I'm an idiot!

NiGMa

New Member
May 4, 2007
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supramacist said:
Don't give up man.

Be the next breed of gear head. Keep it alive.

Thanks!

Guess what? I took it for a drive after topping the fuel up and i had ABSOLUTELY NO KNOCKING/TICKING SOUND! WOOHOO! what does that mean guys? No permanent damage?

Edit: I mean't to say "after topping the OIL up"
 
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NiGMa

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May 4, 2007
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LilMissMkIII said:
It's good there's no more sound, but why did you drive it without investigating the issues further?

Because I've been posting from work, and I cant leave it at work can I? Its my daily driver.
 

johnathan1

Supra =
Aug 19, 2005
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Downey, California, United States
Rod knock can come and go...But once you hear the sound...the damage is done...

The rod bearings float on the crankshaft on a super thin layer of oil...they don't actually touch each other...and if there is no oil in there to lubricate...then there is metal/metal contact, which wears out the bearing, and makes the bearing tolerances WAAAY too big, which is why it makes a "knock" sound...because everytime the cylinder fires, the rod is pushed down with a LOT of force and slams into the crankshaft...you shouldn't drive the car until it's fixed...the knocking rod could break while driving, shoot out of the side of the engine block, and you could have an oil fire as a result...not to mention the repair bill will increase exponentially...
 

NiGMa

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May 4, 2007
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johnathan1 said:
Rod knock can come and go...But once you hear the sound...the damage is done...

The rod bearings float on the crankshaft on a super thin layer of oil...they don't actually touch each other...and if there is no oil in there to lubricate...then there is metal/metal contact, which wears out the bearing, and makes the bearing tolerances WAAAY too big, which is why it makes a "knock" sound...because everytime the cylinder fires, the rod is pushed down with a LOT of force and slams into the crankshaft...you shouldn't drive the car until it's fixed...the knocking rod could break while driving, shoot out of the side of the engine block, and you could have an oil fire as a result...not to mention the repair bill will increase exponentially...

now you guys are scaring me! :aigo:
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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I come from a land down under
I knocked my GE many years back on the return leg of a trip to Sydney......
I didn't check it before leaving and had to stand on the Brakes to avoid an accident and instantly CLACK CLACK and as I was still 5 hours from home I figured I'd top it up with 90 weight gear oil and save the Expense of a tow.

I learnt my lesson from this and have always run +1qt and now run both a Group A Mag sump and a 3qt acumulator.
 

NiGMa

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May 4, 2007
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IJ. said:
I knocked my GE many years back on the return leg of a trip to Sydney......
I didn't check it before leaving and had to stand on the Brakes to avoid an accident and instantly CLACK CLACK and as I was still 5 hours from home I figured I'd top it up with 90 weight gear oil and save the Expense of a tow.

I learnt my lesson from this and have always run +1qt and now run both a Group A Mag sump and a 3qt acumulator.

Ok well, I am getting convinced that I shouldn't drive the thing, now I just have to find a place to keep my car until I can get it to a shop.

And I have to buy a cheapo car while its in the shop, because some of you are from australia, what sort of price would you recommend I look at for a reliable car? $1000? any recommendations?
 

johnathan1

Supra =
Aug 19, 2005
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Downey, California, United States
NiGMa said:
now you guys are scaring me! :aigo:

Be afriad!...Be VERY afraid!! lol

But seriously, you have a pretty serious problem, and you shouldn't drive the car any distance until you have it sorted out...You'll just be doing more damage and costing yourself more money.

Also, I ALWAYS run my car at about 1 quart over, its about a quarter inch above the "full" mark on the dipstick at all times, to buy me precious time in case anything happens...
 

johnathan1

Supra =
Aug 19, 2005
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Downey, California, United States
IJ. said:
I didn't check it before leaving and had to stand on the Brakes to avoid an accident and instantly CLACK CLACK and as I was still 5 hours from home I figured I'd top it up with 90 weight gear oil and save the Expense of a tow.

WOW! Standing on the brakes caused rod knock?? Was your oil low to begin with?
 

NiGMa

New Member
May 4, 2007
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Australia
IJ. said:
See if you can "hire" a spare car from a friend rather than buy one.
(no use buying someone elses rubbih then having to spend $$ on it to make it run right)

I know, what a nightmare!
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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I come from a land down under
Johnathan: It's an 1800 km round trip and I'd been pushing pretty hard on the way up so it had chewed through a bit (maybe 1 qt down)

I was probably doing 170 kph when I had to get on the brakes really hard so that was enough :(
 

NiGMa

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May 4, 2007
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Australia
johnathan1 said:
Be afriad!...Be VERY afraid!! lol

But seriously, you have a pretty serious problem, and you shouldn't drive the car any distance until you have it sorted out...You'll just be doing more damage and costing yourself more money.

Also, I ALWAYS run my car at about 1 quart over, its about a quarter inch above the "full" mark on the dipstick at all times, to buy me precious time in case anything happens...

Ok, I just found out a US quart is 0.9463 liter. Thats crazy, so your saying you put in almost 1L of extra oil? Isn't that dangerous or somehow bad for the engine?

I will most certainly keep this habit too, but I'd like a few other guys to back you up on it! How long have you run your car like that?
 

NiGMa

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May 4, 2007
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IJ. said:
+1 litre ALWAYS in a 7M.

OK, i'm sold, you've got 12,000+ posts so I guess I can listen to you.

Now, question, what would happen if say it was 3L over, or 5L? is this bad for it somehow? I would assume so I just would like to understand why/how.
 

NeatOman

Never know enough!
Oct 5, 2006
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Addison, IL
I will never let my GTE under Full... For me its at full or 1/2 over because 1 over is just to much for me. I just don't like the idea of the crank slushing around the oil like that.

A blown Head Gasket is just sad on a N/A... I mean you would have to do some dumb things like run it hot for a month (stuck thermostat) or pump 87 and red line it ever other day. I owned Two N/A's and pumped 91 or 93 and Take them threw 1st 2ed and 3ed to 5.5k every other day... i beat them really good. OOOO YEAH!!! and it was the same engine in both! so the engine had to have around 150+ because my first one i got had 118 and junked it @ 148 (rusty) Dont know why i remember that, and the second had 119 and i know i drove it over 30K after that because i remember seeing 150+ befor i junked that. Thats 50K+ miles of beating the crap out of it @ 13-14 degree timing, so with 170K miles that is still not alot for an N/A since they where supposed to last 250K and turbos 200K (with a head retorque @ every 60K).
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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I come from a land down under
NiG: LMAO don't confuse post count with knowledge!!
(I just happen to be a bit smart as well as talk a lot and have been playing cars longer than most of our members here have been alive ;) )

+1 is safe as houses and no where near the Crank.

It takes almost +4 to get to the Counterweights/rods and even then soon as the motor starts it pumps 1 litre/quart into the galleries/top of the motor so it would still be safe until you took a corner or braked heavily.

The main danger is aerating the Oil and drag on the crank that will cost power.
 

suprahero

naughty by nature
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Aug 26, 2005
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Roll Tide
NiGMa said:
OK, i'm sold, you've got 12,000+ posts so I guess I can listen to you.

:biglaugh: .............I've got five thousand but I suggest you don't listen to me as I wear ladies underwear.