My engine blew! I think!

[zorin]

Today on the way from work, I heard a snap sound, the engine started clicking and stalled. When I got out I noticed that all the oil had spilled out and smoke is coming out of the cooling fan. All the oil from the crank case is emptied out. Everything on the top and bottom of the engine and valve covers seems intact but I guess something is cracked wide open around the alternator on the engine. I had the car towed home.

I have not opened up anything yet as it is dark now and this is my first 911. Any guesses as to what type of damage I should expect? Broken valves, springs, cylinder...? I have been having problems with cylinder #1, smoke and low compression.

[carrera turbo]

hate to be the bearer of bad news but last time i saw a 911 dump its oil like this it tossed a rod threw the case. its really hard to even guess the amount of damage that could be done. pulling the fan and alt. will give you a pretty good view of the top side of the motor. regardless your pulling the motor.

keep us posted

cheers ed

[zorin]

Wow, what would cause that? Can it still be repaired or should I be looking for another engine?

[Matt Smith]

From your full description above it sounds like it should be easily repaired..

[christojen]

Zorin that is just one possibility, it could have been anything. Take it to a mechanic if you are not confident to pull it apart by yourself.

sorry to hear the bad news....

Chris

[tangerine911S]

Originally Posted by Matt Smith

From your full description above it sounds like it should be easily repaired..

I would not assume that at all. Good luck.

[Christien]

Can't help you specifically except to say that you need a diagnosis before panicking - the engine will have to come out and be opened up to some degree, but just how much is anyone's guess. A friend of mine had something similar happen (though not exactly the same) and was far out of town. A few days and $1000 or 2000 or so at the local Porsche dealership had the car back on the road. Not cheap, but far cheaper than a replacement engine or a full-on rebuild.

If you want some tips from local guys, post up on rennlist Canada:
http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/rennlist-canada-98/

Tech info is better here, esp. for older cars like ours, but there are lots of guys on rennlist that can advise you on a local shop, etc. if you need help with that.

[zorin]

Thanks guys.
Last year I dropped the engine and put in lightweight flywheel and PP. It was great. I hate to see the engine have Irreparable damage. I will remove the carbs, fan etc ... tomorrow and see.

[zorin]

Thanks Christien. Couple of grand I can live with.
I will post on rennlist Canada. I'll take some pix once I have some parts opened up to expose the problem.

[kidrock]

cross yer fingers and pray that the rod did not bust through the case.

[911Etarga]

I would recommend finding a good used 3.0 on this site, there has been many for around $3-4000.00. Install it into your car so you can drive it this spring, get your original engine fixed up, then sell the donor 3.0 for the same price you bought it for. You get to have fun in your car, and it won't cost you anymore $.
Of course this is if your engine needs some big work.(hopefully not!!!)

[911st]

Zorin,

I am not an expert but some things come to mind.

Unless you were spinning it very high or missed a shift you probably have not put a rod through the case. I would expect that if just driving and it was non a rod failure, you would hear the bearing go first which is a deep knock sound that is hard to miss.

Pull the plugs and see if you can turn the motor over by hand. If so, you probably did not loose a rod.

Something that can just fail is a chain tensioner. This can put the valves against the piston.

Is there oil on your fan. If so might be something external that popped.

Look aground, did you loose one of the oil feeds to the tensioner, if you have them. Did you pop an oil sender.

Pull the valve covers. Check the rocker function and valve clearances. If you can turn by hand and the valve clearances are ok, you are probably ok.

Check the main oil lines to and from the motor. Just look around and use common sense.

[zorin]

The car does start with ignition switch, but after a few seconds you hear a clocking/clicking noise. So I turn the engine off.
I was driving about 20mph at the time and when I wanted to accelerate then pop, something went.

[midnight911]

do you hear him, yes, him, say "go for the 3.6..." at least that was what I heard...

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by 911st

Zorin,

I am not an expert but some things come to mind.

Unless you were spinning it very high or missed a shift you probably have not put a rod through the case. I would expect that if just driving and it was non a rod failure, you would hear the bearing go first which is a deep knock sound that is hard to miss.

Pull the plugs and see if you can turn the motor over by hand. If so, you probably did not loose a rod.

Something that can just fail is a chain tensioner. This can put the valves against the piston.

Is there oil on your fan. If so might be something external that popped.

Look aground, did you loose one of the oil feeds to the tensioner, if you have them. Did you pop an oil sender.

Pull the valve covers. Check the rocker function and valve clearances. If you can turn by hand and the valve clearances are ok, you are probably ok.

Check the main oil lines to and from the motor. Just look around and use common sense.

this was my thought too. could a sending unit come apart? was it cold and high oil pressure? my pressure can get over 100 when cold if i am not careful. although the ticking leads to a more catastrophic failure

i think someone mentioned a tensioner? could the chain break and put a hole in the housing? you can remove the valve covers and turn it over by hand and see if the rockers move. the ticking may be piston to valve contact. but then that would put all the chain in the motor most likely locking it up. yes, thinking (typeing)out loud.
i have never heard a rod go, but i would think it would be more than a snap. maybe it let go at the piston end?

[sjf911]

Most likely dx is rod failure but did a dropped valve or failed piston/piston wrist pin precede it.

[sancho]

if the engine starts with the ignition, and after a few seconds you hear a banging noise I don't think it's the rod.....

[exc911ence]

The oil-fed tensioner failure sounds plausable. The chain slapping around could cause a clacking noise plus it would throw your timing off enough to cause the engine to quit. In order to empty out your oil tank in such a short time, it was definitely something pressurized that let go!

Could also be something as simple as broken head studs on one cylinder. If the barrel lifted off of the block, the oil had a place to escape and the clocking sound could be the barrel bouncing up and down. Just a shot in the dark.

If you have a engine drop party, I'll bring some liquid refreshment!

[euro911sc]

If all the oil drained from the case, even if it was a minor blown seal, it is now a somewhat major issue as you may have been driving an oil starved engine with out knowing it until you had your 'pop'. Don't start it again.

• Pull the engine/tranny. Try and find the leak source.
• Pull the valve covers and chain covers; check the cam timing and chains.
• Check the valve clearances and look for broken rockers and stuck valves.
• Pull the sump and look for metal parts in the screen.
• Make sure you did not snap a flywheel bolt since that was your last job on the car.

If all that checks out I would pull the heads off with the cam carriers still attached and take a look at the pistons. You might get by with not doing this if you can get yourself a bore scope and go in through the spark plug hole. Look for half moon shaped marks on the top of the pistons that indicate that the piston met valve. Check that each piston moves smoothly through 720 degrees of crank.

If I had not found a root problem by this point I'd probably freak out and rip the whole thing down to the studs. If at all financially feasible, you could buy a running motor to stuff in the car whilst you re-build this one. I had considered it when I re-did mine. I should have done it.

show us some pics. Perhaps we will see something that indicates the issue...

Best regards,

Michael

[Rusty Heap]

Let me get this right............you're driving home, the engine goes KABLAMMY tick tick tock tock clank clank, you see all the engine oil spilled out and smoke everywhere, you get it towed home...............then several hours later GO OUT AND TRY TO START IT AGAIN TO ONLY CONFIRM THAT YUP IT STILL GOES CLANKITY CLANK after a few seconds of running with no oil in it?

these are all your words not mine.

wow. thats one method of troubleshooting...........pull the motor or take it to a shop........now!