FTO AUSTRALIA

Hey guys, just patched my alternator and brakes. Now there's water in the engine. What could the causes be? What are the fixes and costs?

well wont have anything to do with alt/brakes

you mean water in acutal block and heads? could mean blown head gasket, cracked water gallery etc.
I would be getting it pressure checked mate

crimson236 wrote:Hey guys, just patched my alternator and brakes. Now there's water in the engine. What could the causes be? What are the fixes and costs?

Have I missed a thread? Have you just brought this car? Is that why you have been ripped?

As VIP said, you are going to have to give us a few more details than just "there is water in the engine" as, you know, there is supposed to be water in certain parts of an engine.

vipfto wrote:well wont have anything to do with alt/brakes

you mean water in acutal block and heads? could mean blown head gasket, cracked water gallery etc.
I would be getting it pressure checked mate

This....

Need some more info mate.

When I did the oil change, there was water inside, and when I opened the cap to refill the oil, u could see the milky stuff underneath the cap. I dripped a cloth into the oil and it also came up milky. Can't really see anything else. And yes I bought the car and just did up the alternator and brakes.

Nasty. Thats a blown head gasket.

crimson236 wrote:When I did the oil change, there was water inside, and when I opened the cap to refill the oil, you could see the milky stuff underneath the cap. I dripped a cloth into the oil and it also came up milky. Can't really see anything else. And yes I bought the car and just did up the alternator and brakes.

Yup, thats definitly head gasket mate.

How many kms the car done?

Bennoz wrote:Nasty. Thats a blown head gasket.

+1

..I'm surprised you haven't suggested a 6a13 yet Ben

It's done 142ks so far. If it's the gasket how much would it cost? Shld i replace the engine instead?

crimson236 wrote:It's done 142ks so far. If it's the gasket how much would it cost? Shld i replace the engine instead?

If you can source a engine in decent condition with lower k's then it would be ok, if not, it will be anywhere around $1000-$1500 to fix.

Any idea where I could source reliable recon engines or 2nd hand 1s?

Yeah its a bit of a gamble the old blown head gasket. Do you wip the head off, replace the gasket & wack it back on? Or is it a warped / cracked head? You never really know until you do the job. Plus, if the head comes off, the timing assembly has to come off... this is where the labour starts adding up.

Personally, I'd have a scratch around to see who's got a spare engine for sale.

Are you sure its a blown head gasket? Wouldnt the engine be prone to overheating and there maybe an oily residue in the coolant.

There's no overheating though...

crimson236 wrote:There's no overheating though...

Well the milky texture of the oil suggests that coolant has mixed in with it somehow = blown head gasket

wow, sorry to hear that mate, i think its that it might be a better idea to get a new engine, if its going to cost 1k - 1.5k to fix. ive been searching online for sometime now for a new alternator, and came across a few wreckers in QL that are selling have cuts for our fto's for as low as 2k, with low km's on them as well.

but in saying that, just double check everthing first.

crimson236 wrote:There's no overheating though...

Just because it's not over heating yet might just mean that you havent lost enough water out of the cooling system yet.

Whats the water level like in your radiator?

If your unsure do a oil change and drive it round a bit see if water is getting back into oil again. I dear say it will be though. You could also drive it to a radiator specialist and they can do a pressure test on your cooling system (usually free too). Just whatever you do dont let the engine overheat, that will narrow your choices later on if you do more damage.

Been driving it around since the oil change. On the second day the oil on the dipstick turned milky went up really high. Weird thing is after I drove for a couple more days, the oil level on the dipstick dropped. Still above the high mark though. The milky colour cleared up as well. Now it's looks normal, other than being a little black. Any ideas what could be the problem? The water level seems a bit low after the change but I've topped it up since.

One other glitch, when I turn, there's the sound like I'm scrapping something. Doesn't happen all the time though. I'm not using stock tyres. Could that be the reason for the sound?

crimson236 wrote:Been driving it around since the oil change. On the second day the oil on the dipstick turned milky went up really high. Weird thing is after I drove for a couple more days, the oil level on the dipstick dropped. Still above the high mark though. The milky colour cleared up as well. Now it's looks normal, other than being a little black. Any ideas what could be the problem? The water level seems a bit low after the change but I've topped it up since.

How long was it sitting before you bought it and how often was it used? I had a citroen that was nearly impossible to get up to temp and it always had mayo under the cap. It could be that there was mayo under the cap but bringing everything up to a decent temp has got rid of it. Keep a close eye on things over the next few days though, just in case.

I was told they left it garaged for 2 years. Though they drove it like once a week just to make sure the engine's running. I just drove it for a week? Give or take. Will do. But does that mean the engine's good now and I don't need to change it?