HELP! Second Hand Engine Blew 4 Days after service

[maseeyxo]

Hi all,

After some advice.

I bought a 2010 1.2L 77 tsi Polo 5 years ago.
October last year (2016) my engine blew because I hadn't taken it for a service. Idiot mistake I know.

I went to a private mechanic, he quoted me $3500 to get a second hand engine with 92k on the clock, my original engine had 75k since factory. Already knew I was at a loss, at the time I needed my car, it's 100% my only way to work, so I said yes to replacing it.
Anyway, within the 6months of having it I made sure to keep up with the services. On Monday (8th May 17) I took it in for it's 108k service, this is the 3rd minor service I've done within the 6months of having this engine and on Friday (12th May 17) I turned the car on, let it warm up and drove my normal
20kms out of my street, it revved 3-4 trying to get out of 2nd, 4 1/2 to get out of 3rd with an extremely loud rattling sound. (Rattling I experienced more with this engine than my factory engine) I get 200m from my street, turn and the car shuts down and I'm rolling to the side of the road. Doesn't start.
Tow it to the mechanic who serviced it, who also bought this engine and asked him what happened.
Engine has blown again! He said the timing chain snapped which most likely caused damage to the valves.
With this engine I paid an extra $200 to have 90days Warranty instead of 30days.

He told me on Friday, he and the guy from the car yard he bought this engine from, had discussed this is a "common" issue but bought the engine before telling me there's a possibilty this would happen again.

On monday he ran a full computer diagnostic on my car and said it picked up no faults. He did a minor service and when they gave my car back to me the rattle sounded louder than when I had taken it in to him that morning. 45mins he took to do the minor service.

I need some advice, what can I do that will get my car back on the road without me having to replace the engine at my cost?
Is there anyone else who has dealt with a similar situation?

[Umai Naa!!]

If they had known it was a common problem, then perhaps your mechanic should have factored in a timing chain kit.

[maseeyxo]

He's not someone I always went to, I only went to him when my first engine blew.
Most likely he should have known that but didn't say anything.

[amazeer]

My understanding is that the chain tension is pushed out by a piston under normal operation. At startup when there is no pressure, the tension is held by a spring and on early cars these springs are too weak. After doing an oil change on these, the chain is flapping about waiting for the new filter to fill and build up pressure. I suspect that your chain has jumped a tooth during this time.

My mechanic has told me that mine is stuffed too. When he started mine after a service he cringed and crossed his fingers

[GtiDave]

Yes it's a common fault with the engine, and many other engines.
Once the tensioner loses tension the chain also stretches.
I replaced one last week and it was stretched about 10mm longer than the new chain.
It's also common for them to fail shortly after oil changes. I can't explain why that's the case but from experience that's what usually happens with engines that have known repeated timing chain issues.

Of course if it happened once on your engine, it is possible to happen again especially when using a second hand engine.
Even with new parts, it can and most likely will happen again given enough time/km.
Honestly I can't see how you'll get out of replacing the engine without having to spend money on it.
You could remove the cylinder head, replace all the bent valves and fit a new chain and tensioner.
Most likely the labour & parts cost will be similar to fitting another second hand motor. Only difference is you know you've got a good chain and tensioner.
If you had fitted new parts to your original engine and they'd failed this soon, I'm sure it'd be covered by warranty.
Unfortunately if you accepted the job being done and 90 day warranty conditions, there's not much else that can be done in my opinion.

Sorry!



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[maseeyxo]

I honestly didn't expect it to blow within 6months.
My first engine I had for 4 years before anything bad but yeah I probably should've thought about the fact it was second hand
Thank you though!

[anthony]

Get rid of this lemon....

[maseeyxo]

Definately will be!

Has left me so much out of pocket it's actually ridiculous

[CraigR]

Drive it into a wall or set it on fire. Does sound like a timing chain tensioner failure. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it is a well documented issue and you should have known better! Get the head rebuilt and get rid of it (if the pistons aren't cracked)

[maseeyxo]

Drive it into a wall or set it on fire. Does sound like a timing chain tensioner failure. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it is a well documented issue and you should have known better! Get the head rebuilt and get rid of it (if the pistons aren't cracked)

I should have known better with my first engine but the second engine I took it for it's regular service and he did a full diagnostic on it, guess i was naive to not know that this would happen again

[trojon]

I assume he drained the oil when he serviced it.

Did he put any oil in it?

[maseeyxo]

I assume he drained the oil when he serviced it.

Did he put any oil in it?

yeah he put oil in it

[GtiDave]

It's seriously a common issue, and it's not always dependant on service history, and doesn't always give a check engine light before it lets go.

I did an engine in a mk6 gti last week cost a bomb and it was only a few thousand km after the guy spent over 5k getting the dsg gearbox rebuilt.

Car was always serviced on time, no signs at all, just unlucky that everything packed it in.

Usually with the tensioners, you'll hear the chain rattling for a long time after start up. This is a sign that you're about to cop it.
A lot of owners don't even notice different/terrible sounds.

Still if it was noisy after servicing and you had a good mechanic he/she would have told you that the engine needed preventative maintenance.
If you get the engine series code like "CAVE" off the sticker in your service book or boot, you can get on eBay or gumtree or start calling euro wreckers and try find the cheapest running engine.
Probably throw a new chain and tensioner on it, unless you are selling immediately, wack it in and start over.

It sucks hard, feel sorry for you


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[Transporter]

Hi all,

After some advice.

I bought a 2010 1.2L 77 tsi Polo 5 years ago.
October last year (2016) my engine blew because I hadn't taken it for a service. Idiot mistake I know.

I went to a private mechanic, he quoted me $3500 to get a second hand engine with 92k on the clock, my original engine had 75k since factory. Already knew I was at a loss, at the time I needed my car, it's 100% my only way to work, so I said yes to replacing it.
Anyway, within the 6months of having it I made sure to keep up with the services. On Monday (8th May 17) I took it in for it's 108k service, this is the 3rd minor service I've done within the 6months of having this engine and on Friday (12th May 17) I turned the car on, let it warm up and drove my normal
20kms out of my street, it revved 3-4 trying to get out of 2nd, 4 1/2 to get out of 3rd with an extremely loud rattling sound. (Rattling I experienced more with this engine than my factory engine) I get 200m from my street, turn and the car shuts down and I'm rolling to the side of the road. Doesn't start.
Tow it to the mechanic who serviced it, who also bought this engine and asked him what happened.
Engine has blown again! He said the timing chain snapped which most likely caused damage to the valves.
With this engine I paid an extra $200 to have 90days Warranty instead of 30days.

He told me on Friday, he and the guy from the car yard he bought this engine from, had discussed this is a "common" issue but bought the engine before telling me there's a possibilty this would happen again.

On monday he ran a full computer diagnostic on my car and said it picked up no faults. He did a minor service and when they gave my car back to me the rattle sounded louder than when I had taken it in to him that morning. 45mins he took to do the minor service.

I need some advice, what can I do that will get my car back on the road without me having to replace the engine at my cost?
Is there anyone else who has dealt with a similar situation?

How many services did you miss?

[maseeyxo]

How many services did you miss?

1 service