Engine Trouble - I Need Help

[Rumple Foreskin]

The Story

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My friend and I were cruisin in his VW Corrado last night and the low oil light went off. He ignored it for about 15 mins then we noticed that the car was making a pinging and ticking noise. It was real quiet at first but it kept getting louder and louder until the car sounded like it was a diesel with a major exhaust leak. After pulling over at the next gas station i discovered he had a major leak and that the car was all but out of its last few drops of oil. We topped it back off and then let the car idle for a good 10 mins hoping the oil would make its way back through the engine and that the pinging might stop.

The pinging and ticking didnt stop and the car is running like crap now. What has/could have happened, and what will resolve this prob?

 

[Duke]

It probably spun a bearing, Rumple. At the base of each connecting rod is a 2-piece bearing insert that bolts around the crankshaft. If the car starves for oil, then those bearings will gall up on the crank. If you keep driving the car it will score the crankshaft and damage the connecting rod. If the rod breaks from this, the stump end can bang around and damage the interior of the block.

Bottom line, I wouldn't drive the car. Have it towed somewhere that you can drop the oil pan and assess the damage. It may be fixable just by replacing the bearings and cleaning up the crank journals, but it may be worse than that.

It's bad news unfortunately. Good luck, man.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

Ummm... Crap

Thanx For The Info

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Because the oil is under pressure when the engine is running, the oil sensor should always have oil around it. Therefore, if you get the oil light on its own, while the engine is running, you should stop the car at the first safe opportunity.

It sounds like your friend is about to learn an expensive lesson.