Dead on the road

[northernbillfan]

Dead Explorer. '94 4wd 6 cyl 200,000K

Coming up a hill on the highway, it started sputtering like it was missing a bit or the timing belt was skipping. Get to top of hill and it dies. I fired it up and it ran for a few metres. Died again.

Turn it over and I have ZERO compression.

Mechanics did a brief diagnostic saying I'm getting no compression on one of the cyllanders which I knew anyway. He said it's dead for some reason and I need a new engine. Don't want to invest that kind of money, nor do I want to invest the dollars to diagnose something I don't want to spend a lot of moiney on.

It just had intake manifold gasket replaced, valve cover gasket replaced, thermostat and coolant flushed and replaced.

Could those repairs have led to this issue?

Should I kill it now and take my losses? I only paid $2000 for it a few years ago.

HELP in anyway.

Thanks in advance.

 

[IZwack]

Intermittent starting and dying sounds like maybe a fuel delivery issue (filter clogged). After the vehicle dies, check the Schrader valve on the fuel rail and make sure fuel squirts out of there.

 

[northernbillfan]

It's not intermitent at all. It's dead with no compression at all.

There is just a whirring noise when I turn the key.

 

[Willard]

Is there no compression in all cylinders or just one?

 

[northernbillfan]

The reply from the mechanic was that there was no compression in one cylinder however when I turn the key there is no compression at all.

I'm thinking it may just be the timing belt. Nothing is turning over. There is no water on the oil dipstick and all fluids are good.

What get's me is that I tow into the shop (Canadian Tire) and ask them to do a diagnostic to tell me why there's no compression. The next day the mechanic tells me the engine is blown, but won't say what is blown. I asked him to find out why and he said it takes to long. That's what I get for taking it to a piece work place.

Anyway he turns around and offers me $200 for the truck. He's in for an ass kicking when his boss finds out in the morning.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

there's your problem. you took it to canadian tire. i wouldn't even let those hacks fix my lawn mower

 

[Willard]

When you say that there is no compression at all, do you mean that it won't turn over?

 

[northernbillfan]

It won't turn over at all.

The reason I took it to Canadian Tire in the first place was that I needed a leak fixed which I thought was just my water pump. To cold up here to fix it with out a garage. They were the only place open on Boxing Day to work on it. I took it back to them thinking it was warranty work.

 

[northernbillfan]

Timing belt snapped. Crankshaft busted. DEAD!

At least they gave me the final diagnosis for free.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

where do you live?

 

[gsx220]

how did it bust the crank shaft?

 

[northernbillfan]

where do you live?

Edmonton Alberta

 

[northernbillfan]

how did it bust the crank shaft?

Good question.

 

[MustangP51]

A few questions
1. Does the starter turn over the engine when the key is turned.
2. Do all the cylinders have zero compression or just one?
3. What have you checked or has been checked so far?

 

[northernbillfan]

I have not personally checked anything. It will cost me $2.50 a km (it's about 175 kms away) to tow it home.

The starter works fine.

There is no compression in the engine at all. They tore it down to find the timing belt has snapped.

My question now is do I take the chance of paying a few hundred bucks for the belt to be replaced only to find out that there is serious internal damage?

Do I get my AMA membership today and call in a trouble call to them on Sat and have them tow it back for me? It's only $125 that way.

Do I call a wrecker in Red Deer, cut my losses and move on?

I can also file a formal complaint to the Canadian Tire head office regarding the mechanics behaviour. He was trying to take advantage of someone with a broken down vehicle by giving me the worse case scenario saying I need a new engine then offering me $200 for the truck.

 

[35Remmy]

NORTHERN...he really COULD have been honest in his offer. If he really DID believe the engine was blown and he had a way of replacing or fixing it really cheap, WHAT has he done wrong?

 

[Firestorm]

You weren't that mechanic were you, Remmy? Lol

Northernbillfan, now would be a great time to invest in a cylinder compression guage. Did you ever figure out how the "crankshaft was busted"?