Broken Valve Spring, Mazda B3000 3.0L V6?

[Dale]

I was driving along the highway in my mazda b3000 when suddenly the engine starting making a loud rapid clicking noise followed by stalling about 3 seconds later. I coasted to a stop and tried to restart. The engine fired but could barely hold an idle and the sound was even louder then before. I rigged up a doctors stethoscope kind of thing using my jack stand rods to listen to the engine in different locations. The sound is coming from the right side valve covers.

Could it be a broken valve spring? If the spring breaks is it possible for the cylinder head to come up and hit against the valve? Would -23c temperature have anything to do with this? How much will it cost to repair? and if its not a valve spring what else could it be?
I left the truck sitting at the side of the highway.

 

[Charlie]

hi.. i'm very sure the engine needs to be worked on.. open the valve cover and you will know what happened and you will also know what needs to be done.. if the spring is broken, it will be hard to do a compression check to it.. and also, the valve will need to be replaced if it indeed hit the piston . good if the valve did not puncture a hole in the piston..
but if a rocker arm is broke, count your blessings.. repair cost is just minimal.. check the push rod, i would definitely replace the lifter on that cylinder,... come to think,, why is the lifter stuck? bad oil? wrong viscosity oil? dirty engine? wrong engine temperature? if this question is not answered, expect more or similar engine problem in the future.. good luck

 

[MikeyG]

There are several things that could be wrong with the valve. It could be bent or the valve head broken off.

It is no big deal to pull off the valve cover and take a look. The problem should be obvious.

It is possible that if the valve head broke off or if the valve is stuck open because a broken spring or other reason, that the piston have be damaged or perforated by the valve. This will require a major overhaul.