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-   -   Elantra Crdi 76000 KM Engine Block Replacement??? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/84491-elantra-crdi-76000-km-engine-block-replacement-4.html)

A link to this thread was sent to me by a friend since I had similar issues on my 2005 Elantra (Edit: @ 44k kms), asking me to share my experiences.

My vehicle had exactly the same issues as yours (loss of compression, et al) about 5k kms after fitting a Pete's box. Please note that I am not blaming the box here, just mentioning the fact.

I was quoted Rs.1.4 lakhs for a full engine rebuild after they diagnosed a weak valve on Cylinder 3 which has PROBABLY caused a crack in the liner in Cyl 3.

Like you, I wrote in to Hyundai asking them why I should receive a quote for a full engine rebuild when the problem is one weak valve. The reply took some time as they prefer not to interfere if the dealer is handling the issue, unless you have a specific complaint about the dealer or work done.

The answer I finally received is that since they will only open up the engine after receiving the owner's consent for a full rebuild, but the actual cost could be much lower as Hyundai unlike other manufacturer do component replacements as opposed to replacing the whole block.

True to their word, the bill at the end of the work was Rs.42k for one valve, 4 (I asked them to replace all) cylinder liners, 4 sets of piston rings, minor related spares, consumables and labour for the full rebuild. After discounts, the final bill was Rs.36k.

This is FYI. I did have an issue, but I have not been ripped off by the manufacturer or the dealer. While I did have serious concerns about the original estimate (which was very precise with the compression test report, probable cause and the breakdown of the cost by component & labour), the final bill brought a smile to my face as clutch replacements on similar cars have been known to cost twice as much.

I do not know what caused the issue and cannot blame anyone without a valid reason. FYI I have reconnected the Pete's box after the 1,500 kms run-in period + mandatory oil change.

I hope this information is of some use to you. I will not be around to answer questions.

hi buddy
just keep in touch with vishal regarding whats being done to your car.
you may find that your bills may go a lot down than you expected.
and get your car on the road man. it simply doesnt look good in a garage with its pants down.

@Steeroid : Thanks. Here the dealer and Hyundai both said that the block MUST be replaced and didnt take my consent as an outer limit like in your case. Thanks anyways.

@ Mandeep: Surething. Thanks

Just a thought - I suppose Pete's 'Box' must be upping the performance by taking the engine operation closer to its design limits - and reducing OEM built-in margins. Thus in the process affecting engine life - am I right here ?

@ Rigid Rotor : I dont know, but sounds logical on the face of it.

In other news, the block is at the lathe, and the chap is asking for the second advance in order to buy more parts. He is still confident of his deadline of mid October.

Second advance? Do you have to pay in advance for the work they are doing; and is it in full or part?

Its in part for parts !

hi evo,
hope your car comes back with a bang on the road..i havent seen any dealer taking advances this side of inda but then there may have been cases of discrepancies on the part of the car owners who simply didnt show up to pick up their cars for ages after they had been done up simply because they didnt have the money.
keep on updating whats happening with your car and i'm sure all the wonderful people around here will be keeping you company and telling you things that'll only make you proud to be a part of this family.

The smaller workshops do. Interestingly enough, even the Hyundai A.S.S at Guwahati took an advance.

The engine is finally back from the lathe today. I doubt it'll be done by his promised deadline of 14th Oct.

Good to hear that. I have been watching this thread closely. Got to ready myself IF i too get such a problem . Man , i shouldnt think like this. I have installed Pete's too. But nowadays using the throttle gently.

I dont know, what about oil change, at what intervals do you do that?

I once turned to Synthetic oil and serviced at 10000 kms , but the oil was too costly and turned back to normal oil and now servicing at 5000-6000 kms.

Could you give us some update on your engine status?

@evo: I am not clear what is being done to your engine. Is the block being replaced or cylinder liners? If block then the original block should not need to be machined (lathe etc...) and should come with liners pre-installed (this is also know as half engine overhaul in Maruti speak). If liners are being replaced then cost should be much lower. In either case so many days for machining is rather curious. I will check this up but in around Delhi the engine machining is typically a one or max two day job.

Secondly it can not be that one day it started giving lot of smoke. Were there any other symptoms like increasing oil consumption? Or over heating? If not then when was the last oil change before the symptoms? And from where?

The reason is that when engine starts to loose compression it is indicator of mechanical wear. It does not happen all of a sudden. UNLESS the oil it self was culprit. And this happening at such low mileage it self is a problem.

As far as source of problem being Petes box...it is better to writeto them and ask if they have any data collated on quick engine failures after installations? The ECM remaps work by changing air-fuel-timing parameters. It could be that engine ends up running very hot and this leading to failure of proper lubrication. Typically whenever the turbo boost / timing are fiddled with it is also recommended that you uprate you water cooling and oil cooling systems by increasing cooling surfaces and increasing pumping capacities.

While the damage and rebuild is undeniable fact what you do need to do is get to bottom of why it happened. This way you will end up achieving 300K distance on the rebuilt engine as promised by the mech ;-)