Ford S-Max Blue Smoke/Low Compression Worth It?

sniffydog

Hi,
I'm looking for an older petrol S-max and have found a 2.5t very cheap that says
"It start blue smoke from exhaust and there is lower compresion on 4 cylinder but car still push well on every gear and I still use it daily but need top up engine oil once a week probably piston rings gone. Head gasket have been done in march and also turbo was replaced."

Is it worth the punt? Anybody have any ideas what my best and worst case scenarios would be for sorting it?

TonyMMM

Depends what you are planning on using it for & how long you want to keep it ?

It would need to be very,very cheap and have a long MOT - and you then assume you will be scrapping it.

Could be piston rings, or maybe more likely a valve stem seal, or maybe the head gasket job was bodged, but whatever it is it's going to be an expensive fix.

If the rest of the car is in really good nick, and you can get it cheap enough, a recon engine might be a possible solution.

Jackmydad

^ What he said.
Older car with worn out engine = scrap price in my book.

Joe_Horner

If it needs topping up weekly then it's not only burning oil smoking on start-up, it's doing it all the time.

A problem with moderns is that the cat will effectively hide that once it's warmed up and make the exhaust look nice and clean - until the cat also destroys itself from burning off all that extra hydrocarbon goodness.

motorguy

sniffydog wrote: »

Hi,
I'm looking for an older petrol S-max and have found a 2.5t very cheap that says
"It start blue smoke from exhaust and there is lower compresion on 4 cylinder but car still push well on every gear and I still use it daily but need top up engine oil once a week probably piston rings gone. Head gasket have been done in march and also turbo was replaced."

Is it worth the punt? Anybody have any ideas what my best and worst case scenarios would be for sorting it?

Head gasket failure can cause an engine to overheat, which can cause the piston rings to mis-shape / shrink which would lead to oil getting past the rings and thus the engine burning oil.

Unless its for sale at close to scrap money and has a years MOT (as has been said already), no its not worth a punt IMHO.

sniffydog

Thanks for the replies peeps. Very useful. Yes, it's going very cheap (asking £800 or offers) MOT until April 2020. That's not much time and I'd be worried about buying it just for that time as the not sure if it would break down in between(?) We had a on old BMW that was using oil and ended up running very rough quite quickly.

What would be ballpark costs for new engine incl fitting or a rebuild? It still might make sense...maybe.

Robisere

Put your Reg No. in here:
https://www.1stchoice.co.uk/car-parts/ford/engine

TBH, I believe that what you would pay for the car, for another engine, fitting, oils, lubes etc., is going to be so expensive compared to using the same amount to buy another car, that it's just not economically viable. If this S-Max has all of its present problems, what else might be on its way out? Can you view the Advisories on the last MOT?

Here's an Ebay example, at a frightening price:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=2.5t+S-Max+engine&_sacat=33615

Another source:
https://www.replacementengines.co.uk/car-md.asp?part=all-ford-smax-engine&mo_id=31275

marlot

sniffydog wrote: »

Is it worth the punt? Anybody have any ideas what my best and worst case scenarios would be for sorting it?

I'd say it's only worth a punt if you already have a 2.5 engined Smax at home as a donor vehicle (eg. one with terminal rust).

And don't trust 'engine re-conditioners' - there are so many rogues around.

sniffydog

Thanks. That puts it in perspective. I'll steer clear!

Herzlos

If it was worth fixing, the seller would get it fixed and sell it for market value.

facade

Tbh, it is worth £200 + £20 a month of valid MOT (it likely won't get one if it is burning a lot of oil), so around £300-£320. You are then expecting to drive it to the scrap yard in April and get £100 or so back. Another engine will cost you £1000, which is why it is for sale.