What I thought was Crankwalk...(long)

[SpawnedX]

Ok, I thought the engine failure I had experienced was due to crankwalk, however, it wasn't and I cannot find anyone to give me a diagnosis on my symptoms, everyone tells me it sounds like nothing they have heard of before, maybe someone who didn't see my last post last month can offer me a solution.

What happened:

The day before the failure what sounded like a small click was coming from the engine in 1st and 2nd gear after 4000 RPMs. A friend of mine suggested that not enough oil was getting to my pistons and they were sticking, so I ran a pressure check on all the oil hoses and was reading normal pressure.

The next day I was driving home with my friend when the noise evolved into what sounded like a hole in the cat, very irregular and it spread to third gear. I decided not to risk it and took the next exit to drop the car off to my friends house to have it towed. On the off ramp the noise became a very loud electrical humming noise in all gears and I began to lose power and the engine died right on the uphill off ramp, so I tried to turn the car back over and it did and got it off the exit and started to a gas station a mile down the road. The noise was still prevalent but as long as I stayed above 3500 rpms in the current gear I maintained power, so I took a right onto a street and was in 1st gear doing about 10 mph so not 3500 rpms when a loud banging noise was heard and it felt like something was dragging from the front of the car as the engine died and white smoke billowed out.

I got out of the car and there was all my oil on the ground and my pan was nowhere to be found. I tried to turn the car over but it just clinked, cause from my uneducated guess the engine seized. I had the car towed to my house the next day and just put in a 1/4 of oil to try to start the car but the battery was dead so I jumped it, the car attempted to turn over but never made it, the ignition just kept trying to fire, no other noises, now the ignition won't kick in at all. I decided to run a few tests, I checked for crankwalk, because one person told me that could be the problem, but there was no play. so I took the head off the car and checked the pistons, there was no contact on them.

So what could have caused this failure? Normal oil pressure, 4 qts of new oil, an oil change was done not to long ago. Just this problem that developed out of nowhere and we have no idea what's going on.

Please help me, thank you.

-Mike
1997 Eclipse GST

 

[92awddsm]

Well, if the pan was nowhere to be found, how did you put oil back in it? If the pan was gone, the clicking was the "loose" oil pan hitting something. The buzz you heard afterwards was the pan sitting on the driver side axle as it was spinning. The clunk and dragging sound was the pan falling completely off, and the resulting frozen engine was a lack oil, hence, no oil pan. That is why the pan was nowhere to be fond, you lost it a while ago.

 

[SpawnedX]

You would be fairly correct to make those assumptions if it were not for the fact that the oil was suspended in the engine and all came out when the engine froze, and not before that.

 

[ArticNemesis]

I agree with 92awddsm on what happened...

So let me get this straight. You saw that there was no oil pan (and no obvious oil supply) and you tried to crank it anyway...

I would say the problem leads to lack of understanding (stupidity).

 

[realhp=turbo]

Did you look at the block to find the hole where the oil came out? Chances are that a main bearing wore out and seized the crank shaft. Sucks for you dude time for a new motor. :thumbdown
mike

 

[SpawnedX]

I put another oil pan on, sheesh, the problem is that you assume ignorance, I am not trying to trouble shoot the missing oil pan, but what caused the engine to fail and the oil pan to blow, obviously the oil pan was connected prior to my final drive that day otherwise the oil would have fallen out before the engine seized and before the car was started that last time. So the problem is, when did I lose the oil pan, why, why I also experience crankwalk symptoms.

All I am getting is people jumping on my case about what did not happen.

 

[SpawnedX]

Oh yes, and when the engine froze I was doing 10 mph, and rolled maybe another 10 feet, so I know where the oil dropped out of the engine, the oil pan is not there.

 

[realhp=turbo]

Okay, your being a little touchy, I was just trying to cover all the bases first. You never know. Did the other oil pan just screw back in? Or did you have to dig out a bunch of broken bolts? Did you loose the bolts, or did it tear the bottom half of the oil pan off? Be more specific. It could have been something like your bolts fell out cause somebody got excited and forgot to put a wrench on everything. When you were under it to put the pan back on did you see anything strange? ie: broken, or severly worn? Chances are no matter what, you still have to replace or rebuild that motor, sorry.
mike

 

[Defiant]

You would be fairly correct to make those assumptions if it were not for the fact that the oil was suspended in the engine and all came out when the engine froze, and not before that.

It what?

Are you related to the guy with the engine that "soaks up oil"?

Get your car to a shop.

Oh, and your friend who suggested "sticking pistons"..... well.....

 

[boost05]

feww, you explained well, I also agree with them, maybe a new block or engine itself (4g63t?)