Help- Jeep engine ruined

[Pauldp]

Hi All

Please could someone help me with some advise.
A petrol attendant filled my radiator and I did not know after I told him to only to top up my reserve water reservior. 15km's later and it overheated I stopped knowing that he had obviously filled the radiator while the engine was hot and didnt bleed it.Result the garage said the engine is damaged and will cost R50 000 to fix or R41 000 to put a reconditioned engine in. Any advise if I have recourse with the petrol station and what should I do about the engine.

Thanks

Paul

[XJ Junkie]

Hi All
Please could someone help me with some advise.
A petrol attendant filled my radiator and I did not know after I told him to only to top up my reserve water reservior. 15km's later and it overheated I stopped knowing that he had obviously filled the radiator while the engine was hot and didnt bleed it.Result the garage said the engine is damaged and will cost R50 000 to fix or R41 000 to put a reconditioned engine in. Any advise if I have recourse with the petrol station and what should I do about the engine.
Thanks
Paul

Hi9 & Welcome - I don't understand what the attendant did wrong? Did he top up the radiator or the reserve? Could you clarify?

What sort of Jeep is it?

[Dirk]

I would definitely try and take it on, but your first difficulty will be in proving the filling station and attendant is at fault.

[ThysleRoux]

Hi Paul

What Jeep do you drive ? From bitter experience I know that not bleeding the cooling system properly , will result in serious damage due to airlocks on some engines. The quotes seem excessive though, as the only damage should be to the cylinder head(s) / -gasket(s). If the vehicle was only driven for 15 km, I doubt if there will be serious head damage. Please provide more details.

[tgwinduna]

Same old Same old!! If you are prepared to let some stranger fiddle under the bonnet of your care you must accept the hazards. The golden rule is always supervise the attendant checking your oil and water, just the other day I saw an attendant pour water into the power steering resevoir of a brand new BMW 3 series that was driving on temp No plates. I don't think you have a hope in haydes in suing the garage. Then onus is on the driver to observe the temp gauge and if done so there is adequate time to stop and prevent major engine damage. If you did not then it is termed as negligent driving.
Sorry to hear about your loss
Take care

[Fluffy]

Same old Same old!! If you are prepared to let some stranger fiddle under the bonnet of your care you must accept the hazards. The golden rule is always supervise the attendant checking your oil and water, just the other day I saw an attendant pour water into the power steering resevoir of a brand new BMW 3 series that was driving on temp No plates. I don't think you have a hope in haydes in suing the garage. Then onus is on the driver to observe the temp gauge and if done so there is adequate time to stop and prevent major engine damage. If you did not then it is termed as negligent driving.
Sorry to hear about your loss
Take care

Dont you fiddle under other peoples bonnets.

[andre`]

If it is a 3.8, take it to Chrysler and have the heads replaced. While they are off check for loose pistons. Heads are only R2200 each excl and sub assembly is R18000 excl. Mine cost me R39000 including labour. Only old parts in my motor is the cam and pushrods. Change the heater pipes while the heads are off. They don`t last more than 120000km and will cost you a motor again. Don`t be shy to negotiate labour costs.

[Pauldp]

Thanks for the responses.

I usually check the attendant and ran in to pay for my wife order and stupidly I asked her to make sure he only put water into the reserve.Costly

By what happened , temp gauge had no water to read hot and only shot up too late and I pulled over before it even got to red, I am sure he filled the radiator and it must have had an air block from not bleeding it.Sigh

I have a 4.7 overland and love my Jeep but this has hurt me badly.
Its a 2004 model and to sell in good condition is not even double the cost of fixing it.

As for tgwinduna ,Its easy to stand high on your castle and throw out criticism. Please only repond if you have something of positive value or advise.
Hindsight is always easy to comment on.

Thanks to all such a quick reply.

[nicktravel]

Hi phone mel at American Fanatics 084-600-3949/011-024-7820 i'm sure he can help.

[Bulli]

You have nothing against the Filling station, he is an attendant not a mechanic.
The quotation you recieved is a bit high. Do you have more info regarding the damage on the engine?

[Apocalypse]

Thanks for the responses.
I usually check the attendant and ran in to pay for my wife order and stupidly I asked her to make sure he only put water into the reserve.Costly
By what happened , temp gauge had no water to read hot and only shot up too late and I pulled over before it even got to red, I am sure he filled the radiator and it must have had an air block from not bleeding it.Sigh
I have a 4.7 overland and love my Jeep but this has hurt me badly.
Its a 2004 model and to sell in good condition is not even double the cost of fixing it.
As for tgwinduna ,Its easy to stand high on your castle and throw out criticism. Please only repond if you have something of positive value or advise.
Hindsight is always easy to comment on.
Thanks to all such a quick reply.

Not bad for a second post.

Peter ( tgwinduna) has been here for ages... And gives freely of his advice to land rover people mostly... Given that he has a business which charges for that kind of work it's more than generous .

I won't say I always agree with him, but I think you are a little out of line.

If you can't be bothered to check your own levels, and have now managed to blame the attendant and your wife for your failure todo so, well, you deserve your bill....

I'm with Peter on this... You have yourself to blame...

[Bulli]

Not bad for a second post.

Peter ( tgwinduna) has been here for ages... And gives freely of his advice to land rover people mostly... Given that he has a business which charges for that kind of work it's more than generous .

I won't say I always agree with him, but I think you are a little out of line.

If you can't be bothered to check your own levels, and have now managed to blame the attendant and your wife for your failure todo so, well, you deserve your bill....

I'm with Peter on this... You have yourself to blame...

This is not positive input.... Did you not read the man

[KobusM]

Sorry for your mishap, pauldp. Hope you get it sorted soon.

[ThysleRoux]

I smell a rat. No need to get aggressive when you are told the truth.
During my saga with damage due to an air lock earlier this year, I researched the cooling system of the V8 thoroughly and found the following:

1. Yes, the engine can be severely damaged due to incorrect or no bleeding after refilling the radiator
2. The airlock(s) occur in the cylinderheads, which is a lot higher than the temperature sensor
3. The temp gauge works fine if the radiator is full
4. The "low coolant" warning, accompanied by a chime should warn you long before the motor overheats
5. The type of damage you indicate (sketchy info supplied, but implied by the quote for repair) should not take occur within 15 km. Mine was driven for about 130 km, in searing heat and in such a manner that the average fuel consumption shot up top 38 lt/100km, after the repair was botched up and there was no damage to the cylinder heads. As a matter of fact the gaskets had not even "blown" all the way through.

Why was it necessary to top up the coolant reservoir ? I have never had to do it on mine before the gaskets went and have not had to do it since the repairs (and I check it DAILY nowadays)
I suspect your motor was damaged already and you are now trying to lay the blame at the feet of the pump attendant.

[Pauldp]

Hi

Thanks for all the responses.
I am well aware that this is an oversight not to have watched the attendant.
But my car was diving like a dream just before,best it ever felt and sounded be.
So I am pretty sure there was no damage before.

My reserve reservoir was still half full and I have not had to add water for a couple of months checking regularly.We were going on a 400 km drive with the kids and I just wanted to make sure it was topped up.

Unfortunatly I did not get a low coolant light or chime and thought I had pulled over in time.

When I spoke to the machanic since he said he had got the engine running which sounds a bit strange if there was so much damage to it.Is this possible?

Thanks again for all the positive responses.

Paul

[ThysleRoux]

I don't think there should be more damage than gaskets and maybe slightly warped cylinder heads. These motors are quite robust and apparently you did not drive far after the incident. Get a second opinion.

[OFFROAD ADDICT]

I cant fathom out why on earth Jeep puts a screw cap on the radiator that if it is opened mistakenly you can screw things up. They should have fitted a type of opening device that you needed a tool to open.
This will have then saved alot of problems.
I am sure this isnt the only one, and i am also sure it wont be the last..
I say come on Jeep, seal the cap on the radiator so that only a special tool can be used to open.
Why are mechanical repairs so expensive any way, Mechanics arent seeing those monies in their salaries.

[ThysleRoux]

It's not only Jeep that has this problem, Ian. The sloping bonnet lines of modern cars determine that the radiator be lower, in order to fit under the bonnet, often resulting in this issue. Even the Chev 4100/3800 of the '70s had a similar set up. Some European vehicles, like some Merc's, VW's and Opels have sealed radiators, with pressurised expansion bottles situated high enough to eliminate the bleeding issue, but that causes other problems, like failing plastic pressure bottles, extra hoses which are under pressure, etc.

The Jeep has plenty of warnings under the hood to warn you that this needs to be done. The bottom line is not to allow forecourt staff to touch anything under your bonnet - EVER, irrespective of the vehicle you drive.