Last weekend I drove my 2007 S40 with 50,000 miles about 150 miles when all the sudden the engine overheat indicator lit up. One week prior the coolant looked a little low so I poured a half bottle of coolant into the resivour. While driving I kept an eye on the temp gauge just to make sure the heat didn't start rising. As soon as the indicator lit up it turned off and the temp guage showed that the vehicle returned to normal. I drove maybe a mile to the next exit which was a rest stop. As I was turning into a spot the engine shut off. I popped the hood as I saw some smoke begin to emerge from the area of the coolant resivour and noticed a small pressure crack on the top of it which the coolant just shot up through. A bit of oil leaked but not much.

I then got it towed to the nearest pep boys as everything else was closed over the weekend. They conducted a compression test on the engine and told me that there was no compressing in any of the cylinders basically that the engine was done for.

I then towed it to Import Auto Specialists in San Diego and they told me the same thing.

They told me that best option is to change out the engine with a used one, but they are having trouble finding a legitmate one with anything less than 72000 miles on it. They estimated the total cost to be between 5000-5500.

I am trying to find out if the price is consistent with an engine change? What could have caused the engine to fail so rapidly? and if I have any other options as I have only owned the vehicle for 4 months. If anyone has gone through an engine change in the 2004.5 models and up what have your experiences been? Is it worth changing the engine out. I still owe about 11,000 on the car. I just dont want to get completely screwed in this mess.

 

I had the same problem two days ago on my 2003 v40, but the temp needle was halfway as it normaly sits. Without warning ( although I saw a bit of coolant on the ground before my wife left) the car stalled and went up in smoke.
As soon as I arrived I noticed that the fan was on and off, not going full blast to cool the engine down.
Later on I added a gallon of water and it seemd to dissapear, called the tow truck and took it home.
At home I added some more water and tried to start the car, it would turn over but seemed to lack compression, no metal noises, the engine turning free, and no visible cracks on the head as is our case.
Mind you that I am doing the work with the help of a friend who is a certified mechanic.
I tought about doing a compression test, but it was obvious that something was screwed.
The coolant reservoir spewed water when I turned the engine, the after some looking around found some dripping from the rear part of the cylinder head, I removed the plug wires and coils, then the plugs and saw water in the first 3 cylinders.
Today I removed the cyl head and ordered parts right away, like gaskets, seals etc.
Theres o damage to the pistons and for what we can see, no damage to the block.

You have choices, since its your car, and some people deem the engine toast if the head goes, but again, I am doing the labor, so its my call.
Im taking the head to an expert to fully check and do whatever is needed a lose aprox of that is between $35.00 to $500.00
The big bucks on all of this is the labor, thats why its up to 3 grand when your timing belt snaps.

Since you will be changing the engine anyway, I would out of curiosity get the head out and check the rest, you never know.
If your block is good, maybe easier to find a good head.
Do a good search on all the forums, theres a lot of info..
Good luck