Low oil pressure/"locked up" engine after an oil change

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hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,867
23
76
eek... always assume that light never works.

i was really bad to my ranger, i didnt change the mineral oil in it for 15k miles. i think it dumped a whole 1 quart of oil into the drain bucket. was the engine noisier then it normally is? yep. did i ever get an oil light, or see the oil pressure guage drop? no. was my engine close to death? YES. any engine running on 1/5 oil is using 8 of its 9 lives.

riding with 4 out of 6 quarts is not really panic mode at all. the light is very consistent, and with 230k+ on this motor i have seen it about every 2 months :p it smokes a minor bit, and the valve covers seep a bit as well. i dont get puddles, but i do have a dirty engine. and even the smoking isnt noticeable unless you idle it for a while. youll see a bit of misty smoke wafting out of the exhaust, but it doesnt even cloud up or be able to be seen past the tail pipe.

overall, i love the dodge 318. bulletproof as it gets.
 

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
9,531
5,758
136
(1) There's no indication that there was any overheating due to the prior incident. In fact, the probability is that, since it was a roadkill accident which destroyed the radiator, the engine was immediately shut off. Very unlikely that there was any overheating at all under those circumstances.

(2) Overheating only very rarely affects the block. The chief symptom of overheating is a warped head.

(3) Oil starvation will affect the valvetrain far more than it will affect the block, even the cylinder liners. This makes it at least plausible that the majority of the damage is in the head making it cheaper and faster to just replace the entire head/valvetrain with a rebuilt unit. The cylinders can simply be honed and the pistons re-ringed in most cases which wouldn't require replacing the block. Even if it spun a rod bearing, you still wouldn't need to replace the short block.

(4) None of this changes the fact that what he's going to get back is, for all intents and purposes, a rebuilt engine. The only difference between the shop repairing it using a rebuild from a different supplier is that in his case the core is his own engine, not some random core from another car.

Now, that said, if you want to say, "I don't trust the mechanic to do a good job," that's an entirely different issue. That's fine. But if the mechanic is competent, then there's no reason to prefer someone else's rebuild over that mechanic's.

ZV


I repeat...
My comments are SPECIFIC to this particular design and the circumstances involved and are meant to advise the original owner since I am very familiar with the car and the 2AZ-FE installed in his car. It was not meant to be a general statement on engines whether they be rebuilt or not and the effects oil starvation have on a motor.

I'll leave it at that.

FYI:
(1) There's no indication that there was any overheating due to the prior incident.

(2) Overheating only very rarely affects the block. The chief symptom of overheating is a warped head.

Backstory:
Ran into some ~50 lb animal at highway speeds, dead on. Radiator is busted, the "shelf" it rests on needed to be re-welded. I file a claim and get it done. I pick up the car Monday afternoon.
At this point, they've had my car for ~3 weeks and haven't been able to get it repaired. Word is that they are having trouble locating a suitable "head" for my car. Something about how my particular Toyota Camry uses a chain instead of a belt. It's a 2002 stock LE sedan, about 110,000 miles on it. I'm kind of surprised they can't find parts for it. Before all of this, it was in great condition.

Background on the issue with the block
http://www.google.com/search?q=2AZ-...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a



Good luck original poster
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,514
44
91
I repeat...
My comments are SPECIFIC to this particular design and the circumstances involved and are meant to advise the original owner since I am very familiar with the car and the 2AZ-FE installed in his car. It was not meant to be a general statement on engines whether they be rebuilt or not and the effects oil starvation have on a motor.

I'll leave it at that.

FYI:

Background on the issue with the block
http://www.google.com/search?q=2AZ-...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Good luck original poster

I'm not going to keep diverting the thread so I'll simply point out again that there's nothing that the OP has said which indicates this specific engine has ever overheated. Just because overheating is one of many ways to exacerbate the design issue where the head studs strip the block does not mean that every single time the studs strip the block the engine has overheated.

Basically: I repeat, there is not one single bit of evidence to suggest that the OP's specific engine has ever overheated.

ZV
 

TakeNoPrisoners

Platinum Member
Jun 3, 2011
2,599
1
81
The problem with an engine locking up is that the bearings start shredding and metal flakes get in the oil, the metal then makes its way around the engine destroying every other bearing.

Yes this is as bad as it gets.
 

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
9,531
5,758
136
I'm not going to keep diverting the thread so I'll simply point out again that there's nothing that the OP has said which indicates this specific engine has ever overheated. Just because overheating is one of many ways to exacerbate the design issue where the head studs strip the block does not mean that every single time the studs strip the block the engine has overheated.

Basically: I repeat, there is not one single bit of evidence to suggest that the OP's specific engine has ever overheated.

ZV

I think you should read the thread more carefully.
 

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
9,531
5,758
136
The problem with an engine locking up is that the bearings start shredding and metal flakes get in the oil, the metal then makes its way around the engine destroying every other bearing.

Yes this is as bad as it gets.

Potentially much worse depending on how the event went down and the design of the block.

Trashed bearings, porked oil pump, cylinder walls needing to be redone...possible cracked\melted pistons. Friction is a bitch.
You really need to inspect and measure just about everything.
Chances are you'll need to replace bearings, rods maybe even a piston or two if it melted\cracked. If your lucky the crankshaft made it through ok. This is after you check the entire case for cracks. the hot spots created from a seizing engine wreak havoc on a block.
As mentioned in another post, then you gotta inspect the valvetrain.

Screw that...
I'd only go through that on a rare vehicle that I really like.
Something like a generic family sedan?
Junkyard engine or if its a relatively new car, re manufactured\rebuilt off the shelf.
Have the car back on the road within a couple of days.

rebuild in place (shudders)
 

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
5,228
136
I think you should read the thread more carefully.


Well, I did and still cannot find anywhere where the OP said his car overheated. In fact, you were the first person to mention overheating......as in you imagined the engine probably overheated in the wreck, while the OP never mentioned this happening.

ZV is quite correct in the respect that it really doesn't matter if the OP gets his current engine rebuilt or has one put in.....a good machine shop will check the block for bolt hole defects, along with checking for other known issues with the motor. So, rebuilding his engine or getting a rebuilt one from Jasper/whoever is the current rebuild fav these days is essentially the same thing.....both should be covered with a warranty which includes labor costs.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,503
13,148
136
Well, I did and still cannot find anywhere where the OP said his car overheated. In fact, you were the first person to mention overheating......as in you imagined the engine probably overheated in the wreck, while the OP never mentioned this happening.

ZV is quite correct in the respect that it really doesn't matter if the OP gets his current engine rebuilt or has one put in.....a good machine shop will check the block for bolt hole defects, along with checking for other known issues with the motor. So, rebuilding his engine or getting a rebuilt one from Jasper/whoever is the current rebuild fav these days is essentially the same thing.....both should be covered with a warranty which includes labor costs.

i look at it this way: ZV vs. dude with 111 posts.


yeah, i'll go with ZV :D
 

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
9,531
5,758
136
Well, I did and still cannot find anywhere where the OP said his car overheated. In fact, you were the first person to mention overheating......as in you imagined the engine probably overheated in the wreck, while the OP never mentioned this happening.

ZV is quite correct in the respect that it really doesn't matter if the OP gets his current engine rebuilt or has one put in.....a good machine shop will check the block for bolt hole defects, along with checking for other known issues with the motor. So, rebuilding his engine or getting a rebuilt one from Jasper/whoever is the current rebuild fav these days is essentially the same thing.....both should be covered with a warranty which includes labor costs.

This is getting ridiculous
If you read the thread
The initial accident with the busted radiator (wouldn't be surprised if it over heated)
That's all I said



As for whether it matters or not yes it does.
TIME & Effort on both customer and the shop
Thought I was pretty clear about that in post #20

I'd say more but then I noticed that neither of you guys have added anything useful to the thread.

Is this back and forth adding anything useful to the original poster or are we going to keep swinging our dicks around talking about nothing?


Pandamonium - Feel free to PM if you have any questions.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,503
13,148
136
113 now

Asshole

these things happen when you debate with highly knowledgeable and well respected posters.


it'd be like you trying to tell halik how to work on a VW/audi car (halik rebuilt his own B7 S4 including the engine, which is a freakin mess)

it's not so much about the 113 posts, but the content of those posts.
 

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
9,531
5,758
136
these things happen when you debate with highly knowledgeable and well respected posters.


it'd be like you trying to tell halik how to work on a VW/audi car (halik rebuilt his own B7 S4 including the engine, which is a freakin mess)

it's not so much about the 113 posts, but the content of those posts.

I get it...
Been there done that.

Listen
Saw the thread involving a car I'm familiar with.
I've been around enough shops and a rebuild or two and gave my input.
Some how ended up in back and forth with "established posters"

If the content of my posts is substandard and you think I'm wrong on the subject then fuck it. We're going to be at an impasse.
If there will be a post review at the end of the month then please allow me to go back to edit for grammar and punctuation.
If all posts will be weighted on by post count then no biggee.

Either way no skin off my back...no offense taken..etc etc...as long as the OP gets help that's all that counts. Maybe we should consider a separate thread for criticizing my posts because I'm sure that the Original Poster would rather see stuff thats helpful to him. If you think my post (concerning the original topic) aren't helpful then have a mod delete them.

Good night fellas\ladies
 

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
9,531
5,758
136
You're an idiot. Go "help" elsewhere.
obamam-lol-y-u-mad-tho.jpg


No problem Mr. Mechanic


I'll go be an idiot elsewhere