I ran old hatchback car without radiator cap for 30 kilometers not knowing about it.
Then i went to a mechanic who said we need to change head gasket and later on adds piston ring to the list,adding a lot of money.
Giving not satisfactory explanation how that part failed. So what could i do to check either of those?
considering the car's engine is open at the moment(cant start the car).
How do i check if the mechanic is not trying to squeezze money out of me without need of change in part?
Car model: Suzuki Alto K10
make year : 2011
Transmission: manual
Engine:3 cylinder
There are multiple ways to check for shot piston rings and head gasket.
They sell a block tester that you stick on the coolant reservoir or radiator that has a fluid filled inside. If the color in the tube changes, then it means the head/block is damaged.
You can also do a wet and dry compression test to test your piston rings, valves, and head as well. If the wet compression test does better than the dry test, then it means the piston rings are worn out (the oil provides a seal around the worn rings yielding better compression).
A leak-down test on each cylinder is probably the best of all since it will show signs of what exactly is worn out. Air bubbles coming out of the coolant reservoir means the head or block is blown, air hissing out of the oil cap means the piston rings are worn, air hissing out of the intake means the intake valves have a problem, etc.
Ask the mechanic what tests they conducted to conclude the piston rings and head gasket need replacing.
Oh, and lower than normal oil pressure along with a knocking sound usually means a rod bearing has spun.
Where did he say anything about a knocking noise or low oil pressure? Am I going blind and miss something?
Hahaha
Thanks a lot @Razmig i had air coming out from oil cap so rings were gone as well. Thankyou.!!
@thumpy
I included that just in case for reference and for completeness. OP asked for some signs/tests on how to determine something is worn out.
@Oneimich what if that bubble test is done after ride of 20 min or so .Scotty said cool engine.
Mechanic showed bubbling to at that time to me could be coolant boiling?
The bubbling was not smalll bubbles but large ones.
Most mechanics won’t say you need new rings. They will say you need a new engine. Or a rebuild. You need a compression tester to test compression with the heads on the engine to know for sure.
Thankyou first of all @Thumpy. I live in Nepal. Here is South Asia, repair works are done without using special tools and people cant afford an entire new engine. Mechanics do what will be worth for money.
Like buying entire engine would be really costly but here they just open it regardless of chain or belt system and then swap defective parts and then seal the engine back on. which costs few hundred dollars.
Most places here dont even have a test kit, they just check whats not running fine from exhaust or test drive or anything thats abnormal just like how a doctor examines by symptoms so compression testers are not a common or available thing here. Just wanted to check if the mechanic was trying to scam me and knowledge in general.
Gotcha, well I am familiar with some of the scams in Nepal, especially pulled against tourists, just know you have to pull the entire engine apart to install rings. Bearing races for crankshaft, piston rods, camshaft etc are dirt cheap, so one would simply put new ones in putting it back together. That’s what we would call a lower end rebuild. I would say there is a good chance you don’t need rings. I’m sure someone would love to charge you for the work and say they did it. Good Luck to you!
Yea they changed the rings and showed the previous ones saying they were broken. literally broken rings.
i took a hold and it could be faked so easily. One was intact and was just fine idk how the ring broke cuz of heat.
But it is replaced now cost me total of about 124 dollar equivalent. Thanks a lot for the help 😀
Did the overheat warning illuminate while you were driving?
When did you notice the radiator cap was missing?
Whats the colour of your engine oil & coolant?
Did your mechanic perform a wet & dry compression test of the engine?
What is the repair estimate to fix everything?
So i was in a rush and i checked for the coolant level by removing the cap added a little bit of spare coolant cuz i didnt see the level. then forgot to put on the cap while it was above the car battery.
I just went off in hurry so didnt notice the outflow of coolant on the floor.
Not knowing all of that i travelled for almost 30 Kilometers with ill call it confusing ride.
The power was not generated as i pressed the gas.
also the car kept turning off but i turn it back on.
AND the overheat indicator did not light up don't know what was wrong with that(temperature gauge not there in my car).
After 30 km of ride as i came back home the car smelt burning from 10 feet away literally.
Then as soon as i lift the hood, it all became clear,, thats when i came to know cap was missing (sad).
The color of coolant was little whitish over green.
In my place (Nepal) no such tests are done just symptoms or consequences backtracking method of solving.
The repair was done today and it cost me about NRS.15000
which converts to about $124.37 (USD).
And thankyou all very much it was very very helpful.
Forum was very very supporting and understanding.
Thankyou once again. Love you all from Nepal. ♥♥♥♥♥
Wow that’s cheap! Scotty will be glad a member got the help they were looking for. If I may ask, what’s the present mileage (odometer) on your Alto?
Its 78500 kilometers. nearly twice around the earth lol
Keep going..
Its not a bubble test, it’s an exhaust test. You can buy the kit on Amazon if you think your mechanic is hustling you.
Yea not a solution in my region. here no fancy kits available for such tests. Even no amazon delivery so i diagnosed the problem with @Razmig 's help.
Thankyouu 😃
Maybe the engine is fine. 30km isn't much if it was cold. Did the engine overheat while you were driving it? What happens when you try to start it?
It was 30 continuous kms. Apparently the overheat indication did not pop up while the internal smelt all burning at the end of ride thats when i came to know.
The car would hardly start. had very much difficulty while starting.
well, if the engine is open meaning disassembled, then those testers won't be much use to you, since you said the engine is open....Have him give you all the bad parts and show the progress of the work while being done, and before it gets closed back up. Otherwise you won't know.
Yea i asked for it and he handed me rings that were broken into pieces. i dont know if he broke that himself he took 2 days to fix and he handed me the rings next day. also the gasket seemed fine but he said that caused a lot of problem.
I feel like i was robbed by him