I'm so freakin pissed right now. The cars in the shop again, and this is probably the worst aside from the two accidents the car has been in. My mom was driving out to pick my dad up from work and the car was steaming when it got there, so like an idiot my dad DROVE it back into town and go to the shop, and when he got there the engine or something was literally burning, it might not have been the engine but my dad said he smelt something like burning oil. The thing that makes me mad along with my dad's stupidity is that the oil temperature thing in the car read normal the whole way, and the technician says that the thermostat may have been stuck or something. And we have reason to believe that the cooling fan may have not come on like it has done in the past therefore allowing the car to overheat. Also making me mad is the fact that my dad thinks that some kind of gasket thing may be cracked or broken. I'm scared that the engine got so hot that some cylinder or something got forged. I'm also mad at our Dyer&Dyer Volvo dealership because I know they've ripped us off plenty of times and probably have caused us many car problems, and money which I am also worried about because business has been slow for the family and we're paying off a lot of things and everything is going wrong at the same time. There's a lot more things that are making me mad about our 850 turbo wagon but I don't feel like typing on, I just hope my future car can last long enough with all of these problems. I wish I knew that everything may be OK with the car, but I know it's not likely.
Noooooooooooooooo:mad:
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
Joined
·
6,997 Posts
Sounds like a really crappy time you and your family are going through. Sorry.<P>I'm not even going to hazard a guess as to what might be wrong, but what do you mean by it was "literally" burning.<P>When in doubt man, tow the car. I don't know if your family has a Triple A membership, but it is highly worth it, especially in a case like that where you could be cooking the motor. <P>Good luck, and I hope it isn't as bad as you believe. You never know.
he said that he smelt burning oil coming from the engine bay when he finally stopped at the mechanics place and said that when they tried to pour water on the car that it just boiled off really quickly and was still burning red hot after a couple of buckets of water.
I hate to comment about something in which I was not there to see...but...pouring buckets of cold water onto a glowing hot engine will cause damage! The mechanic should have known this, as it is common knowledge in the tech world. I suggest that you let the car sit for a day and then replace the thermostat, coolant, oil, and check all vacuum hoses for heat damage. Once all of that is done, drive the car slowly and gently for a few miles. Pull over once at normal operating temperature and inspect for any leaks or visible steam. You may get away lucky, but change all of the engine fluids and steam-clean the engine. Put the car back on the road and watch it very carefully for a few hundred miles. Chances are now that you have heat-cycled the engine above and beyond its normal range you will have a few gasket leaks. Nothing too bad if you stay on top of it. Just don't ignore the engine for a while. Good luck!<P>Prospero
Joined
·
6,997 Posts
Yeah, I'm with Matt on that one. Rapid heating and, in this case, rapid cooling causes the engine and its parts to expand and contract quickly. This can cause any number of problems including cracks, which would be a very bad thing depending on what cracked. <P>If the mechanic threw the water on it, and that caused the damage, then there may be liability there, but you'd probably have a really hard time proving that in light of the previous stresses the motor had been under that evening.
What a pinhead, buckets of water! I have seen a few of these engines overheat and they have been ok, but the water thing may have cost you. Change the T stat to start, confirm the cooling fan works and as Prospero says change all fluids and take it easy for a few miles, you have nothing to loose at this point. An oil fire is something different, the temp gauge would not move but the burnt oil smell and fire would burn until a vital wire was melted but the engine operating temp would show high on the gauge. Any signs of this kind of trouble and the car should have been pulled over and on a tow truck. Does it turn over?
OK guys I got it. We have a cracked head gasket. The car turns over fine still. And what happened with the water thing is that they poured it into the coolant tank, but just spewed out and went all over the engine too. So the head gasket is the only problem. I still blame my dad for the problem.I just think it's kinda cheap that our car out of thousands of others has these simple problems which lead to big things, such as the thermostat being stuck.
Joined
·
136 Posts
Noah, here's your opportunity - be very magnanimous to your dad, show forgiveness, understanding, etc. etc. and then suggest he contributes to a reskimming and polish of the head before the new gasket is put in.<P>You could try for performance valves and pistons as well, but that might be going a bit too far....
awww, bummer man... The only wreck I have ever been in was last summer in Atlanta in my Volvo. Some idiot hit me when I was stopped at a light waiting for someone to turn left. He was a complete moron and swerved to the left (this was on ponce de lion) a pretty tight 4 lane road (I was in the left lane) For his sake, he is lucky as hell he hit me, otherwise, he would have been headed right into oncoming traffic. Unlucky for me... all the force was put onto one side of the car, making the damage worse. Thank god it didn't bend the frame or make any bad internal damage, and the fact that it was completely his fault. The bill was in the $3,600 range and I got a good paint job on the rear...
Ok, we got the car back today. everything seems fine. BUT, the check engine light has came on for the 50 billionth time since we've had the car. Everything looks fine, I'm just glad to have it back. 2 accidents and tons of engine troubles sure isn't fun.
Good to hear that the car is back. Funny how you mention the CE light. Every time I have taken my 850 to Atlanta, the CE light came on! Maybe it's the air? <IMG SRC="http://www.swedespeed.com/ubb/wink.gif"> Okay...the holes in the intercooler hoses may have had something to do with it...but hey, who's keepin track anyhow?<P>Prospero
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
Join the discussion
Join now to ask and comment!