1.6td engine went bang :( help needed

[yelverton]

Hello everyone, Im Ange & I have a 1.6td T25 - She's just passed her MOT no worries and has always driven fine until last night... had just got onto motorway when i heard like a knocking sound and then after a few min the engine just sort of popped and cut out. I pulled onto the hard shoulder and loads of white (ish) smoke was coming out of the side vents. I didnt get out as it was a dangerous place and I had my dog in the back + it had just started pouring down Stupidly I dont have breakdown cover so I had to get a recovery firm out at a cost of 280 to get us home.

When the breakdown guy arrived and I got out I could see there was a lot of oily water that had come out of the engine (im not sure if it was oil or water or both & I didnt have time to look really as it was raining and not a good place to be) he told me not to try and start it as I could make it worse. I've had a little look this morning and the water is empty & the engine quite black.... Im not a mechanic & really dont know what Im looking at + I live in a tiny hamlet miles from the nearest town. He said he thought it was terminal but obviously I really want to get it checked out so Im trying to find out if any one can help with a mecahnic/garage that would be able to come out and diagnose whats happened as I obviously cant drive her anywhere.

The closest town to me is Melksham in Wiltshire but Im kind of in the middle of Devizes, Melksham & Trowbridge - I have asked around before about a good VW garage/mechanic but have had no luck finding anywhere. The van had been leaking oil for the last few months and I was trying to get it looked at but the garages I tried just told me it was an old van and it was a feature not a problem!!

sorry for the long post but Im at a real loss at what to do now so any advice or recomendations would be really fantastic....thank you so much Ange

[halfbakedpixels]

Really sorry to hear that this happened in such awful conditions.
Did you fill it up with oil to replace the oil that was dripping out?
I suspect that the loud knocking was the big ends failing due to lack of oil which in turn would have meant the engine would have had no lubrication anywhere. Were there any warning lights on before it clapped out?
You may have a cracked block or warped cylinder head due to the massive water loss. The water jacket has split meaning it would have dumped all the water and oil on the floor.
The only way to tell what's happened is the head and sump off to check what's failed.

[yelverton]

hello & thank you for your reply, yes I kept topping it up with oil everytime the oil light started flashing. When I put oil in her she never seemed to need that much hence why the garages kept telling me not to worry about it but to just top it up every few weeks.... The light was flashing when I started driving her yesterday but I didnt have any oil with me so thought I would put some in when I got home....maybe an expensive mistake

If it it the big end gone due to lack of lubrication what does that mean? a new engine? rebuild maybe? She has really low miles around 50,000km as the people who owned before me were an older couple with a house in France - she was only used by them when they were at the house for pottering around. She was reregistered here in the UK just over 3 years ago & I dont drive her that much - she was off the road for almost a year as she wouldnt start and I was told by a mobile mechanic the engine had seized...I left her for ages as I couldnt afford a new engine and when I eventually had her towed to a garage it turned out it was just the heater plugs!

I really need to find a recommended garage/mechanic who knows about these engines.

Thank you again for the advice

[halfbakedpixels]

With it being sat for a while the piston and oil scraper rings can stick meaning when it runs oil can go into the combustion part of the engine and oil will be burnt. But then if she didn't smoke when you were driving i doubt it was burning oil.
Also waiting for the light to come on before filling up with oil means its already starting to cause damage, the light is an absolute last warning.

Low miles on an engine means nothing, I've known of extremely low mileage engines that are completely knackered from only ever running short distances where the engine never heats up properly.

I'm afraid it sounds like a job for a mechanic who ultimately will need to do some exploratory work, with either a compression test or sump and head off.

Could be as simple as a blown head gasket which isn't to bad a job for a mechanic.

[Tobyt25]

Thats optimistic no break down cover in a t25, mind u in saving a fortune in fuel having the AA toe me everywhere.

[T25Convert]

I kept topping it up with oil everytime the oil light started flashing. When I put oil in her she never seemed to need that much

Oil light comes on when the oil pressure is low (which may or may not be caused by oil level being low). If when you came to top it up the oil level wasn't actually that low, then the oil light was coming on for some other reason.

Possible reasons are:

1) Wrong oil (too light)

2) Worn / kanckered oil pump

3) Worn main beairngs

Driving around with the oil light on means there is insufficient oil pressure, and hence there isn't enough oil in critical loactiosn within the engine, hence they wear quickly and the whole lot goes bang.

As above, you really need a good mechanic to investigate. If there are no suitable mechanics, it may be quickler in the long run to svae your pennies for a recon engine and get that fitted instead...

Good luck!

Alex

[HarryMann]

Sorry tale... these vehicles do have to be kept a good eye on. Oil level needs to be spot on all the time not too high nor a fraction low ideally.
It could just be the head gasket white smoke and all that.
I think anyone here will be at a loss now it's blown to help accurately.
I doubt it's the big ends, possibly, they can break mains caps though.

Possible the original leak was turbo seals.
You might be best to look into re-engining with a non-turbo diesel like a 1.9 1Y unit for least hassle.

You are in a difficult location, Devon is several people who might be interested in doing it... Syncrospares UK, Dave Futbus etc.

Who normally services it for you down there?

[yelverton]

Thanks for the replies.....yes I realise I've been a bit silly now in believing the mechanic telling me to not worry. Its an expensive mistake

I've only had the van for three years and in that time I haven't actually used her a great deal.... once a week to Bristol & back and a few trips up & down to Cornwall....almost a year of this she was of the road as I was told the engine had seized... I asked the garage that did the MOT to do a service but I'm not sure what they actually did. I did ask them about changing the cambelt but I was told as the mileage was so low I could leave it for a while... its not like garages to be so honest so I just assumed they were right... I feel kind of stupid now as it was probably a case of them not wanting to do anything too complecated.

If I could get her to a reccomended garage in devon I would but I would really rather get someone local (ish) to have a look at her and tell me what the problem is and how much its going to be to get her sorted before I spend more money having her relayed to Devon... I hope this makes sense & Im hoping someone can come up with a mechanic a little closer to give me some idea of whats wrong.

Thank you again for the replies...I really do appreciate the help

[yelverton]

and yes I guess it was a bit silly driving with no breakdown cover....she's always been super reliable & to be perfectly honest I didnt realise I no longer got cover inc in my insurance...again a expensive mistake on my part

[Oldiebut goodie]

New engine (TRANSPORTER 1.6 TURBO REMANUFACTURED ENGINE. NEW HEAD, NEW GERMAN KS PISTONS, NEW BEARINGS, NEW OIL PUMP, TIMING BELT AND FITTING KIT) is £1500 and you will need most of the bits off your old one, here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-T25-1-6-TR ... 2c70a1f071
If your turbo is good it is one way to go.

[Wychall]

and yes I guess it was a bit silly driving with no breakdown cover....she's always been super reliable & to be perfectly honest I didnt realise I no longer got cover inc in my insurance...again a expensive mistake on my part

Not necessarily. There are lots of people on here that pay through the nose for breakdown cover and never use it. My last breakdown recovery was 15 years ago and I have been paying approx £100 per year. If I hadn't, I could now afford a £1500 recovery bill and still be in pocket. Recovery is only another form of insurance policy that the operator makes a profit from.

[HarryMann]

Yes but would you have saved or invested that money so it was available when you needed it?
And suppose you needed it 3 years running or twice in one year?

On the other hand we have probably saved overall... forgetting the convenience and secondary benefits (AA)

I think with an older vehicle and travelling far from home, it's abs essential. T25s particularly are known for their somewhat dubiously reliable original engines, esp. when not attended to by experienced or knowledgeable mechanics.

Yes I know that statement will raise eyebrows but compared to todays power plants, which you can pretty well take for granted, we are talking dinosaurs

No wonder so many re-engine them...

[Plasticman]

there must be someone on here that can pick it up and stick a 1y in, be a very basic simple unit, less to go wrong and sounds ideal for the op also relatively cheap
mm

[yelverton]

I've just seen these new replies.... wow 1500 for a new engine! I jut dont have that sort of cash to spend on her sadly. she is a very basic van I was planning on spending some money doing a very simple conversion in her so she is a bit more comfy for overnights etc....spending 1500 on another engine is not something Im in a position to do & if I was would it really be worth it? I can understand the proper converted vans are a lot of money but a basic van?

Still holding out hope for a mechanic a bit closer to home I can pay to have a look at her and give me a diagnosis....there must be some VW enthusiasts in deepest darkest Wiltshire ....

[yelverton]

Another update & a bump for a mechanic local to me...

My neighbour had a look at her this morning as he is a car dealer and has some experience with mechanics. He said we should try to start her so we did, the engine definately started to turn over but there was a bit of a knocking/shuddering noise so I turned her off before she caught as Im not 100% convinced starting her was the best thing to do. He says he thinks its impossible to rebuild these engines for less than 2000 pounds and I'd be better off buying a new engine and having it fitted but that this would also be around 2000 pounds.... he then tried to sell me a cheap runaround & ask if I wanted to sell the van lol!

so Im bumping in the hope that someone can help me with a local VW mechanic.

Thank you so much