Loads of horrid white smoke came out of my Corsa

thatgirlsam

Hello

I have a Corsa that I bought in Feb this year, it is a 56 plate

Was driving into town yesterday, car stalled as i pulled into car park but blamed it on my big boots and parked up and went shopping

When i got back to car I drove off and loads and loads of horrible white smoke came out the exhaust, accompanied by a revolting smell

Went 20 yards down road and pulled into a handy garage

Man came out and said 'oh dear you have broken that' :eek:

He had a look for me and said there was nothing he could do, he did say it could be head gasket failure (engine was very low on coolant but was not overheating, was running at normal temp.. but had the 'mayonnaise' on oil cap)

Got RAC man out to tow me somewhere else today, he lifted up bonnet and said ' oh dear thats terminal' :eek::eek:

Have left car in a friend of my brothers garage tonight for him to look at tomorrow.. he did say IF it was head gasket then it would cost £650ish

but the other 2 guys seemed to think the engine has died

so my question is would they know that by a quick look under the bonnet?

I am panicking a bit, I work in a hospital and am on shift over Christmas, I have hired a car for a week, going to pick it up tommorow but obviously i can't do that for long

I am so worried the engine has died, if this is the case, would i be able to have it rebuilt? and how much would that cost :eek::eek:

Thanks for reading!

PsiDOC

Corsa Petrol or Diesel?
1.0, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6 or 1.7 engine size?

Psi

thatgirlsam

PsiDOC wrote: »

Corsa Petrol or Diesel?
1.0, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6 or 1.7 engine size?

Psi

petrol, 1.4 .. it says twin port on the back i think - sorry I sound so dim!

anewman

They will generally only know more once they have taken the head off. Worst case scenario is cracked head or block if it is headgasket related, this generally only happens if it has mega overheated and cooked.

thatgirlsam

anewman wrote: »

They will generally only know more once they have taken the head off. Worst case scenario is cracked head or block if it is headgasket related, this generally only happens if it has mega overheated and cooked.

ok, so seeing as it was not overheating then maybe it will be ok?

someone has told me today that if the head gasket needs replacing then this will be the start of a load of other problems with it, is that true?

Stigy

I sounds from what you say, like the head gasket, although I'd imagine that's at the very least, as the head itself could be cracked. You stated that it hadn't got particularly hot though, so you might be 'lucky'...

poet123

This happened to mine too, it was caused by the oil filter disintegrating into the engine. Apparently, this is a common fault with Corsas as the filters are paper, and need changing yearly. Had to have a new engine in mine £800. Sure that is not what you wanted to hear, sorry.

thatgirlsam

Stigy wrote: »

I sounds from what you say, like the head gasket, although I'd imagine that's at the very least, as the head itself could be cracked. You stated that it hadn't got particularly hot though, so you might be 'lucky'...

What would cause this to happen?

Its 4 years old and done 40,000 miles.. I haven't had it serviced yet as not had it for a year but it has been serviced regularly by the last owner..

thatgirlsam

poet123 wrote: »

This happened to mine too, it was caused by the oil filter disintegrating into the engine. Apparently, this is a common fault with Corsas as the filters are paper, and need changing yearly. Had to have a new engine in mine £800. Sure that is not what you wanted to hear, sorry.

hi poet.. £650, £800 not much difference really

A new engine though .. in a 4 year old car?? :eek:

Oh gosh :(

Hammyman

thatgirlsam wrote: »

What would cause this to happen?

Its 4 years old and done 40,000 miles.. I haven't had it serviced yet as not had it for a year but it has been serviced regularly by the last owner..

When was the last service and when was the next one due? How long you've had it is utterly irrelevant.

thatgirlsam

Hammyman wrote: »

When was the last service and when was the next one due? How long you've had it is utterly irrelevant.

Last service was in Feb when i bought it.. I would have had it serviced in Feb next year.. Do I need to have my car serviced more than once a year then?

eta - i have done 4000 miles in it since i bought it