An engine failure is difficult and expensive. The immediate priority is identifying the failure, preventing contaminated components from damaging the replacement engine and preserving useful evidence.
Stop operating the vehicle
Do not restart the engine merely to see whether it still runs. Preserve the current calibration, datalogs, fault records, fluid samples where practical, photos, fuel information and measured ethanol content.
Inspect every oil-contact component
Components exposed to contaminated oil must be inspected, disassembled and professionally cleaned or replaced as appropriate. This can include the block and oil passages, cylinder head, oil pan and pickup, pump, filter housing, turbocharger, turbo oil lines, variable-cam components and external plumbing.
Oil coolers and components with small internal passages may be impossible to clean confidently. Replacement is often the safer path.
Protect the fuel system during storage
If an ethanol-fueled vehicle will sit, discuss an appropriate storage procedure with Kassel. Injectors intended for reuse should be professionally tested and cleaned, then stored according to the service provider’s instructions.
Before installing the replacement engine
- Investigate the initiating failure
- Review oil pressure and oil supply
- Check fuel pressure and injector condition
- Look for detonation or pre-ignition evidence
- Inspect cooling and turbocharger systems
- Determine where debris traveled
- Review the calibration and relevant logs
A new engine should not be treated as the complete repair until the original failure path has been investigated.
