Is my Micra dead?

[josh]

Ok,

I'm new to the forum but not new to the trials and tribulations of life on the road with my micra. Unfortunately I don't claim to know much about cars in general although the micra has just passed her MOT which is a good thing, and heralds the beginning of her 17th year on the road (and she's just passed 150k miles too).

For the record, it's a J-reg 1.0LS which I was hoping to take on the plymouth-dakar next year as its final journey, but I think the following story might prove why this will not be the case...

Yesterday, I [finally] put some more oil in the engine cos it needed it. My mechanic said: put three litres in. So I did. That seemed to be a bit too much and was confirmed when I tried to 'fire' her up. No firing; just a 'clunk'.

I checked the dip and unfortunately the oil was, how shall I put it, overflowing! And it had gone into the carb and pretty much everywhere. So a quick trip to Halfords for more oil and a new oil filter.

What I've done:
Drained the oil out the sump (suprisingly unmessy)
Changed the oil filter
Added about 2.25L of new oil
Wiped up all the excess oil (doubt I need to, but it keeps it clean)
Started the car.

Still a clunk.

Now I suspect there might be soot on the spark plugs where the excess oil was burnt but tbh I have no idea how to remove the plugs! Any ideas and suggestions would be welcome, otherwise it's new car time.

Thanks in advance,

Josh.

 

[fox1983]

humm this dont sound good mate use a plug spanner and take plugs out to clean them but there is many other things u need to check first
first is it actually turnin over or is it just making a clunk noise if so check the starter
some of the more knoledged micra owners will be able to tell u more but from the sounds of it u may have to get new car but till u can get the car running i wouldnt of thought ud be able to flush the system out and i expect if its full of oil it wont even fire

 

[AMY]

It could be a number of things, but I suspect that a lot of oil has found its way in to the cylinders, especially as you say there was oil in the carb. I would take all the plugs out, and leave them to one side. Then place an old towel over the engine ensuring that the plug holes are covered. Then turn the engine over for a couple of seconds to expell the oil from the cylinders. The towel is to stop the oil squirting everywhere!
It is possible that you may have damaged some of the engine gaskets and or seals or worse the piston rings or con rods could be damaged. Try what i said above firstly then we can take it from there.

 

[sonic]

It does sound lke a hydraulic lock in the combustion chambers, as Amy says take the plugs out and try to turn the engine over to expel the excess oil in the bores, I would suggest that you invest in a Haynes manual to familiarise yourself with the cars workings, it makes life a lot easier. At worst if the excess oil has caused damage and you dont feel up to the job of repairing it then a replacement engine would be cheap and easy enough to do, again the haynes manual takes you through this step by step with pictures All in all the end of the engines life doesn't neccessarily mean the end of the cars life, good luck.

 

[fox1983]

yer i agree with sonic me and speedle did an engine change in my car in a day with just 2 bits of rope and a plank of wood and all the tools of course lol but its so easy to do and u can get a decent engine for between 50 to 90 pounds

 

[Fordy]

take the spark plugs out and turn the engine over by hand with a rachet and socket on the crank pulley,

if the engine turns over with out locking up solid then all hope isnt lost,

now with the spark plugs still out turn the engine over with the key (a rag over the floor and spark plug holes will be a good idea if theres oil in the chambers)

does the engine turn over at all or does it just go clunk?

if it goes clunk when the spark plugs are out then you have either a flat battery or the starter motor is dead, because if it turns over by hand with the spark plugs out and its not locking up the starter is the only thing that will go clunk

if the engine had hydrolocked i doubt the conrods have bent as the engine only had the force of the starter motor to turn the engine over

 

[Batch]

Open the bonnet, carefully un-do the engine mounts and all wiring, being sure to support the weight of the engine, remove the 1.0LS engine either from above or below (i prefer above!)...replace with 1.2 litre engine and 5speed box...jobs a good-un!

Non constructive post i know but i had to let it out..

Could be the best excuse for a bit more torque!