it possible this may have been the cause as the noise the engine was making sounded like a bent or stuck valve.
The Car is back with Toyota at the moment as it was still under 12 months warranty, which no doubt they will try and pin on me so that they can get out of doing anything.
Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Mate,
If its under a warranty, forget about it. They will just replace the parts that have failed, probably a short block, which has been the main engine problem.
Hope you get it sorted.
Cheers
Darren J
Quote from: "Beastie"I have read a lot about the pre cat failures in the forum is it possible this may have been the cause as the noise the engine was making sounded like a bent or stuck valve.
The loud knocking could've been a dying bearing as well...
No one really knows for sure what actually happens when the precats fail and it might not be the same every time. One guess (I guess I can say guess) is that parts of precat get sucked into the engine, which then scrape the cylinder walls, which causes massive oil consumption, which can cause just about anything. Bearings are usually one of the first parts that fail without oil.
But since you have warranty, they should fix it without any mumbling. You might wanna print some threads about these failures in here and Spyderchat if they blame it on you.
A trail of oil on the ground sounds to me rather worse than the 'usual' problem of the engine running low on oil & power and lunching itself..
Sounds more like either a breather has blown off and pumped oil out, or a rod has ejected itself out the side of the block..
Or something 'silly', like the sump plug not being put back in properly, unwinding itself and then the engine running out of oil (hence the ticking/knocking noise)..
Tricky to diagnose without seeing the engine really - but at least it's in warranty, fingers crossed that Toyota stump up for it.
Thanks for the help and support guys
I just hope that you are right about the warranty as they waited for my permission to strip the engine stating that if its my fault I get to pay for the labour. Which to me is basically implying that its all my fault or maybe I'm being paranoid.
Mind you they still left me to sort out my own hire car etc and didn't offer a courtesy car
Anyway fingers crossed
Hi,
you don't say what warranty you have ? is it the extended warranty offered after the 3 year one expires, or is it a dealer type warranty (is it actually a toyota Dealer you purchased it from?)
If it's the extended warranty (i.e. 1 or 2 year £500) one then once they agree to do the work, you are entitled to a loan car after 2 days of the car being off the road (or something very close to that).
As for permission, thats a normal request, as long as you did everything you could, i.e. check oil, water, etc, etc on a regular basis, then it would seem you will not be a fault, it seems you have had some kind of catastrophic failure of something, which you could not have forseen.
As long as you are within a service interval and above and in warranty, they will have a hard time pinning it on you.
Plus, they already know the early blocks had issues, oval wear of the cylinders, oil loss into the pre cats, cat and eventual failure of all three components, so with all that said, you should be able to get it all sorted soon.
Fingers crossed.
Cheers
Darren J
Car was purchased from a Toyota dealer and came with a 12 month Toyota warranty covering all the usuals except wear and tear. Car was due for a service but they couldn't fit me in until the end of the month so they can hardly blame me for that.
Hi Beastie,
you have done everything you can, I am sure they will come up with a solution for you.
Let us all know how you get on.
Cheers
Darren J
What was your average speed around the motorway and were you at wide open throttle when the noise started?
I wouldn't be surprised if you check the pre-cats that they are all still intact. It sounds like you have had the crank bearing fault that has happened to many others including myself.
If you were high up the rpms when this happened then the crank could have punctured the block leading to massive oil loss & smoke etc...
If this is the case then you will need a brand new engine as everything will have got chewed up.
Found out today what the cause of the engine failure was or at least what they think it was. The service guy I spoke to seemed to believe it was either a stuck or bent valve which had been smashed into by the piston or the crank bearing had failed allowing the piston the smack into the valves. Either way the lower half of the engine is deceased as there is a rod sticking out the side of it and no piston left s:( :( s:(
The Toyota warranty man is supposed to be turning up at the garage tomorrow to assess what should be replaced, so fingers crossed I may get a whole new engine out of it.
Quote from: "Beastie"The Toyota warranty man is supposed to be turning up at the garage tomorrow to assess what should be replaced, so fingers crossed I may get a whole new engine out of it.
I'd love to hear the conversation between him and the Toyota mechanics.. I can imagine it now:
Warranty Man: "So, what do we have to replace?"
Mechanic: "The whole engine"
WM: "Are you sure? Can't we salvage the block, hone the bores?"
M: "There's a hole in the side of it and a con rod hanging out.."
WM: "Yes, but are you
sure we can't salvage it? Can't we just patch the hole with something?"
M: "No."
WM: "Ok, so, can we salvage the head?"
....
Still, with any luck it sounds like you'll get a shiny new engine - so, all's well that ends well s:) :) s:)
I wonder if it would be cheeky to ask for a free service s:) :) s:)
Engine is due in to the dealership on Thursday could possible have car back by Friday or Monday. Only three weeks from breakdown to being repaired, just in time for the sun to disapear s:( :( s:(
At least the garage where generous enough to point out that my clutch plate is worn down to the rivets (showed me) and to only charge me for the parts not the labour.
A word of warning after checking the FAQ on Toyota's site. They do not as part of the warranty have to supply a replacement vehicle whilst yours is of the road.
Hi,
Extended Warranty Quote:
Vehicle hire (UK only))
If your vehicle is in the workshop being repaired following a mechanical or electrial breakdown warranted under this warranty and cannot be driven, you can receive vehicle hire for up to 5 days (after an inital 24 hour period, which is not warranted) at upto £45 per day inc of VAT. You will be required to produce an original receipt and an oringal rental agreement from a rental company.
(Page 3 of Warranty document).
Cheers
Darren J
Quote from: "Beastie"the crank bearing had failed allowing the piston the smack into the valves. Either way the lower half of the engine is deceased as there is a rod sticking out the side of it and no piston left s:( :( s:(
What did i say, everytime it has been a crank bearing issue on these engines.