Dear Senior Members/ Diesel Engine Exerts
I need your advice for my 2.0D, 1990 Corolla (2C engine black tappet cover). Its requires a serious engine job. I took the car for a minor repair and not it is in ICU.
Short story, Injection pump was leaking fuel so took car for pump service. Now the head is damaged. The guy messed up timing.
Location: Diesel lab near Joray pul (saddar), LAHORE
Car History:
Head repaired twice. First time timing belt broke. 2nd time a valve of 1st cylinder got fractured from its stem and forced me into another head job.
Car was giving blow by gases, but thanks to @Xulfiqar advice tested the cylinder pressure and it was normal in 2015.
in 2017 pressure had dropped slightly, but still withing acceptable range
Car also used to reduce oil, for last 6-7 years i normall add 1 liter oil every 500=600km
2018 to 2020, used open oil in engine, i felt engine deteriorated slightly during this period
for last few months i have noticed slightly less power in car at stop speed. (As some times engine stops while trying to move car when its cold. this didn't used to happen before and just a clutch release would easily move the card (hot or cold)). Overall i felt winter performance in 2018 and 2019 deteriorated. I was doing masters and 2018 was rough period for car maintenance wise.
I think blow gases has also increased in last 2 years.
Latest event details:
Lab ustaad claims that his mistake is that he didn't checked blow gases, else he would not have serviced the pump.He claims that pump service/new seals kits etc has increased pump pressure (or may be he himself increased the pressure during calibration) and that has caused trouble
I think he messed the timing belt, which damaged the head.
How it happened:
1) after resintalling the pump, when engine started for the first time, engine was much advanced and giving loud (karka) sound, lab guy figured timing from pump pulley needs 1notch adjustment (as adjusting pump was not solving sound issue).
2) they did something from top half of timing belt, (later ustaad claims timing was good they were just checking to be sure), but when 1 hr later we again tried starting the engine, self start took hardly half rev and it sopped. 2nd self start attemp gave same attempt. Ustaad diagnosis, BELT WAS LOOSE and whole timing is messed now (later he claimed actuall WHOLE TIMING was perfect, just a plate was stuck that didnot allowed self start to rev properly).
--somewhere here, most probably the head was damaged
3)they opened the whole timing thing (diesel pump as well as bottom side) took another hour and returned a running car with normal sound at my home.
THE ONLY THING MESSED up here was that when i checked engine starting, it took longer self (2-3 sec). Normally on hot car engine starts immediately on self. THis made me worried
4) now while testing the car (and dropping the ustaad on his shop), engine stopped. This time we tried lot of self and dhakka start but no help.
Finally engine started with messed up sound and lots of smoke from exhaust with very little power, we tried to move car at high rpm and using intermittent clutch but eventually tunrend engine off and used a rikshaw to tow car to mechanic shop
Ustaad is trying to claim that even though he opened timing belt etc and that a metal plate got stuck, timing was never an issue. issue is weak engine etc.
Though i believe he actually messed the timing belt, and in attempts to start the engine we damaged some thing in the head. My other mechanic thinks that seat of some valve is collapsed.
I am sure increased pump pressure has nothing to do with this issue (even if engine was WEAK). (Local ustaads claims that pressure of pump and nozzle has to be less in weaker engines etc etc)
I am sure that he messed the timing and damaged something in head.
DECISION:
1) Just go with simple head repair (this would be third time) [20-30k]
Pros: cheap solution, especially if i sell it soon in working order
Cons: probably engine need overhaul too
2) COmplete engine overhaul [70k]
Pros: kind of easy solution within this car
Cons: Still old engine. Its alternator also gives problems and alternator of this engine (black oil cover) is different. I sometime want to install newer engine
3) Change engine with later models 2C (silver tappet cover) [120-150k]
Pros: May be better engine
CONS: my car is 4wd, mechanic said there can be issues in fitting etc etc
The trouble is it is really hard to get things done the way Xulfiqar sb advices. So option has to be assessed on the basis of how good a work will be done by these local ustaads.
any advice or opinion on the whole thing is much appreciated.