Problems with Car

[amdforever2]

It's a 1992 Ford Thunderbird, 3.8L V6 (already had the head gasket taken care of) and has 126K miles.

It has a really loud knocking noise, which is more frequent the higher the engine revs. The longer you drive it, the more engine power you lose, and the more the temp goes up. Power brakes come and go. It dies intermittently, and once it does, it acts as though the battery is near death before it starts again. Battery cables are first thing to heat up.


I've been told the engine sound means it's likely to throw a rod, but I've been driving it for a week now. As long as you let it "rest" it can run a good thirty minutes per trip. No, I shouldn't be driving it. No, I don't have other options. Yes, I was going to buy a new sunfire, insurance issues fell through.




Could something in the alternator be broken, causing a banging noise? Could it be severe pinging (im running on 87 against mechanic advice to use 91)?

Could it be ANYTHING other than a rod?

 

[Mill]

Your engine is probably shot. Sorry bud.

 

[amdforever2]

Originally posted by: Mill
Your engine is probably shot. Sorry bud.

Could anything fix this other than replacement or a rebuild?

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: amdforever2

Originally posted by: Mill
Your engine is probably shot. Sorry bud.

Could anything fix this other than replacement or a rebuild?

Have it checked out to make sure. I could certainly be wrong.

 

[CrackRabbit]

The nocking is probably a rod bearing going. I wouldnt drive it any until you get it looked at, unless you want a rod shot through the bottom or something.

 

[amdforever2]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
The nocking is probably a rod bearing going. I wouldnt drive it any until you get it looked at, unless you want a rod shot through the bottom or something.

If it is a rod, the vehicle is not worth fixing. So, why not drive it until it goes? Rod bearings can't be fixed can they?

It's not like it'll explode in a fireball or kill someone..............is it?

 

[Brutuskend]

Sounds like crank bearings or MAYBE rod bearings.

Either way you need to STOP driving it before something lets loose!

I tossed a rod on my old AMC. Piston came apart and the rod went trough the block. Not a pretty picture.

Also it WILL leave you stranded!

 

[Sluggo]

It sounds like a major engine problem with the exception of the power brake issue.

I cant imagine a rod bearing problem would be causing overheating and the driveability issues that you describe. Generally they are just loud as crap until they eventually give.

You could have a huge gasket problem around your intake manifold somewhere, causing anti-freeze loss, vacuum leaks and major compression loss on a cylinder or two. That is a huge guess on my part, and it really sounds like you have several issues to deal with instead of one problem causing everything.

 

[amdforever2]

Can crank bearings be fixed for less than $500?
Could a bad head gasket installation (from when the shop fixed it) be the cause?

Could this be anything that's less than $500?

 

[Scarpozzi]

I once saw a car have a problem that sounded like a rod knocking and overheating, but it turned out to be something totally different. The fan blade had hit the fan shroud and it caused the shroud to get a hole in it. At the same time, the fan blade itself broke off into small pieces and it caused the fan to function at 1/4 of its original capacity. The car heated up as a result and, due to the broken fan, it was LOUD. If your fan is in-tact, you're probably going to need to take your car to one of those lots that will give you $2000 for any trade-in.

It may be difficult to get rid of your car otherwise. No one wants a car that needs an engine and $500-1000 of labor to install it.

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Can crank bearings be fixed for less than $500?
Could a bad head gasket installation (from when the shop fixed it) be the cause?

Could this be anything that's less than $500?

#1 Doubt-full

#2 One can HOPE!

#3 Doubt-full

Actually I reread your symptoms.

It could VERY well BE a vacuum leak, and it COULD be from a faulty head gasket job, (intake manifold leak, or some other intake leak)

 

[amdforever2]

Could the faulty head gasket job take a year to show itself?

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

My best guess is a bent connecting rod. I have a feeling that when your head gasket went bad
water got into the cylinder while at rest. Upon restarting the water can not be compressed and
the rod gets bent. Now the piston is running up&down the bore seriously out of alignment.
As the piston heats up the major increase in drag causes over heating and power loss. Restarting
can only be accomplished after a cool down, as your statement would indicate. The knocking
is the rod bearing trying to over come these loadings. It will fail soon if what I have stated is true.

The best solution is to install a good used engine, if you must keep the car.

At least run a compression test before pulling the head over the bad hole. A shade tree mechanic
might be able to install one used piston and rod IF the bore or crankpin is not damaged.


Good Luck

 

[amdforever2]

Originally posted by: galvanizedyankee
My best guess is a bent connecting rod. I have a feeling that when your head gasket went bad
water got into the cylinder while at rest. Upon restarting the water can not be compressed and
the rod gets bent. Now the piston is running up&down the bore seriously out of alignment.
As the piston heats up the major increase in drag causes over heating and power loss. Restarting
can only be accomplished after a cool down, as your statement would indicate. The knocking
is the rod bearing trying to over come these loadings. It will fail soon if what I have stated is true.

The best solution is to install a good used engine, if you must keep the car.

At least run a compression test before pulling the head over the bad hole. A shade tree mechanic
might be able to install one used piston and rod IF the bore or crankpin is not damaged.


Good Luck

Any idea what that last solution would cost? If it was even possible?

 

[amdforever2]

Would just that one piston fail, or the whole engine?

Oil light also comes on when it gets close to dying, can adding tons of oil help? Dipstick indicates normal.

 

[Pacfanweb]

1. No way in hell it's a vacuum leak. Vacuum leaks don't make the engine knock like you describe or heat up.

2. It is very likely that your engine is running hot enough to seize up....after it sits awhile, the parts cool off and get some more clearance, and it will run again.
This scenario would also explain the cables getting hot, not turning over, etc.

3. No way it's going to be fixed for 500 bucks, unless you are a good-looking chick that can blow the mechanic and get it done free/real cheap. Sorry.

4. Yes, it will eventually seize up and something will break, but I've seen time bombs like that run a long time, then again, I've seen them blow immediately.

5. Yes, it could be something other than a rod. Like a main bearing.
Oh, and yes, it could be delayed damage from when you head gaskets failed. Probably just premature wear from the damage it suffered.....or it could be a totally unrelated problem. But probably not.

 

[Nutdotnet]

There is absolutely no way any of us are going to be able to diagnose this for you...

Like EVERYONE else said.....go get it checked out...what do you think you're going to do if you don't get it looked at and it craps out on you in BFE?

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Sorry I don't know. Probably double what it cost to have the head gasket done in the first place.

A good used engine might be a consideration IF what I stated is true and the over heating and

power loss leads me to think it MIGHT be. You need to have it looked at by someone you trust.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Would just that one piston fail, or the whole engine?

Oil light also comes on when it gets close to dying, can adding tons of oil help? Dipstick indicates normal.

As long as you've been driving it, letting it seize up, then cooling off and driving some more.....again, assuming that this is what is happening, and from your description it sounds like it....then you'll need a whole engine.

If the engine is seizing up, then it is just ruining the block every time it does it. It would cost you far more to do all the necessary machine work, parts, labor, etc. to rebuild it rather than replace it, especially with a junkyard motor.
Plus, the car isn't worth what it would cost for a rebuilt engine anyway, to be quite honest. Unless it holds some kind of sentimental value to you.

 

[AlienCraft]

It's either a rod or crank bearing going south.
When it dies, it may be dramatic.
I would check into a motor from a wrecked vehicle. You should be able to get one for about $300.00. If you're mechanically inclined you could fix it. Bearings for the crank and rods would be about $40.00 - $50.00 for a whole set.
A couple of hours to pull it out and get to them through the oil pan, a couple of hours to install and then about 5 hours to put it back in again...... And you're good for another 100K mi.
It's EASY..... < famous last words...
OR Buy a crate motor, pay someone to install it, about $750.00 depending on the motor chosen and where you buy it.

 

[Quixfire]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Would just that one piston fail, or the whole engine?

Oil light also comes on when it gets close to dying, can adding tons of oil help? Dipstick indicates normal.

Sounds like you have bad main bearings causing a drop in oil pressure once the oil heats up. If there is a knocking while driving most likely you have a spun rod bearing which has damaged the crankshaft. This is most likely a result from the headgasket failure since the vehicle was driven with leaky headgaskerts coolant could have entered the oiling system and caused this type of damage before you even heard the noise.

You have three basic opitions:

1) Replace the long block with a reman unit - $2300
2) Replace the short block with a reman assy. - $2000
3) Replace the engine with a used unit - $1350

 

[Brutuskend]

The reason I said it COULD be a vacuum leak is
#1 The power brakes work on vacuum, so a leak could cause the brake problems you describe.
#2 If a vacuum leak is bad enough, it could cause a lean condition which will cause over heating.
#3 If the car runs OK when cool, but not when hot it can be because when the engine heats up, things expand and the leak gets worse. When it cools off things contract back to normal and the leak gets less serve.

However a vacuum leak doesn't normally cause a knocking sound. So I will stay with my first diagnoses of a main or rod bearing.

 

[CraigRT]

not sure, sounds really sketchy though