Are These JUNK TOO? 1.6L Hyundai / KIa GAMMA II GDI Engine Teardown

Here's weekly dose of your catastrophic engine forensics! Every week you can find a new teardown of some abused, misused and/or poorly designed engine. Here are some of my favorites:

Today we tear down a 1.6L Gamma II 1.6L 4cyl from a 2019 Kia Rio S with just 83k miles! The Gamma engine is in a ton of different Hyundai and Kia models and is still produced today. There are many different variants of this engine, this one being the G4FG, a non turbo direct injected engine that makes about 130hp found in the Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio.
This engine clearly suffered a catastrophic event, but why? Was it poor maintenance? Run low on oil? Manufacturing defect? The failure this engine suffered definitely raises some eyebrows.

Why am I doing this? My name is Eric and I own and run a full service auto salvage business called Importapart. Part of our model includes buying blown up engines and dismantling to salvage the good parts to resell. We do not rebuild or repair engines, we simply supply parts to people who do! I've left links at the top to reach us about parts.

I really hope you enjoyed this teardown, as always I love all of the comments, feedback and even the criticism. Catch you on the next one!

-Eric

[PSUQDPICHQIEIWC]

Oil in engine: Good
Engine in oil: Bad

[ghall]

Worked in a KIA Service Department for 2 years. At one poing we had 60ish long blocks awaiting install into Cars. KIA engines are so sensitive to oil change intervals, if you don't follow the 5K rule you're dooming them to fail. Their GDI engines can use up to 1qt per 1000 miles and KIA says it normal consumption.. If you own one check that dipstick everytime you get gas...

[edrannou]

That was the most incredible display of Channellock mastery I have ever seen. Using the wrong end of the wrong tool to accomplish the goal was amazing! Keep the tool tips coming!

[aratanaenor]

My grandmother has a 2014 Hyundai Accent with a Gamma engine. She learned very quickly that lots of city driving will make the low oil pressure come on before you reach the recommended oil change interval. Since then, she has topped the oil off every month, and the engine has made it to 285, 000 miles with no major issues.

[GNX]

I was at a KIA dealership getting a valve cover (2.0 Turbo GDI) (tiny crack) and gasket replaced under warranty and was discussing things about it with the tech and he related how clean mine was inside and shared that they have two techs in the shop and all they do is replace engines, about 30 a month. He said a lot were due to what they consider owner neglect.

[d.davis]

Your sense of humor cracks this old man up. Your doin fine young man. We need more like you these days.

[IndridCool]

The new Kia ad “Kia, drive it like you stole it, because someone will.” 😂

[zapcity]

Shoutout to the unsung hero that comes in the next day picking up head gaskets and chain guides off the floor...

[EarlSinclair]

"The most religious engine we've had in a long time."
More holes in that engine than Scientology theology. 😆😆

[JTube]

The 1.6 Gamma turbo in my 2017 Elantra Sport was amazing. I put that car through hell and back with canyon runs and yearly autocross. Was modified for more boost too. Even had a bigger turbo on it for a bit. Sold it at 90k miles to my brother who put another 12k on it with zero issues. Good car. Maybe the key was 3k mile oil changes, routing valve cleaning and avoiding boost until it was fully up to temp. Never burned any oil. I completely regret selling it, and will likely purchase another.

[SplosionMovies]

That poor engine had 2 oil changes, 3 max, in its whole life I bet

[CavGT]

The 1.6L Gamma engine is used in the KIA Niro hybrid. There is a guy on the KIA Niro forums that had over 450, 000 miles on his Niro before the hybrid battery failed(it was a 2017 model if memory serves me). He used the car for escorting 18 wheelers hauling oversized loads. He was very good at oil changes though.

[thomasfletcher]

Throwing the cam caps into a " raffle bucket " sounds like fun

[elliottb]

i used to work at a hyundai and kia dealership in australia. these engine were good engines, hardly any problems at all. this failure looks like its due to neglect. we did have problems on the 2.4L engines and some 1.8L but nothing compared to what you are quoting in america. they did redesign the engines. the 1.8 got oil squirters and a different chain.

one other thing that does look a bit suss is that the number 3 sparkplug ceramic has dropped down and covered the electrode. that could have caused an issue if that happed before engine failure. not the first one i have seen. it might have filled the cylinder with fuel and hydrolocked.

another thing to look out for with all the direct injection engines was the high pressure fuel pump leaking fuel into the engine when its turned off. fitting a fuel pressure tester will show the pressure drop over time. it should. and when you start it again it cranks a bit more because it has to build pressure first. when the fuel leaks in it thins the oil and burns the oil. then seizes engine when oil runs out. again all high pressure fuel pumps an do this.

but these engine were great, so simple and easy to work on. and it is really well built. metal water pump with metal gasket. metal coolant bypass pipe with metal gasket. metal rocker cover. metal thermostat housing. dowled crank gears and cam gears. obvious marking on the timing chains and gears. very simple and super reliable chain and guides ( looking at you bmw). bucket valves.

and yes that cam cover was glued on that well. hardly any leaks. simple and easy. no gaskets needed.

[WalkiTalki]

I literally just finished rebuilding one of these yesterday. They are very cheap and easy to build. If they were just a little easier to remove it would be worth the money to rebuild them every 100K. It kind of reminded me of an1980s motorcycle motor. Mine had the rod knock, no inspection port. I couldn't believe how many machining chips were in the oil pan. It looked like the machinist emptied his chip bin into the oil pan. Mine started tapping at 100k and only lasted a month before it became significantly too loud to drive. At break in it was smooth and quiet. Now we will see how long it will run without steel chips in the pan. Wish me luck.

[JKing-nbdk]

Traded in my Hyundai Kona with this engine. 92000 miles no issues. I change oil every 3-4000 miles. Makes a difference

[stephenmeeks]

You, and the other online wrenchers make me want to change the oil in my engines every 100 miles.

[paulryan]

Bravo Eric on graduating to ‘proper’ channel locks usage 👏

[thehouseman]

Am I the only one that thinks he's doing something special with all those timing chains? Always treats them nice

[DrivingInFocus]

That chain tensioner skit you threw in last time was gold. It's a real shame this one had a design flaw that prevented it from ejecting itself into orbit.