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Stranded in Germany...blown head gasket???
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Clueless_female
New User
Nov 26, 2006, 3:20 AM
Post #1 of 5
(1732 views)
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Stranded in Germany...blown head gasket???
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I hope you guys can help, because I'm clueless about what just happened to my truck, 1997 Ford Explorer, 156 miles, which is now sitting at a maintenance shop in Munich.
So, myself and two other female friends were happily driving through Germany and suddenly it seemed as though the truck wasn't excelerating right anymore, then the check enging light started flashing and white smoke started coming from the tailpipe Pulled over, looked under the hood, checked the oil and noticed smoke coming from the dipstick tupe and oil cap. Spoke to some British guy who said I may have blown a gasket, but said I may be able to make it home if I take easy. Mind you, I was about 180 miles from home. When I started the truck it seemed to run rougher than before I stopped, but got back on the road....as I really had no other choice. About 120 miles later things went from bad to worse...the check gage light started flashing, the gage that shows the oil lamp started jumping back and forth from H to L and the truck stared de-excelerating until I was cruising and then it just died. Tried cranking it up and it would start, but it wouldn't go anyplace. Stranded, called tow truck.
Now, if this is a blown head gasket, what could have caused it? Also, does it sound like I now destroyed the engine by continuing to drive?
Oh yeah, don't know if this is significant info, but a few weeks a go and I had leak in my water bypass hose, which was repaired, but even though I no longer had a leak, I continued to smell antifreeze. Went back to the repair shop, guy said it was just the smell of the antifreeze burning off that had spilled under the hood. Could this have caused my problems?
Sorry so long, but any info will help to ease my mind.
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steve01832
Veteran
Nov 26, 2006, 3:30 AM
Post #2 of 5
(1729 views)
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Re: Stranded in Germany...blown head gasket???
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Sorry to tell you this, but if you drove the vehicle and the oil guage fell way down, the dash lit up with warning lights, and the engine stalled, don't count on a new cylinder head fixing it now. Sounds like the engine has got big problems now. Vehicle should have never been driven once it showed signs of problems. If you would have gotten it towed instead of trying to drive it home, you may have saved yourself a lot of $$$.
Steve
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Clueless_female
New User
Nov 26, 2006, 4:01 AM
Post #3 of 5
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Re: Stranded in Germany...blown head gasket???
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First, thanks for your fast response. :-)
Yeah, I guess you're right. I knew I shouldn't have listened to that guy. But I really didn't know what else to do. I just didn't want to end up stranded, but ended up that way anyway and now with worse problems.
Question though, is repairing something like this a possiblity at all? I mean, we're not talking rebuilding an engine are we? Of course, I don't want to put a lot of money into it, but if I can find someone to fix it for cheap, is it even worth it? Or is any amount of money a waste?
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steve01832
Veteran
Nov 26, 2006, 4:15 AM
Post #4 of 5
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Re: Stranded in Germany...blown head gasket???
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You could be looking at paying a couple thousand dollars to do the heads just to find out that the engine is destroyed.
If you lost oil pressure while you were driving it, and then the warning lights came on and then the engine died, the odds of the heads being the only problem are nill. My guess from steam coming out of the oil dipstick tube leads me to believe that anti-freeze got into the oil and caused a lot of other problems in the engine. Price out rebuilt engines and go that route as opposed to replacing the heads to find out later that the money wasn't well spent. Heads are costly and a v-6 has two. A rebuilt engine might be worth the expense after you weigh up the risks.
I wish you the best but really give this some thought before you jump into a money pit fall.
Steve
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Clueless_female
New User
Nov 26, 2006, 4:56 AM
Post #5 of 5
(1721 views)
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Re: Stranded in Germany...blown head gasket???
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Oh well, I guess it's really not worth it. Considering I have a BMW that needs repairs too, I supposed I should figure out which one will cost less and go from there. The BMW started acting crazy about a month ago and this guy that looked at it said something abou some cylinders not shooting. But since I had the truck I really hadn't take the time to get it looked up. I guess nows the time.
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