12 replies to this topic

[mouldyminis]

Hi

I have a mini 30 which has a fairly good spec 1380 engine. I was driving it home the other day and the bottom radiator hose went. The engine got pretty hot at a couple of points, hotter than I would have liked but I was on a dual carriage in slow moving traffic - most unideal. The gauge never got into the red (it was close,) and clearly I was at very low revs the whole time - but the engine was piping when I stopped at one point (paint peeling off!)
Does anyone think its likely I have done any lasting damage to the engine? the head gasket is still ok I think. I guess the worst guess scenario is warped head/block. Would this be very obvious to detect once I have it goign properly again?

Thanks

[booton]

the heads can with stand some serious head if it a normal cast head not alumium.

i would check the oli to see the consitancy of it. might be a little gloppy due to taking to such a temp.

but due having all your oil i think you will be ok.

was the paint pealing of the head. or the block.

i would be a little consernd if you have burnt the pistons or bores.

only way to find out is to take the head. off, but i personal think it would be ok if you have lost some perfance i would test the compression.

[Cooper-202S]

You dont say how far you drove it, but if you ran it with no water in then the water temp gauge wont have been telling you anything accurate as the sender is at the top of the system.

If it was driven for any distance the oil temp will have gone sky high and the bearings will have not been properly lubricated.

Worst case is the block and the head are distorted and all the bearings are knackered.

Realy you have 2 options, change the oil and filter, fix the busted hoses, and see how it goes.

Otherwise presume the worst and pull the engine and strip it, Skim the head and the block, which may want a rebore if the bores are warped. Regrind the crank and fit new bearings through out.

If you go with the 1st option be prepared for problems sometime in the near future, any knocking from the bottom end, excessive oil comsumption, or oil smoke from the exhaust and its time to strip it down.

[liirge]

You dont say how far you drove it, but if you ran it with no water in then the water temp gauge wont have been telling you anything accurate as the sender is at the top of the system.

If it was driven for any distance the oil temp will have gone sky high and the bearings will have not been properly lubricated.

Worst case is the block and the head are distorted and all the bearings are knackered.

Realy you have 2 options, change the oil and filter, fix the busted hoses, and see how it goes.

Otherwise presume the worst and pull the engine and strip it, Skim the head and the block, which may want a rebore if the bores are warped. Regrind the crank and fit new bearings through out.

If you go with the 1st option be prepared for problems sometime in the near future, any knocking from the bottom end, excessive oil comsumption, or oil smoke from the exhaust and its time to strip it down.

No rebore mate its a 1380!
If i was you just do an oil change, fix the hoses as above start her up and just be gentle and vigilant to check for any new noises.

Edited by liirge, 23 November 2009 - 06:52 AM.

[Guess-Works.com]

If your bottom hose went ( ie emptied the water on the floor ) then I'm afraid if you drove it any further your engine is toast.

[watto1minis]

It's Funny this as I have the same problem in the summer with my 1380cc when my bottom hose came off When it over heated! 3 conrods were bent and I had knackered my roller rockers! I seem to have a bit of trouble with my car over heating!

Has anyone got any advise on how to solve this issue??

[Cooperman]

The worst-case scenario is not bearing failure, or head warp, it's bore damage which, with a 1380, would probably mean a new block. That's the best reason for NOT going to 1380.
If the head gasket is OK, then there may not be any damage. However, you need to remove the head and check the bores, fit a new head gasket and new hoses as a minimum. A compression test before removing the head would also be sensible, plus new oil and filter followed by an oil pressure check with an accurate gauge.
Let's hope it's OK.

[Cooper-202S]

No rebore mate its a 1380!

You are forgetting the 74mm pistons that are still floating around, not that i would use them.
Or there is the mader idea of the 74.3mm O/Dia liners that take the block to std.

[watto1minis]

So if the engine is all ok,
how would we stop the engine overheating again?

- bigger fan
- oil cooler

I've had alot of trouble with my 1380 getting very warm!

Regards

[Cooper-202S]

1380's like the injection engines suffer from overheating, the 1st step is to fit a lower temperature thermostat, this will reduce the heat build up. alittle

-? bigger fan
I doubt you could fit a 'bigger' fan but if you have the std fan fitted (13 blade?) you could change it for either the 4 or 6 blade variants that are available.
If you are confident with auto wiring and your car doesnt have the additional electric fan fitted to the outside of the inner wing i would use that as an additional option. I'm not sure if there is a lower rated temperature switch which fits in the bottom of the radiator to switch on the secondary fan , if there is this would be a good addition in conjuction with the lower thermostat.
You could also fit one of the high efficiency radiators that are available either a 4 core or an alloy depending on your budget.

- ? oil cooler
Fitting an oil cooler can be problematic, if you do alot of long runs where you can ensure that the engine is up to running temp 67-70+ degrees 95% of the time i wouldn't hesitate to fit an oil cooler and a crosflow oil thermostat.
If you do a lot of short runs you run the risk if either the oil not getting up to temperature which is bad for the bearings or of getting a lot of oil sludge build up in the cooler matrix which renders it ineffective.

Edited by Cooper-202S, 23 November 2009 - 08:38 PM.

[bmcecosse]

Most likely problem I can see - is that the rings will have lost their 'temper' - and may have picked up in the bores. If the engine was run with NO water - then indeed the temp gauge was useless - and paint peeling off does suggest it was VERY hot. Ideally - strip down and check. Take a chance if you will - I suppose you really can't do any more damage!

[watto1minis]

Many thanks for your advice I'm gonna have a look into these points for sure and I dont think my rad I up to it and also the fan as it's meant for 1000cc that was first fitted to it

thank you

[watto1minis]

Many thanks for your advice I'm gonna have a look into these points for sure and I dont think my rad I up to it and also the fan as it's meant for 1000cc that was first fitted to it

thank you