Problem w/ DOHC ZC Engine! Pls. Help
 

Hey guys,

I bought a DOHC ZC about 6 months ago and it ran great. But now it cant start. The spark plugs are working, the starter is working and everything. So I brought the car to a mechanic yesterday and he just told me that the engine is not making any compression at all. I don't really know if I blew anything in there.

But heres what happened; I went to pick up my aunt at pickering, (I live in scarborough) and we went to Sam's club around there. Then after 2 hours, we were about to leave but the car wont start. And ever since then, the car is not able to start. It was pretty chilly that night, so i thought it was because it was cold... but i guess not since the mechanic is saying that it's not making any compression. He says its really weird because you can't see any obvious holes in my engine and it doesnt make any compression, while some of the blown engines he has (w/ holes) can still make some compression.

Please help, I don't wanna have to spend too much money to fix this thing... the mechanic was suggesting a rebuild of the motor, or replacing the engine altogether. But i dont wanna do that because I just bought the DOHC ZC 6 months ago, it's not right. Did i happen to buy a defective engine from the auto store i bought it from??

Ok.. any feedback would be great! Thanks and very much appreciated.

- Joel

Well it wasn't "defective" when you bought it, as you said, it ran for 6 months right?
I don't know why you're getting 0 compression across the board. It's something that the mechanic is going to have to diagnose. It's not going to be cheap.
Try calling the place you bought the engine from and see what kind of warranty they offer. If it's nothing, then you are on your own. If it's something then you might just have to pay some labour to get it fixed. Either way, you're going to pay something. In the end, it might be cheaper to just get a new engine. But, call them and see what they can offer you, maybe if you talk to the manager he can help you out on the price of a new, used engine, and this time take the extended warranty if it's available.

so are you saying it's 0 compression on ALL cylinders?? cuz that's damn near impossible. unless your timing belt broke and left the engine in a position where on every cylinder there are valves that are open. have you checked to make sure the timing belt is intact??

you may also have a broken camshaft or crank as well, but even if the crank was broken my understading is it could still make compression.

i have been through 6 dohc zc your timing belt skipped and all your valves are bent = 0 compression

no way, for real? even if the the timing belt was new (6 months ago) when i got the engine, it could still fail like that?

well if thats the case, is there a cheaper way to fix this thing? or am i gonna be forced to do a rebuild or maybe even get a another engine?

oh also, i don't know if this'll help.. but i forgot to say one thing. 2 weeks b4 my car broke down, i was driving home and sometimes it would hiccup (or like a do a lil stall) but the engine didn't turn off... so for a split second, it would hiccup and then work normally again. And it did that once in awhile. well i hope that info would help in any way at all.

Anyway, since you've been through 6 dohc zcs, what does it look like for me?

start by checking the timing belt location (see if it skipped) or see if it's broken. let's not jump the gun...

yyea thats true... i'd hate to lose $1000 rushing decisions.

hey one question tho, if it was the timing belt right, and it messed up... and i kept on trying to start the car with the belt broken, would that mess up the engine even more??

well if the belt was broken and you kept trying to start the engine u woulda been smashing a valve or 2 each time that engine cranked...if that belt skipped and or snapped start lookin for a replacement engine