Repair engine or replace car altogether?

Rolandtheroadie

Is the crankshaft oil leak seepage from a gasket?
Is the car pulling to the left or right or is tyre wear uneaven?
Are there any indication the brakes are faulty? spongy? metalic sound?
If it's yes, no and no, I'd do nothing just now. Save the £800 and whatever the other work will cost for your next car. Top that up with whatever the finance for the new car would be and stick it all in an account for MOT time. If it's going to cost too much to MOT, then get rid of it.

cyclonebri1

The 1400 eng in the scenic didn't have enough power when it was new let alone at 8 years old. Get a friendly garage to do an emissions test for you NOW, they really shouldn't charge, base your decision on that.

The worst car I had used, not leaked, I pint oil per 200 miles ran it for a couple of years like that. It did eventually break, and I rebuilt the engine, NO noticeable power increase

System

Hello again,
thanks for all your advice so far
I'm still humming and hawing about this, sorry.
The car seems to be running okay at present, still has smoke (white now) from exhaust for the first few minutes, but no obvious issues or deterioration in performance.
I'm going to ask what will seem to some as a really stupid question, but here goes anyway, is a gas check the same as an emissions check? I know the emissions check was okay on last MOT (end of January 2010) If they are different, then what is the difference?
Thanks
Linda x

Hammyman

fab_n_funky_mum wrote: »

The car seems to be running okay at present, still has smoke (white now) from exhaust for the first few minutes, but no obvious issues or deterioration in performance.
I'm going to ask what will seem to some as a really stupid question, but here goes anyway, is a gas check the same as an emissions check? I know the emissions check was okay on last MOT (end of January 2010) If they are different, then what is the difference?
Thanks
Linda x

The white smoke is normal. A gas check is the same as an emissions one.

vaio

If the oil smoke has gone away then it's very unlikely to need the engine replaced, things like ring & valve faults that would be cured by a recon engine don't cure themselves, if they go wrong they stay wrong

Moving on from here either just carry on using it or take it to good independent for an accurate diagnosis

bigjl

If it doesn't smoke or use loads of oil then just keep running it until it stops, keep it serviced and check that the garage has been using the correct oil, they may have put in an oil that is of an incorrect spec, this may lead to some oil being burnt when it is cold.

As far as a reconditioned engine for that kind of price, presumably a fitted price, I would have concerns that you may just get sold a secondhand salvage engine, I ran a large non franchised garage for 4 or 5 years near Muswell Hill and if you had came to me with an engine that was using a little bit of oil but was otherwise quiet and smooth running I would do an oil change with a slighty "thicker" oil, for example I once had an Omega TD, the recommended standard oil was, from memory, 5W40, fully synthetic, Comma SynerD. The best oil recommendation was Mobil1 which was a 0W40, when I used the 0W40 the oil consumption was almost half a litre per thousand miles, when I used the cheaper oil the oil didn't use oil anymore.

If however your car is leaving a trail behind it like a 40 year old tractor then definately change the engine, try and source a low mileage unit from a salvage yard yourself and get a garage to fit it for you, but always bear in mind after a major job, like an engine swap, you might aswell change the clutch as the labour charge will stay almost the same, and also consider what your car is actually worth, if it is the old shape Scenic it probably isn't worth much.

sassy_one

I'd scrape it or second hand engine

cyclonebri1

From what you've said, any chance you overfilled the engine oil?, that's the only reason I can think of for it to burn oil then stop burning it.

White smoke as said is not smoke but steam, condensation to be correct. This occours when cold but should stop after normal temp is reached. If it carries on after warming up it can indicate a head gasket failure, but don't worry about that at this stage.

catpaws99

Why not just carry on topping up the oil as required and run it until it drops. We have a ten year old Scienic that has a similar problem to yours. Loves to drnk oil, rattles, has a nasty ticking/knocking noise coming from under the bonnet. Also seems underpowered at times. We have 2 litre RXE. But ours has done 121,000 miles and has rust issues.

I am putting away money each month so when it goes it can be scrapped and I will have enough saved for a new car (but not a scienic!!)

New question, my cambelt is well overdue 6 years and 40,000 miles do I do it or leave it?

cyclonebri1

catpaws99 wrote: »

Why not just carry on topping up the oil as required and run it until it drops. We have a ten year old Scienic that has a similar problem to yours. Loves to drnk oil, rattles, has a nasty ticking/knocking noise coming from under the bonnet. Also seems underpowered at times. We have 2 litre RXE. But ours has done 121,000 miles and has rust issues.

I am putting away money each month so when it goes it can be scrapped and I will have enough saved for a new car (but not a scienic!!)

New question, my cambelt is well overdue 6 years and 40,000 miles do I do it or leave it?

Or crib what bigjl ...said :wall::wall::wall: :rotfl::rotfl: