Is it possible that an oil cap being off would cause an engine failure?
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/3244138551.html
It seems to me that they must have run it out of oil or something for it to actually cause a major motor failure not just run it with the oil cap off. Bizarre.
Hahaha no, even if he did manage to lose all his oil through an open oil cap somehow, wouldn't he have seen the huge puddles? And if he didn't see the puddles, would you want to buy a car from someone that negligent?
Or maybe he's confusing an oil cap with an oil plug?
I used to have a b13 sentra that if the oil cap wasnt tightened firmly it would blow off and spray oil all over if you kept driving, but even that didnt lose much oil. I guess if you were going to buy it and replace the engine it wouldnt matter much, but do those really go for $20k if they are running?
The crazy low mileage throws off the book value I guess? I've seen AP1s locally for $12k in good running condition.
In reply to ProDarwin:
I'd say he'd be smart to take 5-6k for it......repayment to the car gods for being a retard.
Well, if the oil cap was left off, it may very well be that the last step of an oil change wasn't completed. And if the last step wasn't completed, maybe one of the middle steps (add oil) also wasn't completed. The guy sounds sufficiently clueless that the mechanics may have found the oil cap and assumed someone only did half an oil change before driving it away, and this guy didn't understand the relationship between the cap and the engine failure.
But hey, I heard you like APs, so I put an AP2 in your AP1 so you can... well, you see where I'm going with this.
I think that this needs more LS1!
Also, I may have e-mailed him with a lowball (but reasonable) offer.
Between losing oil out the top and running lean from a huge PCV leak, I can see it grenading a motor.
Yeah, I was thinking that too. Or something that was related to crankcase pressure. I don't know enough about them to say, but it seems possible that it could be either that or the PCV, or the oil was left out completely like another poster mentioned.
No a lack of crankcase pressure won't cause this. Any engine running a VTA catch can is in the same condition, it will only cause the oil to foul up a bit faster.
In your typical factory PCV setup the crankcase is actually in a slight vacuum.
In reply to GameboyRMH:
I understand and agree, but do you know that there isn't something out of the ordinary used on these cars that could be different? I don't no either way, just asking.
You could get a running one in decent shape for that price.
ProDarwin wrote: The crazy low mileage throws off the book value I guess? I've seen AP1s locally for $12k in good running condition.
Low mileage is kind of irrelevant IMO if it needs a new engine.
I wouldn't pay a dime over $5-6k for that car.
aren't those motors hard to rebuild correctly? as a result i'd probably never touch one that hadn't been done by a very reputable shop
GameboyRMH wrote: No a lack of crankcase pressure won't cause this. Any engine running a VTA catch can is in the same condition, it will only cause the oil to foul up a bit faster. In your typical factory PCV setup the crankcase is actually in a slight vacuum.
It's not lack of crankcase pressure as much as it's a major vacuum leak. An oil cap missing is the equivelant of a giant tear in the intake boot. So the car will run very lean because of all the excess air flowing in. If it's a typical Honda MAP system, as apposed to MAF, it might compensate.
I have an oil cap with a vacuum hose run through it that I use to smoke test engines for intake leaks through the crankcase. It also works well for diagnosing bad PCVs by hooking a vacuum gauge to it while the car is running. VW and Audi engines depend heavily on the PCV to run well. A bad PCV will cause misfires and all sorts of fuel trim problems. So a lean (and hot) motor misfiring and detonating with low oil = bad juju
dealer front plate and frame makes me automatically suspicious of any story provided.
I translate this as.
I tried to change my own oil. Car started to knock . I went to the mechanic to see what was wrong. When the mechanic looked at the car he found the cap that I forgot to put back on the motor and the motor was out of oil. (I forgot to put the oil in and drove it after the oil change.) The mechanic put oil in the car and replaced the cap that I for got to put back on the motor but the motor is toast.
Now please by my overpriced car that I am into for way to much money so I can pay off the note I got at 8 billion percent interest so I can stop making the weekly car payments.
^This
In reply to dean1484:
This seems very likely. Once again, it didn't stop me from low balling him. He can enjoy paying those weekly payments on a dead car for the next 5 years.
In reply to dean1484:
Yup.
Cone_Junky wrote:GameboyRMH wrote: No a lack of crankcase pressure won't cause this. Any engine running a VTA catch can is in the same condition, it will only cause the oil to foul up a bit faster. In your typical factory PCV setup the crankcase is actually in a slight vacuum.It's not lack of crankcase pressure as much as it's a major vacuum leak. An oil cap missing is the equivelant of a giant tear in the intake boot. So the car will run very lean because of all the excess air flowing in. If it's a typical Honda MAP system, as apposed to MAF, it might compensate. I have an oil cap with a vacuum hose run through it that I use to smoke test engines for intake leaks through the crankcase. It also works well for diagnosing bad PCVs by hooking a vacuum gauge to it while the car is running. VW and Audi engines depend heavily on the PCV to run well. A bad PCV will cause misfires and all sorts of fuel trim problems. So a lean (and hot) motor misfiring and detonating with low oil = bad juju
I don't think that this is true. I don't know crap about S2K engines, but in every 4 stroke motor I have worked on, the valves are sealed and do not suck from or blow into the area under the valve cover.
The intake boot rip will allow un-metered air into the cylinder and therefor cause it to be lean. You could run a engine without the valve cover (it would be messy) and not know it by testing the exhaust gas.
I have also blocked off PVC valves with no apparent issues other then idiot lights.
singleslammer wrote: I think that this needs more LS1!
While the LS series is great, it seems a bit crude for the car, and I like crude.
S2Ks are MAP based, so running lean shouldn't be an issue from vacuum leaks.
Rusnak_322 wrote:Cone_Junky wrote:I don't think that this is true. I don't know crap about S2K engines, but in every 4 stroke motor I have worked on, the valves are sealed and do not suck from or blow into the area under the valve cover. The intake boot rip will allow un-metered air into the cylinder and therefor cause it to be lean. You could run a engine without the valve cover (it would be messy) and not know it by testing the exhaust gas. I have also blocked off PVC valves with no apparent issues other then idiot lights.GameboyRMH wrote: No a lack of crankcase pressure won't cause this. Any engine running a VTA catch can is in the same condition, it will only cause the oil to foul up a bit faster. In your typical factory PCV setup the crankcase is actually in a slight vacuum.It's not lack of crankcase pressure as much as it's a major vacuum leak. An oil cap missing is the equivelant of a giant tear in the intake boot. So the car will run very lean because of all the excess air flowing in. If it's a typical Honda MAP system, as apposed to MAF, it might compensate. I have an oil cap with a vacuum hose run through it that I use to smoke test engines for intake leaks through the crankcase. It also works well for diagnosing bad PCVs by hooking a vacuum gauge to it while the car is running. VW and Audi engines depend heavily on the PCV to run well. A bad PCV will cause misfires and all sorts of fuel trim problems. So a lean (and hot) motor misfiring and detonating with low oil = bad juju
I will have to wholeheartedly disagree. It obviously depends on the engine design, but I diagnose and repair PCV systems that wreek havoc on modern FI systems. Driveability problems, misfires, and lean codes are very common in my line of work directly related to a bad PCV. Audis will almost stall if I take the oil cap off while it's running. If the PCV is bad, you won't even be able to remove the oil cap on modern Bimmers and 2.0T VAGs because the crankcase vacuum is so strong. Oil vapors are emmisions and modern systems are designed around a completely sealed crankcase.
Honda has the avantage of being a MAP system, so it won't have un-metered air like a MAF system would.
You'll need to log in to post.
