Tell us your engine failure stories....

[R18Civic]

Go ole 3.3 ciera. I dogged that thing day in and out and couldn’t kill it. Decided to flush coolant one day with the Prestone additive to clean it out. Noticed globs of sludge but didn’t know any better and topped it off and drive her. Went to grab a side mirror bracket from a junkyard and she overheated the first time after getting hot, twice more on the way and one last time at her final resting place in a nearby parking lot. Block cracked, blew a freeze plug and [censored] oil and water everywhere and then steamed up the final time. Sat for 1-2 hours to cool down each time and added water with the engine running. Everytime I stopped she’d shoot back into the red in no time. Radiator fans went out completely, prob clogged sensor.

 

[wwillson]

Briggs lawnmower engine - just walking along mowing and the rod broke with a BANG.

John Deere 519 diesel (about 4000 hrs) spun rear main while plowing. Lots of smoke and it just lost power. This was a problem with JD engines when the engine block was an integral part of the frame, too much flex in the block. The problem went away JD started making modular tractors and the block didn't act as part of the frame.

John Deere 466 diesel (about 3500 hrs) broke exhaust rocker on #6, again a common problem. The exhaust had no where to go and the head gasket blew out with an impressive BANG.

Cummins 5.9 in a Dodge truck spun a main bearing 250,000 miles of hard work pulling a stock trailer that weighed up to 30,0000lbs. I'd say 245,000 of the miles where pulling stock trailers, this truck didn't have an easy life. No idea what caused the spun bearing, as the truck was sold as is.

Chevy 6.2L diesel died at 420,000 miles because the heads cracked from over heating (I would have just cored the radiator, but it wan't my call)

 

[SHOZ]

I had a 1975 Triumph TR7 4 cylinder 4 speed, first year of production. Spun a bearing while doing a WOT pull. The engine was about 1000 miles out of warranty. I wrote a letter to the president of US British Leyland explaining my woes. They ended up replacing the motor with me having to pay a bit more to cover the labor. I was happy.

IIRC it had some sort of Amsoil in the crankcase.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: wwillson
Briggs lawnmower engine - just walking along mowing and the rod broke with a BANG.

John Deere 519 diesel (about 4000 hrs) spun rear main while plowing. Lots of smoke and it just lost power. This was a problem with JD engines when the engine block was an integral part of the frame, too much flex in the block. The problem went away JD started making modular tractors and the block didn't act as part of the frame.

John Deere 466 diesel (about 3500 hrs) broke exhaust rocker on #6, again a common problem. The exhaust had no where to go and the head gasket blew out with an impressive BANG.

Cummins 5.9 in a Dodge truck spun a main bearing 250,000 miles of hard work pulling a stock trailer that weighed up to 30,0000lbs. I'd say 245,000 of the miles where pulling stock trailers, this truck didn't have an easy life. No idea what caused the spun bearing, as the truck was sold as is.

Chevy 6.2L diesel died at 420,000 miles because the heads cracked from over heating (I would have just cored the radiator, but it wan't my call)
That is probably a record for a 6.2-vast majority broke the crank due to bad castings long before then. My (sold) '92 599 block 6.2 had exactly 299K when I sold it-

 

[RedOakRanch]

I had a 1994 Dodge 2500 with the 360 motor. At about 160,000 miles it developed a mild rod knock at just above idle. I drove it that way for over a year, including a 1000 mile road trip. One day after work it started like normal with a mild knock and as I went to the first stop sign it changed to a dozen sledgehammers inside the engine hitting at full speed. I turned it around and called the long block replacement company from the quote that I had ready in the glove box!

 

[UncleDave]

In the stock unmodified auto car world I never had a catastrophic failure. amazing considering what I did to the mills I owned.....
Dirt bike - yes, rebuilt many 2 strokes

Stock street motorcycles no. Had them burn valves but never blow up if left stock or even stage 1 stuff....amazing...

Modded stuff making tons of HP - all the time - myself and my clients at the boat shop - push it.

Heres a few of the recent examples of my own....







UD

 

[boom10ful]

Worst one was a brand new Volkswagen Beetle engine that [censored] out after 500 miles. Kept noticing a lot of metal in the oil but thought that it was just breaking in. 500 miles later, I was 1/4 of a mile away from home when the engine lost all power. Wouldn't even turn the distributor at all. Turns out the engine rebuilder left a washer loose inside and it ate up some part of the crankshaft. Tried to pin it on me but never showed me the washer or the damage...

Second one was my fault. Told the mechanic to just install a head gasket on a 1998 Honda CR-V without machining it since it never overheated. 50 miles later it left me stranded right when I was looking at a car to buy. That was embarrassing since I had to wait 2 hours for the tow truck to come by. Ended up buying that car. I think the CR-V knew!

 

[antonmnster]

1984 Caravan, 2.2 with a 5 speed. HG failed, drove it 8 miles home at WOT, doing about 5 mph. Used the starter to get it into the driveway. Love/hate relationship with that one.

Several Kohler 20-hp v-twins at my old parks job. They'd just wear out after 5000-25,000 hours. They'd slowly lose power over a couple of seasons, then either seize or just not start anymore.