Engine seizure essentially means that engine has locked or is frozen . In effect it is same as that of a locked rear wheel but in fact it is the crankshafts not turning in its main bearing.To understand what is seizure and what causes it ,one must first understand what is scoring. Between the piston and the cylinder walls there is always a presence of oil film(lubricating oil) that avoids the metal to metal contact.Now consider a situation when an oil film is temporarily missing. This causes a metal to metal contact and a scraping sort of action takes place.Now this causes little lining indents in the cylinder walls.The problem is not a performance robber until the oil film is resumed shortly.The above is a condition called scoring.Now consider the same situation only difference being the oil lubrication does not resume and this scraping continues for some time.After only a few strokes the piston and the cylinder wall start to draw material from each other.Imagine this metal drawn as a small ball which continues to grow with every continuing stroke.Then there is a time when it is significantly large enough to push the piston the other side generating large pressure on the opposite side of the wall where scoring initally took place till scoring starts at the other end of the piston as well.Now all this happens when your engine is running at its normal speeds.The final blow happens when this molten aluminium iron mix of ball accumulated due to metal drawn from piston and cylinder wall finds its way to cylinder ring and accumulates there.This is what causes seizure and the crankshaft motion is stopped.There could be many reasons why seizure can take place.Some being improper lubrication or dirt logging in the lubrication system. Other could be improper clearance between the piston and the cylinder walls.Some other reasons could also include improper heat dissipation from the cylinder and piston walls causing them to expand and change clearances.In most cases when if an engine defect is detected in scoring stage,proper steps can be taken to eliminate seizure.However,once and engine seizes that is the end of it. One needs to get a new engine in that case.
I assume you mean that the coolant is boiling up into and out of the overflow bottle.(picture is of a fancy stainless steel bottle … I have never owned a car with anything other than a plastic one, but they look pretty much like that … and who knew finding a decent photo would be so difficult)So why is your coolant boiling over? Could be:Cooling fan is not running - because:motor brokerelay brokefuse is brokebelt is slipping (if you happen to have a mechanical fan instead of an eletrical one)Water pump is not working - because:motor brokerelay brokefuse is broke (if you happen to have an electrical water pump).belt is slippingRadiator is gacked / corroded and no longer flowingInsufficient coolant - so you don’t have enough material to exchange enough heat … and what you do have is getting boiled … so where did the coolant go? You have a leak somewhere?water pumpradiatorhoseoverflow bottleBad coolant mix (either way too much anti-freeze or none) - this seems unlikely as a sudden onset thing (the chemistry in your cooling system doesn’t just change overnight and many cars will run plenty cool on just water).Cracked head gasket - although you should see coolant / water in the oil and probably be getting smoke out out of the tailpipe (you can usually smell it too) - depends on how bad the crack is I supposeThermostat is broken - this is the thermostat that is inside the engine, and used to either pass collant through the engine block or shunt it from the block (this doesn’t usually present as a boil-over but it could - and it is usually cheap to check and relatively easy fix).All of these things can cause a coolant over-temp … and hence the boil-over into the overflow bottle.
Your vehicle's fuel temperature sensor is basically the component that tells your engine control unit (ECU) to adjust the amount of fuel it injects. You see, when your fuel is warm, it is less dense and it burns more quickly. On the other hand, when fuel is cold fuel, it is denser and burns slower. The ECU injects more fuel when you have warm fuel, while it injects less when you have cold. As you can see, this particular sensor is very important in determining the timing and injection quantity of fuel in your system. In case it fails, you will notice it right away because your dashboard's check engine light will automatically turn on. Your system will then activate its very own fall back setting and try to work with broken sensors. Though your ride is still drivable, you'll notice a change in your fuel economy because your engine is not receiving the right amount of fuel. In the long run, this can eventually give you more headaches, and it can also cost you a lot of cash with your irregular fuel consumption. To get your vehicle back on track, the best thing that you can do is replace your old and faulty fuel temperature sensor right away. Make sure that you get a replacement that matches the specifications and requirements of your system for easy installation and superb performance on the road.
I am telling you the quick way to determine whichone is missing. Remove the plug wire and insert a Philips screwdriver or spareplug piece wire into the plug wire boot and place the end near the engineblock. If there is spark, when theengine is cranked, it has ignition. The problem is either fuel or compression.If the engine has an overhead cam with a timing belt, loosen the cover over thetiming belt and check the belt. If the belt is okay, the problem is no fuel.Listen for the electric fuel pump in the fuel tank to make a buzzing noise whenthe ignition is turned on (you may have to open the gas cap to hear it). Youwon’t hear anything if the pump has died. Diagnostics can now be focused on thefuel pump circuit to determine if the pump, relay or wiring is causing the nostart. If the relay has voltage but the pump isn’t running, you’ll probablyhave to drop the fuel tank to check the wiring connector at the pump. If theproblem is no spark, anything in the ignition circuit that creates the sparkmay be at fault. Use your AutoTap Express DIY to look for an RPM signal fromthe Crankshaft Position sensor while cranking the engine. A bad CrankshaftPosition sensor is a common cause of no starts. The signal from this sensorgoes to the PCM or ignition module that switches the ignition coil(s) on andoff. If you have an RPM signal, a bad ignition module or PCM may not beswitching the coil(s) on and off. Using a voltmeter, check for voltage at thecoils with the key on and while cranking the engine. The voltage should beswitching on and off. In ignition systems with a single coil and distributor, abad coil or a cracked distributor cap or rotor can prevent the spark plugs fromfiring. On multi-coil, distributorless ignition systems and coil-on-plugsystems; one coil failure may cause an engine to misfire, but it won't preventit from starting. What’s causing the no-start? All engines require three thingsto start and run: spark, fuel and compression. If any one of these isn’t there,you aren’t going anywhere. If you have any doubt it will be better to visit car service station.
As long as it’s not completely broken you should be able to drive it. You can test the motor mount, to see how bad it is before driving the vehicle. You’ll need an assistant.Open the hood of your vehicle.You need an assistant to watch and see how much the engine moves when you press on the accelerator with the brakes applied.Have your assistant stand to the side (not in front of the vehicle) and observe the engine while you do the following procedure.Start the vehicle.Make sure nobody is in front of you in case the brakes fail and the vehicle lurches forward.Engage the emergency break and hold your foot firmly on the brake pedal to prevent the vehicle from moving.Put the vehicle in DriveWithout letting up on the breaks, gently press on the accelerator to rev the engine slightly.If the engine moves just a few inches then the motor mount is bad but it’s probably still safe to drive it for a while longer.If the engine moves more than a few inches then it may not be a good idea to drive it at all. What you want to avoid is the situation where the engine is able to move far enough that it collides with the hood or other components in the engine compartment.
A clogged catalytic convertor causes the symptoms of a loss of power when accelerating or going up a hill. And will require engine cooling systems to remove more heat, so if the cooling system is faulty or is not properly maintained, overheating may occur. Plugged cats are an often overlooked cause of loss of power, can cause check engine fault codes and lights, and mechanics will often change a few parts unnecessarily , especially if it is only partially plugged. A couple ways I check for plugged cats when a low power complaint is a symptom, and other obvious basic maintenance items have been checked for service is to have someone hold the rpm at about 1800 to 2000 steady. Then check for a good push of exhaust with my hand from behind the tailpipe. A plugged or partially plugged cat typically leaves a hot sickly feeling exhaust flow from the tailpipe. Compare to a known good working car nearby, known to be performing properly and with the same amount of cylinders. That slow , hot sickly flow at 2000 rpm compared to the hard push blowing your hand away of a not clogged cat is a dead giveaway, and I have NEVER misdiagnosed a plugged cat , or made false diagnosis with this method. Another way is watching a vacuum gauge connected to the intake manifold. When revving up, if the exhaust is plugged the gauge reading will climb then begin to slowly drop as the exhaust pressure builds up. Further testing will be needed to verify which part of the exhaust is plugged. Diagnostic by codes is unreliable and until now I had not heard of it. A code p420 only refers to catalyst efficiency. And can be set by faulty o2 sensors. Removing the exhaust and testing for engine power returning to normal works. But the hot sickly flow has been most accurate with my experience, in several cases where shops had missed it, were stumped and called me to come check. They are always embarrassed for missing the simplicity, but need not, as cars and their complicated electronics and even age old problems can lead to loss of power without any immediately obvious cause.
This is such a hard question to answer…Because I find the data is almost always biased.Most car sites are in cahoots with car manufacturers. They are almost always paid to say good things about them.For example, the 2017 Honda CR-V is highly rated.Yes. It is a top safety pick. And that is awesome.But:I looked at leasing a new one last week.We looked at the top-of-the line Touring edition…But:I did not even take a test drive.Even my wife was stunned.It felt cheap.Cramped.Dated.Dull.We tried voice navigation - it did not understand a single word we barked.And the engine…I watched a YouTube video about this… the engine sounded TERRIBLE.So I asked the (nice) salesguy to lift the hood. And sure enough, the engine sounded the same - TERRIBLE. Wonky. It sounded like a toy motor. Check it out for yourself.Needless to say, we left without test driving it.The disappointment factor was HUGE.How in the world was this crossover so highly rated?Now:About reliability…If you are like me and lease for life, we only need to worry about short-term reliability.(Of course, if we drive our cars longer, then we worry about long-term reliability.)So here is one of my tactics to find out how reliable a car is…I ask any dealership’s service department and ask any of the service writers this simple question:I am thinking of getting a Honda CR-V… Would you spend your hard-earned money getting it?Then I go silent.Of course, I listen to what they say. But I pay attention to their body language, too.I get the most interesting responses this way.In fact, a few years ago, I was looking at leasing a new Nissan Murano. But after asking this question, I went with another Toyota RAV4.
I will answer differently than many here it looks like.In an emergency, like if your thermostat is clogged, broken etc, then for as short a period as possible to get to a safe location.Otherwise, no. I guess people forget that the thermostat regulates engine temperature. So if your car is running cold, it will run cold for a long time. If your car is running hot, it will run hot for a long time. This means -Overheating is very likely.Damage to hoses, extra pressure, other internal components is very likely.Also - its a doozy - the notorious head gasket. If your car is running hot, or cold, for a long period of time, either one is bad for all seals and gaskets.The car is running hot, the oil will flow faster than water. Car is cold, oil will flow like molasses, both are not ideal. Your manufacturer has a stated viscosity for your engine. Your engine is expected to get to that temperature inside 5-10 minutes max.You know that catalytic converter? Well, that won't work. It runs by temperature. That means poor emissions - and prob throwing a check engine light. This can cause engine limp mode, which you don't want to experience. The goal isn't to make all the lights on the dash light up like a ufo trying to land.If your car is running hot for a long period of time, not only will you blow your head gaskets, you'll most likely warp the head on your motor. Almost all engines, at least the top end, are made of aluminum in the last 20 years plus. Aluminum is great for dissipating heat, being light weight, not for holding 300 degree fluid for long periods of time. BTW - antifreeze should run a little over 200 degrees. If it's much hotter than that, you have an issue. Don't drive it, you'll damage things.Did I mention it's a bad idea?