mecussey: My engine rings are failing, is it better to change the engine or the rings? The engine still has full compression, sounds so good, and only smoke when i fire to maximum. I heard our Nigerian mechanics can't coil rings like the original and may not last upto 6 months after the coiling.

Ikenna351:

What colour is the smoke?

Ikenna

xcitedjay: If you can get a good mechanic to re~ring it good but if you've got the money to buy a new engine better. I don't think the ring is the problem since the engine still sounds good and only gives out smoke at high speed.

mecussey: The smoke is white

Ikenna351:

Hope you are sure of the colour? Some do take the blue colour as white, since it wont be pure blue.

Anyway, if its white like you said, your car needs a cylinder head job. It could be only the head gasket that would need to be replaced, as usually the case. But you should know if the head gasket is faulty via other symptoms. Is the car overheating? Do you top or refill the radiator everyone now & then without seeing any point of leakage? Have you check for bubbles when you open your radiator cap few mins after first start in the morning?

If the colour is blue, then the rings, piston & cylinder walls could have worn. Does the oil level reduces frequently without any sign of leakage?

Ikenna

mecussey: Thanks Ikenna, it may be sky blue like you said, not really sure. Its like the kind of cloud we see in the sky on a very sunny day. One thing is that the oil level goes down frequently. I don't just trust my mechanic in terms of competence, he said if he changes the rings that it could carry me for another 6 months. I am just afraid settings are gonna change should they touch it. I am sure he was the cause after servicing the engine with a very bad oil. Anyways, what do you advice, he said engine is 75k and rings 20k, of course I dont have 75k at the moment

Ikenna351:


That depends.

If your car is Japanese/Asian, then I would advice that you continue using the engine in that condition until you can afford to replace the engine (tokunbo). Rebuilding it wont even last upto the 6 months the mechanic has told you. Its possible that your engine walls have worn, meaning, you may have to machine/bore it, replace the pistons with bigger size ones and the rings as well. Besides, am yet to see original japanese piston and rings in Nigeria, unless you source them from outside the country.

If your car is Peugeot, I would advice you rebuild, which will serve you more than the tokunbo engine. Why? All peugeot engines (except NT9E & NT9EA) have Piston Liners, also known as Sleeve. Peugeot only have standard Piston and Sleeve in the market. An original set (Piston & Sleeve), will serve you for years, I mean, years not months, before it could show you sign of failure. That I have experienced. I can vouch for it. But rebuilding a Peugeot engine with original parts could cost more than a tokunbo engine (depending on the extent of wear in the engine, like a failed crankshaft). But it will run like NEW, unlike the used engine(tokunbo). You can get original set of Peugeot Piston & Piston Liners from various Peugeot dealerships scattered everywhere, not from the spare parts market, unless you have a seller that is honest to you.

Ikenna.

elimokhai: From my experience which you don’t want to hear, because the car finally parked up on the highway (ORE) without any helper, I strongly object to “ringing of engines” not even my generator. NEVER will I ring a car engine, not in Nigeria. Presently my Nissan Altima is having similar problem, ringing is estimated at 20k, while a tokunbo engine is estimated at 60k. I rather buy a tokunbo engine that will take me for another four years. Same thing with the transmission, I was told the pump is faulty, and it will take about 25k for fixing which I am sure will not be perfectly repaired. The transmission is so sensitive, tampering with it could disrupt the whole structure and speed of the car,so i'll rather buy a tokunbo directly from engine 40k. if I go for fixing the engine and transmission pump at 20+25+service charge, the engine capacity goes low which affects the wiring and air-condition system. It will never be the same, in few months you will think of replacing the complete engine. What happened to 45k+service charge? “Penny wise pounds foolish” No mechanic will EVER tell you the impending problems of ringing an engine. if your mechanic tells you "ring engines" will take you for 6months when he actually knows that tokunbo engine will take you for four years, please have him replaced. because you will turn out to be his best customer. you know what that means.
My brother, I will advise that you keep using the car, while you save enough to change the full engine.

WinkWrld: Do noT repair! Never make thatt mistake, no matter what your mechanics tell you. Just save and get a replacement.

Ikenna351:

Engines are meant to be rebuilt, not replaced, hence, OEM & aftermarket.

That you cant source for original engine parts and having a knowlegeable mechanic that can rebuild an engine to factory, doesnt mean engines are not meant to be rebuilt. Engines are rebuild to run like new, unlike the used engines (tokunbo) which you do not know how the original user used it.

What everyone should be asking is the cause of engine failure or blue smoke from the car tail, which comes down to us, as the root cause, in most cases. How do I mean:

1. Run-in period, unless stated in the owners manual that the engine has been broken in before purchase (Ignorance)
2. Lack of interest in keeping our vehicles in good shape (Maintenance culture)
3. Bad driving style (Ignorance)
4. Bad/wrong engine oil
5. Removal and use of engine without the cooling system thermostat
6. Use of water only for the cooling system.
7. Constant spinning of radiator electric cooling fan(s) (Altering the factory connection).
8. Revving of engine at cold start
9. etc.

I wished I have time to explain what I listed above. If you dont know how you contribute in killing your engine, that means you will keep replacing or rebuilding your vehicle engine, over and over again. A vehicle that has been used outside the country for 15 - 20 years, by your fellow human being, as soon as it enters Nigerian shore, the engine dies within 2 - 3 years. Ever bothered to ask your self why.

I will prefer a 10-15 years old car, used in the western world, than buy a used Brand new 3 years old car used in Nigeria. Why? 98 percent of vehicles bought brand new in Nigeria suffer lack of running in period, which reduces life-span of an engine, big time.



Ikenna.

Jonwesley:

Ikenna! Do u know what? I really enjoyed ur write up. I just changed my peugeot 406 old model engine when i noticed on my car some of the signs u earlier mentioned. In my case the smoke was dark, but my engine oil level was never ok then. Just drying all the time. I gambled with the engine replacement since i was not sure of the state of the Tokunbo engine and it appears i ve got a brand tokunbo car.The engine started with all the things it came with, not even a plug was changed, except that new engine oil that was added. But i'm at a loss now as to why my temperature is always increasing beyond 90. When ever it happens like this, it's most likely the water level in the radiator has gone down which i will have to fill up back making it come down to normal temperature. But shortly after some days, the rise in temperature and water loss will happen again. Most annoying is that there is no where that i see water leaking. Pls can u help me with what to do about this? I wld be pleased to get ur tips on dis again. Thanks.

Ikenna351:

Engines are meant to be rebuilt, not replaced, hence, OEM & aftermarket.
That you cant source for original engine parts and having a knowlegeable mechanic that can rebuild an engine to factory, doesnt mean engines are not meant to be rebuilt. Engines are rebuild to run like new, unlike the used engines (tokunbo) which you do not know how the original user used it.
What everyone should be asking is the cause of engine failure or blue smoke from the car tail, which comes down to us, as the root cause, in most cases. How do I mean:
1. Run-in period, unless stated in the owners manual that the engine has been broken in before purchase (Ignorance)
2. Lack of interest in keeping our vehicles in good shape (Maintenance culture)
3. Bad driving style (Ignorance)
4. Bad/wrong engine oil
5. Removal and use of engine without the cooling system thermostat
6. Use of water only for the cooling system.
7. Constant spinning of radiator electric cooling fan(s) (Altering the factory connection).
8. Revving of engine at cold start
9. etc.
I wished I have time to explain what I listed above. If you dont know how you contribute in killing your engine, that means you will keep replacing or rebuilding your vehicle engine, over and over again. A vehicle that has been used outside the country for 15 - 20 years, by your fellow human being, as soon as it enters Nigerian shore, the engine dies within 2 - 3 years. Ever bothered to ask your self why.
I will prefer a 10-15 years old car, used in the western world, than buy a used Brand new 3 years old car used in Nigeria. Why? 98 percent of vehicles bought brand new in Nigeria suffer lack of running in period, which reduces life-span of an engine, big time.
Ikenna.

Ikenna351:


Engines are meant to be rebuilt, not replaced, hence, OEM & aftermarket.

That you cant source for original engine parts and having a knowlegeable mechanic that can rebuild an engine to factory, doesnt mean engines are not meant to be rebuilt. Engines are rebuild to run like new, unlike the used engines (tokunbo) which you do not know how the original user used it.

What everyone should be asking is the cause of engine failure or blue smoke from the car tail, which comes down to us, as the root cause, in most cases. How do I mean:

1. Run-in period, unless stated in the owners manual that the engine has been broken in before purchase (Ignorance)
2. Lack of interest in keeping our vehicles in good shape (Maintenance culture)
3. Bad driving style (Ignorance)
4. Bad/wrong engine oil
5. Removal and use of engine without the cooling system thermostat
6. Use of water only for the cooling system.
7. Constant spinning of radiator electric cooling fan(s) (Altering the factory connection).
8. Revving of engine at cold start
9. etc.

I wished I have time to explain what I listed above. If you dont know how you contribute in killing your engine, that means you will keep replacing or rebuilding your vehicle engine, over and over again. A vehicle that has been used outside the country for 15 - 20 years, by your fellow human being, as soon as it enters Nigerian shore, the engine dies within 2 - 3 years. Ever bothered to ask your self why.

I will prefer a 10-15 years old car, used in the western world, than buy a used Brand new 3 years old car used in Nigeria. Why? 98 percent of vehicles bought brand new in Nigeria suffer lack of running in period, which reduces life-span of an engine, big time.



Ikenna.

scotcom:
[/color][color=#006600]

Ikenna351:


Engines are meant to be rebuilt, not replaced, hence, OEM & aftermarket.

That you cant source for original engine parts and having a knowlegeable mechanic that can rebuild an engine to factory, doesnt mean engines are not meant to be rebuilt. Engines are rebuild to run like new, unlike the used engines (tokunbo) which you do not know how the original user used it.

What everyone should be asking is the cause of engine failure or blue smoke from the car tail, which comes down to us, as the root cause, in most cases. How do I mean:

1. Run-in period, unless stated in the owners manual that the engine has been broken in before purchase (Ignorance)
2. Lack of interest in keeping our vehicles in good shape (Maintenance culture)
3. Bad driving style (Ignorance)
4. Bad/wrong engine oil
5. Removal and use of engine without the cooling system thermostat
6. Use of water only for the cooling system.
7. Constant spinning of radiator electric cooling fan(s) (Altering the factory connection).
8. Revving of engine at cold start
9. etc.

I wished I have time to explain what I listed above. If you dont know how you contribute in killing your engine, that means you will keep replacing or rebuilding your vehicle engine, over and over again. A vehicle that has been used outside the country for 15 - 20 years, by your fellow human being, as soon as it enters Nigerian shore, the engine dies within 2 - 3 years. Ever bothered to ask your self why.

I will prefer a 10-15 years old car, used in the western world, than buy a used Brand new 3 years old car used in Nigeria. Why? 98 percent of vehicles bought brand new in Nigeria suffer lack of running in period, which reduces life-span of an engine, big time.



Ikenna.

egbenya:
ds s serious, I jst bought a direct Belgium 4E Toyota engine in Kaduna for N60k, wit 1week guarantee.bt after fixin d engine, d car did not start, my Mech called d seller that we nid anoda engine as d one we took did not work, d Nxt day wch WS 24/02/16, we returned it n collected anoda one.after fixing d new 1, d timing belt was bad, so d seller gave us a new timing belt, den d engine started working, d engine s amazing, speed, performance n all, bt after driving d car for 2days d car engine s still smoking.we met d engine dealer who said he will giv us original piston rings n top gasket in other to stop d smoking, n my mechanic said since d engine block s still in grade,dt if he rings it, it will b perfect.bt iam scared bcs I jst used my last cash 2buy d engine, it will really affect me psychologically if d engine start giving problem.bt ds msg s MRE like medicine after death bcs d work on ringing d engine has alrdy started.n all my frnds r blaming me for accepting.pls is it possible dt if it is well ringed, it will last me over 2yrs?

Ikenna351:


Hope you are sure of the colour? Some do take the blue colour as white, since it wont be pure blue.

Anyway, if its white like you said, your car needs a cylinder head job. It could be only the head gasket that would need to be replaced, as usually the case. But you should know if the head gasket is faulty via other symptoms. Is the car overheating? Do you top or refill the radiator everyone now & then without seeing any point of leakage? Have you check for bubbles when you open your radiator cap few mins after first start in the morning?

If the colour is blue, then the rings, piston & cylinder walls could have worn. Does the oil level reduces frequently without any sign of leakage?

Ikenna

simontc:



Same with me ikenna,mine is white smoke and its drinking oil like mad.my car is 2006/Toyota corolla with 1zz engine.pls I need your help