V50 1.6d ENGINE NIGHTMARE

[Lsimo86]

Hi all,

First post and not particularly mechanically minded so please bare with me.

I have an ’09 plate V50 1.6d SE with 110,000 on the clock.

Car has been running fine since I bought it at 60,000 until recently. Had a slight engine knock (sounded like a loud ticking) for a couple of weeks. I didn’t think anything of this noise at the time as the car still ran absolutely fine.

Then did a 300 mile journey, pulled off the motorway and the knocking had got louder and I had slightly reduced performance under acceleration. I stupidly drove it for another two days (as on holiday) and on the way home I had a significant loss of power… down to 50mph with accelerator floored. So pulled over and called recovery. Had three pickups to tow me home and all three guys had a look at it. As it was an engine knock the could’t diagnose. One said it could be cam-shaft another said it was definitely top-end knocking. In any case, they said they couldn’t diagnose without stripping it down.

Managed to drive it to a garage (so it still runs at least). The mechanic didn’t have time to look at it and can’t strip it down for a week. He said £250 for a strip down and he reckoned it sounded more serious than just top-end. He then advised that I’m looking at £2500 for a rebuild and potentially £4-5k for a new (not used) engine. He said that the chances are even if it is something top-end and relatively cheap that there is other damage to the engine and therefore I’m better off getting a new engine.

Car is worth £4k so it’s basically scrap unless this advice is wrong.

I’m just wondering what I should do? Take it to another garage? Also, if he hasn’t stripped it down how can he tell me it’s £2.5k for a rebuild. Surely it could be something more minor???

Has anyone else had any similar experiences with a V50 1.6d?

Seems very harsh considering the car was running right as rain until very recently.

Thanks,

David

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by Lsimo86

Hi all,

First post and not particularly mechanically minded so please bare with me.

I have an ’09 plate V50 1.6d SE with 110,000 on the clock.

Car has been running fine since I bought it at 60,000 until recently. Had a slight engine knock (sounded like a loud ticking) for a couple of weeks. I didn’t think anything of this noise at the time as the car still ran absolutely fine.

Then did a 300 mile journey, pulled off the motorway and the knocking had got louder and I had slightly reduced performance under acceleration. I stupidly drove it for another two days (as on holiday) and on the way home I had a significant loss of power… down to 50mph with accelerator floored. So pulled over and called recovery. Had three pickups to tow me home and all three guys had a look at it. As it was an engine knock the could’t diagnose. One said it could be cam-shaft another said it was definitely top-end knocking. In any case, they said they couldn’t diagnose without stripping it down.

Managed to drive it to a garage (so it still runs at least). The mechanic didn’t have time to look at it and can’t strip it down for a week. He said £250 for a strip down and he reckoned it sounded more serious than just top-end. He then advised that I’m looking at £2500 for a rebuild and potentially £4-5k for a new (not used) engine. He said that the chances are even if it is something top-end and relatively cheap that there is other damage to the engine and therefore I’m better off getting a new engine.

Car is worth £4k so it’s basically scrap unless this advice is wrong.

I’m just wondering what I should do? Take it to another garage? Also, if he hasn’t stripped it down how can he tell me it’s £2.5k for a rebuild. Surely it could be something more minor???

Has anyone else had any similar experiences with a V50 1.6d?

Seems very harsh considering the car was running right as rain until very recently.

Thanks,

David

How easy is it to get the sump off to check the mains for wear (Very easy on a V40) ??

If you do drop the sump, use an Xw40 not an Xw30 and add a can of Liqui Moly lifter tick additive to see if that stops the ticking.
If it does then a top end only rebuild is worth considering as the pistons and liners (If it has them) might not need replacing, otherwise look for a good used engine or smashed up car to engine pull.

I suspect the damage was caused by DPF related fuel contamination of the engine oil. The only way to avoid that is to use an 0 or 5w40 rather than an 0w30, a shorter OCI (5 or 6000 miles max) and half a can of Liqui Moly Ceratec every oil change (The oil filter only needs changing every 10 or 12K miles).

[dshbc]

I have had the same model and same MY, I bought it with 118k on the clock second hand, but with full Volvo S/H.

When I part-ex it after a year and 18k miles its got to about 135k, and the dealer was not really wanting to accept it, because he told me its known as the 'disposable engine'. He asked me if I had any troubles with the engine and I said 'No, Why?' He said you are very lucky mate.

But mine was religiously maintained and looks like you had an unlucky one, but this engine seems to be reliable in day-to-day running, despite not giving anywhere close to the claimed mpg.

[Billggski]

I assume it is the 16V engine, rather than the later 8v.
The earlier engine has some threads on here about the top end being sludged up with oil due to poor servicing.

[Bloders2]

you need to strip it down in part to ascertain the issue and then either rebuild, or fit a second hand engine, which are readily available if you look in the right places.

id estimate about 1K to supply and fit an engine, so the car is definately not scrap

[b6vel]

I have the same problem, my car is in the garage having a second hand engine fitted, 'nightmare. Hope to get it back this week sometime.

[Horton]

We have encountered a few of these, down on power and a knocking noise. Sadly, this engine is well known for crankshaft / con rod bearing wear. With head off, turn the engine to TDC, and then push down on the two outer Pistons.. If one drops slightly, that's your issue. The good news is this is a very easy engine to find second hand as its fitted to lots of cars! I think a new crank from Volvo is about £300, so it's quite cheap to rebuild..