Blown engine....does this explanation sound feasible?

Blown engine....does this explanation sound feasible? UPDATE

Just got a call from my mechanic. My mustang has been in the shop for like 2 weeks now. Had a small antifreeze leak. Brought in as soon as I saw that their was an issue. I was away last week so told mechanic to take his time and let me know what was up.

Leak was coming from the gasket around the T-stat. After replacing gasket around the T-stat, it still leaked. Then replaced with the OEM Ford parts. Still leaked. Then determined it was a crack in the plastic intake manifold. So today they were going to replace the plastic with a new metal one.

Well mechanic just called to tell me they started up the car to move into the garage and a "god awful noise" happened when they started the car. Immediately they turned the key off.

They looked under the car and saw a bunch of metal. Turns out something blew thru the engine and there is a hole in the engine block! What the hell!!!!

So the staff plays Monday quarterback and try to figure out what the heck just happened. The only thing they could come up with was that some antifreeze had gotten into one the the cylinders where only air is suppose to go. Piston couldn't compress the antifreeze so it just blew! It said he had never seen that happen in a Ford. He said sometimes when something like that does happen the antifreeze will just burn off and you will leave a trail of white smoke. Oh but not my car. The engine just had to blow! I am dumbfounded right now.

The car only has 72,000 miles on it. Now with a dead engine.
Only feasible solution would be to find a low mileage engine and replace it.
He was going to make a few phone calls to see what was around.

So.....does my mechanic's explan tion sound feasible? Would this have been something on going or something the mechanic could have done?

So if I'm swapping out an engine, should I do any other upgrades? The car is a 1997 Mustang GT, Stock.
 
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It is certainly possible that they incorrectly installed the intake manifold/gasket, such that it leaked coolant into the intake tract and down an intake valve. If the cylinder filled with enough water, then certainly it would hydralic and break parts.

The way I see it, you brought them a running car with a good engine. They performed some work and before it even left the shop, the engine was blown. Engines don't blow for no reason, especially at idle and start up, this time sounds like it hydro-locked due toa bad install. This is their responsibility and they need to buy and install an equivalent engine (used or otherwise) to fix their mistake, and it sounds like they are going to make things right.

Maybe you can give them some extra money to cover the difference and have a newer 99-04 PI engine installed. That will give you a nice 45hp bump. :nice:
 
See I'm not sure they even got to the intake replacement. I think that's what they were going to do today when they started up the car and had the bottom fall out.

No real way to tell if they did the intake and then had the problem?

So do I basically need to accuse them of killing the engine?
 
it does sound like a hydrolock issue. However, these cars usually freeze up, not blow a hole in the block, though I guess its possible.

Time to upgrade.
 
I don't know the exact mileage when I brought the car in. I didn't think this would be an issue.

But my issue is how would have water or antifreeze got into the cylinder. Would a leaking t-stat gasket cause that problem?

Or if they switched out the intake and not have changed the oil, then this could have caused the problem?

I talked with my cousin who is a mechanic and he seems to think the mechanic did some sort of error in the repair when they were taking care of the intake.

But how do I prove that? Would there be any noticeable signs that an intake could have been switch to a new one and then the old one put back on to make it look like that hadn't done that repair yet?

Why wouldn't the car just go into hydro lock and instead blow a hole through the block?

My cousin wants me to find out where the hole is and what cylinder.
 
ive been through a similar battle with ford.. they dropped a torx bit down my intake port on the #6 and started it and ran it through the head.. i battled for about a week and they cut me a deal on the labor to tear it down to find the mistake that they called mine.. then i took it home and dropped in a PI motor.. cost me some $$$
 
The cracks these intakes develope are external to the intake runners, meaning a cracked intake should only leak outside the engine without allowing water into a cylinder.

leakage from the cracked intake leaking down into the intake port. Unless you have a cracked head.

If the mechanics reason for the engine blowing is that water got into the cylinder, then you'd better be asking 'HOW' water got into the cylinder. It doesn't just randomly fill with water. At this point, they better own up to the faulty work or abuse.

This kind of failure simply doesn't just happen. Either they allowed coolant into the cylinders or the car was very badly abused (free reving against the rev limiter in the parking lot?). If the rod was really so weak, it would have let go the last time you were at high rpms and let off the gas quickly.

Either way, the car is and was in their possession and I would be insisting they bring the car back to equal to when you brought it in. Do not outright blame them for this because no one wants to hear that. Just ask them if they will be replacing the engine for you for the price of the intake manifold fix, or how they will otherwise make things right. Be reasonable with them, and they will hopefully do the same to you.
 
well its a far fetched thing.. you would of had to crack the intake manifold from the t stat housing all the way to the first cylinder on the intake runner.. ask them what #cyl it is.. i would suspect that only the cyl next to the t stat would of filled, if its a differant one then i would be asking more questions.. the only way i would think that a cyl could fill up enough with water is if the intake valve was left open when the engine was shut off and the coolant filled the cyl slowly.. i dont believe that you could get that much coolant into a cyl when the engine is running, i would think that it would blow on start up if anything..
 
well its a far fetched thing.. you would of had to crack the intake manifold from the t stat housing all the way to the first cylinder on the intake runner.. ask them what #cyl it is.. i would suspect that only the cyl next to the t stat would of filled, if its a differant one then i would be asking more questions.. the only way i would think that a cyl could fill up enough with water is if the intake valve was left open when the engine was shut off and the coolant filled the cyl slowly.. i dont believe that you could get that much coolant into a cyl when the engine is running, i would think that it would blow on start up if anything..

So if the cylinder next to t-stat was the problem, then what?
If it was caused by a different cylinder would it have been something they did?

Thanks for all your help with this!
I think my head is on overload today.
 
So if the cylinder next to t-stat was the problem, then what?
If it was caused by a different cylinder would it have been something they did?

Thanks for all your help with this!
I think my head is on overload today.


then i wouldnt blame them for it.. but ive never heard of that happening..

you really gotta get a full report from the dude.. your getting alotta "what if's" from us..

whatever you do dont take the blame or pay any kind of a fee, just get a full report and then tell us about it...

i bet your head is spinning with all of this.. take it one step at a time, ive been in your shoes and its hard to not get tottaly pissed
 
The cracks these intakes develope are external to the intake runners, meaning a cracked intake should only leak outside the engine without allowing water into a cylinder.



If the mechanics reason for the engine blowing is that water got into the cylinder, then you'd better be asking 'HOW' water got into the cylinder. It doesn't just randomly fill with water. At this point, they better own up to the faulty work or abuse.

This kind of failure simply doesn't just happen. Either they allowed coolant into the cylinders or the car was very badly abused (free reving against the rev limiter in the parking lot?). If the rod was really so weak, it would have let go the last time you were at high rpms and let off the gas quickly.

Either way, the car is and was in their possession and I would be insisting they bring the car back to equal to when you brought it in. Do not outright blame them for this because no one wants to hear that. Just ask them if they will be replacing the engine for you for the price of the intake manifold fix, or how they will otherwise make things right. Be reasonable with them, and they will hopefully do the same to you.
I never had one break so I wasn't sure where the breakage happens.
What cylinder would the t-stat be near? One?
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