Hiya all, got an interesting/potentially stupid question. Just finished replacing a headgasket and a few other bits on a standalone Peugeot 308 engine. I’ve done many engine headgasket jobs before but never have I tried testing an engine without it’s designated car, I know these engines are modern with their electronics so wonder, is there really any way to test one without the car or is it just a waste of time?
It is possible to run a stand-alone engine, done for dyno-engine testing etc, but doing so requires special test equipment connected to the engine; e.g. radiator & battery & electronics.
You’re going to have to temporarily connect the cooling system to the engine so it can be run long enough to check for coolant leaks at the head gasket.
This will just require connecting the radiator hoses to the engine and blocking off any other coolant connections.
Tester
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In the mechanical aspect I’m used to testing standalone units, got a stockpile of random bits including some rads that should work. mainly the electronic aspect of these engines that confuses me, got a dude that does electronics for me usually, he said he just doesn’t know what to do really.
What year engine?
Tester
2010 1.6 litre EP6C 5FS
That’s going to be difficult.
First, you’re going to need the electronic fuel pump for the fuel injection.
Then you’ll need to connect the engine computer and it’s harness to the engine.
Then you’ll need to have the O2 sensor(s) connected for proper fuel mixture while running the engine.
It would be easier to install the engine in the vehicle, and then cross your fingers.
Tester
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Yup fair points, may just stick to testing engines on cars. Thanks for the help though hopefully this engine is another runner when it goes on. Only had 64k miles
how confident are you in issue diagnosis? ive done job where headgasket looked fine. did you resurface head? pressure test head? check for cracks? id say there is no way to 100% guarantee that cause of overheating can be identified by visual inspection. maybe motor was fine and cooling system was too blame?
Oh I know 100% that the headgasket was busted. Easy to tell how damaged the headgasket was and zero compression. The engine was removed due to oil and coolant mixing, after removal we discovered the combustion chambers, coolant jackets and oil ducts were all leaking mass amounts. Probably one of the worst headgaskets I’ve seen in my time