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Input On Blown Engine (4 cylinder)
roberto1111
Member Posts: 10
Had oil changed on Tuesday (5W20 Blend)
Drove approx 30 miles same day after oil change.
Next day driving at 55mph on highway.
Oil light comes on steady. Pull off road, Turn off engine, Hear noise, smoke from under car
Towed to dealer. Oil pan bolt in place, filter tight with only one gasket.
Drain oil pan which has approx four qts of oil in place.
Fist sized hole in side of block.
I would like some input as to possible causes.
Thank You
Drove approx 30 miles same day after oil change.
Next day driving at 55mph on highway.
Oil light comes on steady. Pull off road, Turn off engine, Hear noise, smoke from under car
Towed to dealer. Oil pan bolt in place, filter tight with only one gasket.
Drain oil pan which has approx four qts of oil in place.
Fist sized hole in side of block.
I would like some input as to possible causes.
Thank You
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I had a piston rod break on my lawn tractor when the oil ran low, engine got too hot, and the rod failed. Since your oil basically seems to be in place, could be long term heat stress on the rod that eventually caused the failure? (Assuming it was a rod)
How old is the car? how many miles?
mechanics on board here that could add some meaningful dialogue.
Here is a PDF describing some failures. https://www.forging.org/system/files/field.../FatigueBehavior.pdf
There really isn't a whole lot more that I can tell you about these, and even now this is pure speculation as to how or why it failed.
I appreciate the responses I've gotten.
You didn't happen to hit a large puddle just before this incident did you?
Sometimes "stuff happens"---it's a machine made by men (well, and robots) and a certain % will fail. Given the high mileage on your engine, metal fatigue is not to be ruled out. In that case, with warranty over and years gone by, you may have to eat this regrettably.
A used engine with a warranty from a wrecking yard may be your best course of action, since your engine cannot be rebuilt at this point.
Insurance is likely not going to pay anything for the shop. Even if all of the points align and the shop steps up to take care of this it would have to be viewed as negligence on their part by the insurance company and the insurance doesn't cover that. Even if insurance would apply from there it's likely their deductible is probably $1000 (could be higher), and instead of taking a hit on their premiums for the next three to five years they might as just well take the hit now and fix the car.
Roberto wrote "My major concern is the coincidence of the oil change with the engine failure. OTOH, maybe it's just a convenient way to blame someone ? "
Its not only convenient its a common practice and one that is often rewarded when shops warrant issues that were in no way their fault. The funny thing is when a business does do that they are by their actions admitting fault and are typically still faulted for the issue and it usually doesn't clear any bad air between the shop and the customer.
Or would you apply your considerable knowledge to further investigation?
Everyone makes mistakes and the fact he was willing to say as much was, in a strange
way, reassuring to me. The shop owner did drive four hours to look at the car, and after his inspection, concluded it was not the shop's fault.
Thanks to all for your comments and interest in this thread.
Roberto
I also need a close-up of the crankshaft journal to see if it is scored, or blued from overheating from a lack of lubrication. From the pictures what I can see is the engine didn't quit right away when the rod broke. That's why there are little pieces of aluminum in the pan where the balance shafts were. I can see the #3 rod and it looks normal, not overheated. Had the engine of starved I would expect to see some heating on all of the rods. Maybe more precise photos could show more but right now its still inconclusive.
Sorry and probably time to close this thread for good.