[IamtehKing]

Hello everyone... Well my major repair finally came. I was driving to lunch after starting a new job and I noticed a huge plume of white smoke coming from the exhaust. The car started to sputter and it seemed the engine was going to die. I parked and checked the coolant and there wasn't any from what I can see (I did get a low coolant light a few months back). I bought some stop leak and added water and let it run for awhile and it looks like it isn't leaking anymore but it still sputter s and spews white stinky smoke.

Does anyone know how much this should cost?, I know it'll be pricey but I've been quoted 2500 to 8000... Really need some advice on it.

I'm in Pomona, CA near LA and my cars a 2008 Cayman S with 95000 miles.

 

[Boiler Inspector]

It really depends on what is really wrong with it. I don't know that I've seen many reported head gasket failures in these cars, although it is possible. I would check the water pump; perhaps coolant has been weeping past the pulley bearing over time and you didn't notice it. As for the white plume, that may be a failed AOS.

 

[fast1]

It really depends on what is really wrong with it. I don't know that I've seen many reported head gasket failures in these cars, although it is possible. I would check the water pump; perhaps coolant has been weeping past the pulley bearing over time and you didn't notice it. As for the white plume, that may be a failed AOS.

I agree. Blown gaskets were not uncommon on some cars 30 years ago, but today it's a rarity. For example Dodge had a problem with blown gaskets back in the 90s. My recollection is that they had cast iron blocks and aluminum heads on some of their engines. The different coefficient of expansion between the two metals was problematical.

 

[qhb]

I wish I can give you a number to make you feel better but the truth of the matter is no one can until it's diagnose to know what's really wrong with it.

If you don't have a good Indi shop, go to the local PCA websites and look for a good Indi shop and take it there. I know all the Indies listed on Upcoming Events | and PCA - Orange Coast Region are good shops and some of them are sponsor of this site.

 

[mfashi]

$2500 is too cheap. You have to pull engine out to do heads. That is very expensive. $5000-8000 easy.

If you had low coolant light maybe you have leaking water pump or bad expansion tank. If you ran car hot then head gasket could be damaged.

If it is head gasket then you can look at oil. If it looks like chocolate milkshake then coolant mix in with oil. This can also further damage entire engine if ran long enough. Cause extensive bearing damage. Worst case you need new motor.

 

[RSchwerer]

I had a blown head gasket on my 2010 2.9L. ATT I'd had the car 2 yrs and it had ~26K miles. Suddenly during some hard acceleration while merging into traffic from an on-ramp, I heard some sputtering. It sounded and felt like I was hitting the rev-limiter, so I didn't think much of it. The rest of the trip home was uneventful, so I didn't think much of it. But the next morning, while backing out of the garage, I noticed a small puddle of coolant that would of been under the left (driver) side of the car. I was on my way to work, so I continued driving. I got about 1/4 mile before the CE light came on so I turned around. I noticed the temp was also rising. When I got home I hooked-up Durametric and found the codes were caused by missing on cylinders 5 & 6. So I called dealer and Roadside Assist to get towed.

It was now Christmas week and I had the week off. After a couple days and I stopped by. The tech had dropped the engine and had the head off. They had a new gasket. He showed me that there were no signs that coolant got into the combustion chambers. But while re-torqing the head bolts, he found the ones toward the rear wouldn't torque - just spun. So the threads were stripped. IDL if he f'd up the torqing, but they blamed it on a manufacturing defect. A couple days later PCNA approved a new engine. Since there were no spares, they took one off the assembly line in Germany and air-freighted it to us. So my 2010 now has a 2012 engine along with all the dressings (cats, belt, all the external stuff except the clutch/transmission). Unfortunately, the whole process took about 1 month - due to the holidays, vacations, and having to ship the engine from Germany.

So, I hope your gasket problem doesn't turn into something bigger.

 

[Morde5]

Why do you think it is a head gasket? If that is the case you would have coolant in the oil as already mentioned. Also your car would have smoked for a while if coolant was seeping in the engine. It may be WP or AOS. I'd have the issue fully diagnosed before panicking and spending thousands in repairs. If you are not comfortable troubleshooting by yourself, find a good indy and work with them. I hope it is something simple because head gasket is going to be expensive. Good luck!

 

[Jeff_07S]

Like everyone is saying it's likely the AOS. If you have never replaced it - guess what - now is your first time!

Don't run the engine - since the oil will pool in the cylinders and hydro lock it.

Likely you will have to pull the spark plugs and suck the excess oil out of the cylinders - since you tried to run it again.

If you can tow the car to Dream Garage (El Monte / Industry) - you can rent lift time there and fix it.