It started like any other day on site — a water cart truck heading out along the gravel road, doing what it’s built to do. But before long, the driver noticed something off.
First, white smoke pouring out of the exhaust.
Then, a strange ticking sound from the engine bay.
He backed off the throttle, but the noise only got worse.
By the time it reached us at Webbie’s Mechanical, the truck needed a tow. The symptoms didn’t look good… and they were about to get worse.
We started with the basics — draining the sump to check the oil.
What came out wasn’t oil.
40 litres of diesel.
That’s not just a problem — that’s a red flag the size of a road train.
We removed the engine and got to work. Once the head came off, the damage became clear:
The cylinder head had dropped a valve. That valve punched straight into the top of the piston, doing catastrophic damage on impact.
This wasn’t going to be a patch job — the engine was done.
What started as a bit of white smoke ended with a full rebuild on the cards.
