Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting HELP!! Possible Engine Failure

Ok Here is the story:

My car has been idling rough for a month or so...I found a loose spark plug wire and it seemed to help but after a day or so it started getting rough agan...anyways not sure if thats even related.

Main issue is today I was on a sweeping right hand onramp...the turn was pretty severe and I wasn't moving any faster ten I normally do. Towards the end of the turn I noticed my engine light or oil light came on. Can't remember which it was because I was near the end of the turn and it only came on for a second and then went off...so I would guess it was the Oil Pressure light. Immediately I noticed a power loss and a semi-loud knocking noise....I drove like this for about a mile (Nowhere to pull off) until the next exit. Then I pulled off to the side. I noticed that te noise seemed to get louder with larger RPM's so I tried to keep it low as possible.

Upon stopping I checked the Oil and noticed that it was VERY VERY VERY Low....Went and picked up 4 Bottles of Mobile1 (friend drove...I run 5/30 M1) and it took 3 and still could have use a half of quart more. I was in awe at this because I had checked the oil not more than 3 weeks ago and I was perfectly fine. No oil leaks and I haven't been noticing any smoke so I don't know where all the oil went. I change my oil every 3k Miles however this time around I let it go a good 4k because of weather.

Anyways Had the car towed back to my house on a flat bed. I had to pull the car in the driveway and it seemed to not knock as bad but it was starting at around 3k RPM's.

It is now sitting in my driveway but I'm at odds on what to do next. My friend and I think that I have spun a bearing and I trust his opinion because he is very experienced...and a fellow CEG'er. He is nearly positive that's what I've done but neither of us can figure out why I was so low on Oil. It was very hot when I pulled over but not in the red zone of the temp gauge....

Any help or advice would be great! THis is my only means of transportation so I need to make a decision quickly.

My friend feels as though my quick actions may have prevented further damage but there is obvioiusly something wrong. He suggested changing the oil and filtering for metal...etc and putting a thicker oil in maybe a 20/50? Thoughts?

THe car has 94k mile on it but up to date I have taken care of it and haven't had alot of trouble with it. It idles fine but when you start to get up to 3k rpms the knocking become evident and I"m sure that if the engine were hot enough the knocking would increase.

So I guess will change the oil and filter (M1 w/ K&N Filter) and check for leaks...etc

Is there a wy to remove the Oil pan without pulling the Engine? What is the best way to proceed?

Thanks for your time,

Justin

BTW: Its a E0 CSVT

If you drove without oil you did lots of damage. First thing to go is the rod bearings, they will not be lubricated and cooled, the soft bearing material overheats and melts causing the rod bearing to fail. Then everything else goes not sure what is next though. Sounds like you did damage, if your car starts and runs thats one good sign you didnt wreck the oil pump which is last to fail because of no oil.

My main bearing, went out at 51k, same deal. i took it into the delarship where i had puchased it two months earlyer. by the time i got her to the stealership, there was another louder knock. they tore her apart, and told me the second knock was a valvetrain problem, due to no oil. (i checked it the day before.) they put it back together, and tried to charge me $1000, until that is, they found the initial problem. The main bearing, so my engine replacement was free. Thank Jebus I signed the extended warenty.

Does it sound like a metal knock under one of the valve covers? When my engine went thats what it sounded like. It ended up being one of the main bearings. I had to replace the engine. Not saying thats your problem but mine sounded just like that. It started knocking and there was a loss of power. I remember seeing something on here about long turns and oil cavitation. I think thats what killed my motor. The roads I drove on everyday were full of them.

Yes it sounds like metal knocking. I'm pretty sure it was the bearing...

So on average if I did say light damage what would the cost of repair be? I'm guessing a 1000+ right?

What is the best next steps? Should I check the oil or is it pretty safe to say the bearings have failed. I hate that I drove it but at the time I had no choice....I really didn't drive it very long probably a mile at the most if not less.

I'm just confused on how I was so low on oil though.

Is there a way to confirm this is exactly what the problem was!

If there is no sign of oil leakage and you are sure it was full 3 weeks ago then you might have a blown head gasket and the oil is slowly being burned up. The knocking might be pinging because of a fouled cylinder. The capacity, as you know, is 6 quarts so you still had 3 quarts in the system. The timing chain tensioners are dependant on oil pressure as well, that is why we get that clank clank at startup, and that could have been what you heard as well when the preasure was low during the right hand sweeper.
Just trying to be optimistic.

Good Luck

Best way to check for a spun bearing is to drop the oil pan and manually inspect each rod to see if it is able to move around on the crank. It should be pretty evident if you spun a rod bearing as that particular rod should move back and forth on the crank journal and this is what causes the "knock". All you'll be out is some time and an oil pan gasket and oil change if that's not it.

Most likely you have spun a rod bearing as that is the main culprit in these engines. As far as where the oil went, have you been checking under the car to make sure you don't have a seal that's started leaking? Otherwise it could possibly be a head gasket that started to go, but you should be able to look in your radiator overflow tank and check to see if you see any oil in the coolant as 3 quarts should show up there if that's the case.

Your options run like this- rebuild your current shortblock, buy a used shortblock or complete engine in good condition, 3 liter. Any of the above options is probably going to run you close to the same amount in parts and labor for the actual swaps. Your rebuild is probably the cheapest, used engine, the next most expensive, and the 3L the most expensive, but you're getting a rebuilt engine with more power at the same time so it does balance out in that respect.

If you've spun a bearing, then you are almost certainly going to have to pull the engine due to damage of the crank journal and it will have to be polished and/or ground.

Hope this helps,
Rick

PS, drop me a PM if you need any additional help or want to go with a 3L.

Thanks for all the great help!

I'm going to take your advice and drop the oil pan to checkt he rods and see what the condition is. How much work is it to do this. I have a Hayes Manual so I can look in there for instructions. Any tips on doing this?

So if it is a bearing...any way I look at it we are talking cost in the range of $1000-2000 right?

How much is my car worth in this condition....would it be hard to sell as is?

It's pretty straight forward to drop the oil pan. I do believe the two bolts at the front will have to come off with a wrench as they're located over the edge of the subframe rail.

I'd hazard a guess that if you're paying someone to do this you're looking at a minimum of $2500-3000 for a rebuild including labor and parts. Doing it yourself it can be done for $1000 including various machine shop work.

You can sell the car as is, but plan on taking a $3-4K hit on it. PM Bnoon if you're looking to get rid of it as I know he's looking for a contique needing engine work so he might be able to help you out.

Rick

Thanks for all the help Buckshot...I'll drop the oil pan today and take a look at everything.

Depending on what I find out...I may shoot Brad an email and see what he is looking for. The car is in great shape and I hate to let it go because up until this point it was running perfect with 94k miles.

Thanks again!