Bad day for a Fourtrak

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Driving to town today, my beloved 'trak was, I noticed, running a wee bit hotter than normal, but I wasn't too concerned as the weather's been warm of late. Soon after she gave a sort of cough & started to run "unhappily". I pulled over, stopped the engine, waited a few seconds then started up again. Started fine, ran fine applying a bit of throttle...foot off the gas & the idle speed dropped below normal & she ran rough & spluttered.
Started again, & this time an ominous rattling from somewhere below.
At this point I phoned my mate who's a mechanic & he came out & listened. Couldn't discern what the problem was, as there was plenty of oil, no lack of water, no oil in the water, no visible leaks from the block, etc, etc.
Started her up one more time, only to hear the ominous rattle again, after which she shuddered to a stop & wouldn't start again.
I'm stumped; he's stumped; any thoughts?

crank shaft

hi ive had a similar problem happen to me on a saab i had. i used it daily with no problems and then one day it stopped just like you explained. it had oil and water with no leakes or no oil in water or water in oil. i roughly knew hwat it sounded like so i took the sump of and took a look and the crank. the big end bearing shells had spun and had made big marks in the crank. this was due to a lack of oil to the bearing shells. my problem was that the sump strainer in the sump was blocked with debris. which is a common problem with this saab. i would start by having a look at your oil pump and have a look inside your sump. the oil drain plug in the sump may have metal filings on it which could be the shells of the crank wearing.

Any update on this

Hi.

Have you any update on this engine failure.

Edward (ews)

Edward (ews) '92 Fourtrak 2.8 TDX

'93 Fourtrak 2.8TDL I'm

'93 Fourtrak 2.8TDL

I'm currently waiting for a friend to pick it up & take it to his workshop, as I have no facilities at home. I've had various friends telling me "it's most likely this", or "most likely that"; one theory was a holed piston. The jury is still out & I'm too busy trying to finish a roof before the rains promised for Wednesday.
Hopefully I'll have an answer by Monday;but this is France, so it could be January

'93 Fourtrak 2.8TDL

And finally............

Well after what seems forever, mechanic has removed the head to reveal a crack "between bore & valve". This, it appears is terminal, as combined with this are some nasty scores which may have been caused by a piece of the valve seat dropping into the cylinder at some point.
So actively looking to replace this 'trak with another in the near future.
I see there are loads for sale at the moment, & am tempted to go for a slightly newer model.

'93 Fourtrak 2.8TDL

I've also noticed that there

I've also noticed that there has been a surge of listings on Ebay. Would have thought that after the snow people would have wanted to keep them....

Bottom end failure

Hi.

If the cause of the demise of your Fourtrak'engine, is related to lubrication failure, could you state what type of oil you are using. Fully Synthetic, Semi Synthetic or Mineral Oil. (NOT BRAND or MANUFACTURER). In any case come back with details of what you find when you drop the sump. Also are you a veg oil user, SVO or a Diesel/veg oil mixer

Edward (ews)

Edward (ews) '92 Fourtrak 2.8 TDX

'93 Fourtrak 2.8TDL Well

'93 Fourtrak 2.8TDL

Well after some time, we appear to have ruled out the distribution pump (the most costly item, I think); the timing belt etc has been checked & is spot on;the rocker cover has been removed & everything seems to be in order; I even suggested looking to see if the funny little tube thing at the fuel filler was blocked & maybe causing a vacuum (but then not being a mechanic, this may have been a bit presumptious) but it didn't appear to be that either.
He's phoned Milner's & they have offered no explanation, only surprise as these engines are normally "bullet-proof", in their own words. This has almost ruled out (without looking) piston/rings needing replacement.
So now I'm even more stumped than I was before.
The "help" smiley doesn't really go far enough; I need a "what the f**k do I do now?" one instead.

'93 Fourtrak 2.8TDL