| Slant Six Forum https://www.slantsix.org/forum/ |
|
| What happened to my slant 6? https://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3369 |
Page 1 of 1 |
| Author: | Giles Harney [ Mon Mar 18, 2002 7:01 am ] |
| Post subject: | What happened to my slant 6? |
I found this forum after doing a search for slant 6 message forums. Here is my story; I have a '77 Dodge Aspen with 77K miles. Was driving home the other day and felt the engine stutter. I looked at the fuel gauge and wasnt out of gas. Looked at the temp gauge and noticed it was pegged past the H. Before I could pull over the engine quit and the red oil light came on. I was able to coast off to the side of the road. Upon opening the coolant cover I noticed it was nearly empty. I did have water with me and was able to fill it back up. Several minutes later I noticed it was nearly empty again. I waited about a half hour for the temp gauge to return back to C and tried starting her up. It would turn over (as best I could tell) but no ignition. I had to get it towed. The mechanic said it probably "seized." I am very fond of this and would hate to to have to junk it. Keeping in mind that I am not too mechanically knowledgeable, but my brother is a mechanic at a local dealership, my questions are; -What probably happened to the engine? -Is it fixable? -Worst case, what would need to be done to get the car back on the road again? -How can I go about finding a replacement engine that is of the same type? Thanks! -Giles gharney@yahoo.com |
|
| Author: | Gary [ Mon Mar 18, 2002 8:22 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What happened to my slant 6? |
The answer is anything could have happened. It could be as little as nothing, or as bad as nearly everything. It all depends on how long it ran in an overheated condition, and if it got oil during this time. When metal overheats, it expands and can warp or crack in severe situations. The most common failures I've seen from overheated engines occur when oil stops reaching critical surfaces. Bearings can spin and gouge crankshafts, piston walls can scuff and pistons can melt or break. Overheated heads can crack and valves can warp. If your car was turning over and you didn't hear strange noises while it was turning, you might not have severely damaged things like the crankshaft. It's hard to say if your starting problem is directly related to the overheat condition. It might not be. Is it firing at all? The fact that you had water with you makes me think you have been losing water before the "big one" happened. If you didn't have an external leak, it was likely a head gasket or cracked head causing the problem. If the gasket finally failed, and water got into your cylinders, you could have bent rods or jumped timing chain among your problems. Engines for your car are easy to find, but probably not in the mileage range you had on yours. Take it your brother and let him pull the plugs as a first and quick check. That will tell you a lot about possible internal damage. Let us know what he finds. lancer_41@excite.com |
|
| Author: | Giles Harney [ Mon Mar 18, 2002 8:56 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What happened to my slant 6? |
Hi Gary, thanks for the quick reply! My comments below. Quote:
: : It all depends on how long it ran in an : overheated condition, and if it got oil during : this time. I didnt notice the overheating condition until it happened. I was on the road for no more than 15 minutes total. Time between when engine first started to sputter and when it shutdown was about 2 minutes. : : If your car was turning over and you didn't : hear strange noises while it was turning, you : might not have severely damaged things like : the crankshaft. i noticed an occasional sputter and loss of power within a 30 second period and then it died. : : It's hard to say if your starting problem is : directly related to the overheat condition. : It might not be. Is it firing at all? i hear the starter turning, and can see the belts turn... however there is a very noticeable difference in sound as compared to when starting it prior to this happening. almost like a grinding sound... (cant be good). Definitely didnt feel any ignition. : : The fact that you had water with you makes me : think you have been losing water before the : "big one" happened. i omitted the part on how I got the water. lucky for me a power company truck was doing work just in front of where I pulled over. they had a cooler full of water... the one thing i forgot to ask, where did the water go from the coolant tank after i refilled it, and how? the engine wasnt running.... i did not observe any water on the ground as well. : : Engines for your car are easy to find, but : probably not in the mileage range you had on : yours. should I start calling junk yards? : : Take it your brother and let him pull the plugs : as a first and quick check. That will tell : you a lot about possible internal damage. : Let us know what he finds. will do and thanks! gharney@yahoo.com |
|
| Author: | Doc. [ Mon Mar 18, 2002 10:23 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fried slant 6? |
Quote:
: I found this forum after doing a search for : slant 6 message forums. Here is my story; : : I have a '77 Dodge Aspen with 77K miles. Was : driving home the other day and felt the : engine stutter. I looked at the fuel gauge : and wasnt out of gas. Looked at the temp : gauge and noticed it was pegged past the H. : Before I could pull over the engine quit and : the red oil light came on. I was able to : coast off to the side of the road. Upon : opening the coolant cover I noticed it was : nearly empty. I did have water with me and : was able to fill it back up. Several minutes : later I noticed it was nearly empty again. I : waited about a half hour for the temp gauge : to return back to C and tried starting her : up. It would turn over (as best I could : tell) but no ignition. I had to get it : towed. The mechanic said it probably : "siezed." I am very fond of this : and would hate to to have to junk it. : : Keeping in mind that I am not too mechanically : knowledgeable, but my brother is a mechanic : at a local dealership, my questions are; : : -What probably happened to the engine? : -Is it fixable? : -Worst case, what would need to be done to get : the car back on the road again? : -How can I go about finding a replacement : engine that is of the same type? Pull the plugs and run a compression check, that will tell you a lot. If you overheat a SL6 badly, it is common for the head to lose torque. Sometimes the head can be retorqued to get the compression back but chances are the head may be warped or cracked as a result of the overheating. If it is "cranking over" and you can get some compression, there is a good chance the engine can be made to run again but it may not run well or as good as before the overheat. After a trouble shooting session, you will need to decide on your best course of action, finding a good running used engine is usually the fastest and least expensive way to get it fixed. DD |
|
| Author: | Craig [ Mon Mar 18, 2002 11:59 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What happened to my slant 6? |
The other guys told you about worst case scenarios. How about a best case one? Maybe your insturment cluster voltage regulator went out which will cause both temp and fuel gage to read high. Your temp gage showed overheat even though you were not overheating. And your fuel gage showed you had fuel when in fact you ran out. This happened to a friend. Temp gauge showed high engine temp a few months after I installed new thermostat. He took car to repair garage several times to have thermostat replaced. He also mysteriously ran out of gas one day. After I found out about the aboove things I found defective instrument cluster voltage regulator, replaced it and that was the end of his "problems". Maybe you are lucky and ran out of fuel and engine quit because of ignition failure????? You'll have to figure it out. Good luck. cfield@ll.net |
|
| Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC-07:00 |
| Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited https://www.phpbb.com/ |
|