Jump to content

Piston crashed into Spark Plug? Stumped


ali_shaikh22
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi

I have a Vw lupo 1.4 16V Automatic with 88K on the clock

Recent work includes:

Brakes

Full service

I was driving along on the M1 around the 60-70mph mark when i heard/felt a small hiccup

The car lost all power/drive and i was stranded on the hard shoulder.

When the AA guy arrived, he advised the engine had no compression. I tried to start it a couple of times and figured this.

AA took off the belts cover and the belts were fine.

Then started taking out the spark plugs and found that spark plug number 2 had been squashed.

Pretty stumped, parked the car up, not knowing how to progress this.

Get a new engine, or do an engine rebuild

My question is, how can the piston crash into the spark plug when the con rod is holding it?

Is this a common issue? as anyone seen this before?

Will my head be warped? seeing as how there was no belt jump, the head gasket seems fine ( correct levels in water tank)

Would i be able to simply replace a few parts and get the car going again?

Any help would be much appreciated

Thank you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you tried change the plug and starting it?, the car should still run on 3 cylinders so the fact it wouldn't restart tells me it wasn't the piston hitting the plug (impossible without smashing a valve too)

If they're is no compression in on of the cylinders you may of blown an hole in the piston.

Won't know for sure until you whip the head off.

Have you run a diagnostic on it? Are there any dash lights on?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Morning

There are no engine lights it all looks sort if normal when trying to turn over.

So should I try putting all plugs back in and try to fire it up? Or leave the plug from cylinder 2 out?

Would I not cause further damage?

I imagine if the piston did hit my plug it would have caused further issues to the head too?

Is there an easier way to check the piston?

Are you aware of any writeups on removing and replacing the head?

Thanks for your advice

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hello

I've put the plugs back in an tried to start, but just doesn't crank, won't turn.

Do you think a new engine or a new head? Or maybe I just have to wait to see what I find when I start to strip the engine

Any other ideas? Can I try and start it without piston having a plug?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get a long screw driver, and take out spark plugs 2 and 3, put the screwdriver down the spark plug sockets and see if there is any difference in how far it can go down... You should easily be able to tell if there's a hole in number two...

If it's not cranking now are you sure the battery isn't dead? If the battery is fine it's looking like it's got a Leg out of bed (chucked a rod).

If the piston had hit the valve and number 2 cylinder was on compression stroke the damage to the valve won't be as severe as if to say it was on exhaust or intake stroke as the valves would have been wide open (depending on prise time of collapse). If it's chucked a rod I'd look into the servicing of the car... When the oil was last changed etc.

Hope this helps!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.