My Engine Needs Help - What To Do

Well folks add me to the engine failure poll.

A month ago my baby was running perfectly. I got a fresh oil change from grease monkey. They switched me over to Pennzoil Platinum synthetic and I used some good oil treatment. Then the knocking started. Subtle at first and then louder. Actually the knocking went away with some throttle at first. I had a mechanic check it out and was told that between the oil and the treatment the engine was cleaned and all the junk clogged some oil pump filter and restricted oil flow and then a rod bearing went out. He said he found shavings in the oil pan and filter. She still starts and runs but there is an obvious rod knock. i haven't driven it since I got this information so it's still in the repairable stage. The only shop in town that does engine rebuilds is giving me an estimate of $3500 to rebuild the motor. I have taken good care of my VX inside and out and overall she is in imacculate condition.

Should I sell it? Should I get the motor rebuilt?

I guess somewhere I am hoping for a cheaper solution to this because I still owe money on the car. It doesn't look good though.

I have searched the forum for thoughts so I guess I am just upset and ranting. This sucks!

That's terrible. Good luck. Keep us posted what you find out and what happens. Hope someone here can help you!

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Originally Posted by hyperkid

Well folks add me to the engine failure poll.

A month ago my baby was running perfectly. I got a fresh oil change from grease monkey. They switched me over to Pennzoil Platinum synthetic and I used some good oil treatment. Then the knocking started. Subtle at first and then louder. Actually the knocking went away with some throttle at first. I had a mechanic check it out and was told that between the oil and the treatment the engine was cleaned and all the junk clogged some oil pump filter and restricted oil flow and then a rod bearing went out. He said he found shavings in the oil pan and filter. She still starts and runs but there is an obvious rod knock. i haven't driven it since I got this information so it's still in the repairable stage. The only shop in town that does engine rebuilds is giving me an estimate of $3500 to rebuild the motor. I have taken good care of my VX inside and out and overall she is in imacculate condition.

Should I sell it? Should I get the motor rebuilt?

I guess somewhere I am hoping for a cheaper solution to this because I still owe money on the car. It doesn't look good though.

I have searched the forum for thoughts so I guess I am just upset and ranting. This sucks!

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First of all you shall never use that pennzoil oil,is the worst oil brand out there.

I don't know what kind of oil treatment you went with,but with the issues this engine came with i'll steer away from any "oil treatment".

If you have the $$$$ go have the engine rebuilt,ask your self if some one at this time will take your Vx with the blowed engine.

Personally,when is time for oil change what i do is this :

1 Unloose the oil pan plug a bit.

2 Run the engine for 5 minutes to get the oil soft enough to flow throughtout.

3 Get the oil pan plug off & let the oil run completly,i mean completly by allowing the oil to pour out for about 30 minutes.

4 Put back the oil pan plug but not tightening it.

5 Pour two quarts of new oil into the engine & run the engine for 10 minutes.

6 Have the oil pan plug off again & you'll be suprised how much old black oil would get outter the engine with this single step.

7 Screw back the oil pan tight

8 Add your 4 1/2 quarts of mobil 1 oil of your choice.

You need no oil treatment more then just two extra quarts of oil to get all that old remaining oil outter the engine.

You new oil you remaing cleaner than the average for a longer time.

I'm very sorry you going thru this situation.

My advice : Get your engine rebuilt.

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Originally Posted by Gussie2000

First of all you shall never use that pennzoil oil,is the worst oil brand out there.

I don't know what kind of oil treatment you went with,but with the issues this engine came with i'll steer away from any "oil treatment".

If you have the $$$$ go have the engine rebuilt,ask your self if some one at this time will take your Vx with the blowed engine.

Personally,when is time for oil change what i do is this :

1 Unloose the oil pan plug a bit.

2 Run the engine for 5 minutes to get the oil soft enough to flow throughtout.

3 Get the oil pan plug off & let the oil run completly,i mean completly by allowing the oil to pour out for about 30 minutes.

4 Put back the oil pan plug but not tightening it.

5 Pour two quarts of new oil into the engine & run the engine for 10 minutes.

6 Have the oil pan plug off again & you'll be suprised how much old black oil would get outter the engine with this single step.

7 Screw back the oil pan tight

8 Add your 4 1/2 quarts of mobil 1 oil of your choice.

You need no oil treatment more then just two extra quarts of oil to get all that old remaining oil outter the engine.

You new oil you remaing cleaner than the average for a longer time.

I'm very sorry you going thru this situation.

My advice : Get your engine rebuilt.

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PS: there's a use engine on ebay for $ 2000 with about 70K

keep us/me informed on your engine replacement- how many miles?

I think we should stay as far away as possible from experimenting with low oil levels in our engines! 2 quarts is not enough! After filling the passages in the engine there isn't much remaining for the pick-up tube and screen to get at. Either use 4 quarts and a can of flush or just drain it and refill.

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Originally Posted by SGT.BATGUANO

I think we should stay as far away as possible from experimenting with low oil levels in our engines! 2 quarts is not enough! After filling the passages in the engine there isn't much remaining for the pick-up tube and screen to get at. Either use 4 quarts and a can of flush or just drain it and refill.

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Sorry,but i think you missed something about what i wrote.

I'll never suggest as you do any can of flushing formula,it's not a go idea.

And yes,you can use only two quarts of oil to flush out any "remaining" old oil in the engine because the minimum amount of oil our engine should ever run low is 1 1/4.

Please read again & focus on what i'm explaining.


Greeting !

While I personally think an occasional engine flush is a good idea in concept, actually performing one is definitely a tough call. I've heard of people using five straight quarts of kerosene for flushing their engines, but the thought of that procedure always scared me because of the simple difference in viscosities between kerosene and engine oil (regardless of the weight). Kerosene is a great gunk and sludge remover when cleaning engine parts if you have the time to let them soak, and is probably one of the main ingredients in off-the-shelf engine flush treatments, so I could see how it would help to clean out hard to reach places like valve lifter bodies and small oil passages, but I'm personally still hesitant to run an engine for any length of time with anything but oil.

I'm also not sure how the various engine seals would maintain a good seal against the leakage of straight kerosene, or I'd be tempted to just drain the oil when it was time for a change, replace the drain plug, fill the entire engine from drain plug to filler cap with kerosene, then let it soak for awhile rather than actually run the engine and risk any bearing to bearing contact because the viscosity of the kerosene didn't provide the same sheer resistance per film thickness of a good engine oil.

Maybe that would be a good experimentation suggestion for something like Hot Rodder Magazine?

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Originally Posted by Gussie2000

And yes,you can use only two quarts of oil to flush out any "remaining" old oil in the engine because the minimum amount of oil our engine should ever run low is 1 1/4.

Please read again & focus on what i'm explaining.

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You can run 2 qts. of oil in YOUR engine, I think I'll pass.

I've waited until it was half a qt. low & added half a qt. of Seafoam. Then driven it for 5-10 miles. But there is NO WAY I'd even let it idle with only two qts. in the crankcase...good luck!

Consider parting it out to help out the fam. :thumbup: :rolleyes: You might find you get more money doing it that way than trying to sell a soon-to-be undriveable vehicle.

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Originally Posted by Ldub

You can run 2 qts. of oil in YOUR engine, I think I'll pass.

I've waited until it was half a qt. low & added half a qt. of Seafoam. Then driven it for 5-10 miles. But there is NO WAY I'd even let it idle with only two qts. in the crankcase...good luck!

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Actually,driving with one quart of oil + half quart of seafoam is way more risky by driving your horse with that little amount of oil
But this is all about perception of what is the best way to clean the engine.
I've always did this two quarts of new oil flush proceed without any issues at all on all vehicules i've ever owned
And again,i never suggested driving the VX with only two quarts of oil;Don't know why you guys keep misleading my words.
However this guys engine is gone so there's nothing we can do more then helping finding a cheap,good running engine with less mileage possible.

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Originally Posted by Gussie2000

Actually,driving with one quart of + half quart of seafoam is about the same amount of oil i just say you can run the VX before things can go bad (1 1/4),yet still you actually goes further by driving your horse with little amount of oil.Instead i only does this by idling which doesn't allow the engine get at normal temp
But this is all about perception.
I've always did this proceed without any issues at all on all vehicules i've ever owned
And again,i never suggested to drive the VX around with two quarts of oil just at idle for 10 minutes or less just to get any old oil out by addind two quarts of new oil & then draining that oil,don't know why you guys keep misleading my words.

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Like I said, YOU do what YOU want with YOUR engine...:thumbup:

Also, I don't know where you learned math, but in my world 5 qts. minus 1/2 qt. = 4 1/2 qt.
NOT two qts. :_confused

I said, YOU do what YOU want with YOUR engine...:thumbup:

No need to be sarcastic LDUB;this thread wasn't about you & me,it's about a fellow VX'er in need of some light about what next

Also, I don't know where you learned math, but in my world 5 qts. minus 1/2 qt. = 4 1/2 qt.
Yes,you are right,i kindly missed the math,but need to insult by asking where did i learn to do maths.

As a guy that's been wrenchin' on stuff for 45 years, I can't personally recommend running ANY engine for ANY amount of time with 45% of the recommended oil level. If I was into the whole "engine flush" thang (I'm NOT, but that's a whole 'NUTHER Oprah!), I'd add a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil and drive around for a few miles BEFORE my oil change...

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Originally Posted by TheGanzman

As a guy that's been wrenchin' on stuff for 45 years, I can't personally recommend running ANY engine for ANY amount of time with 45% of the recommended oil level. If I was into the whole "engine flush" thang (I'm NOT, but that's a whole 'NUTHER Oprah!), I'd add a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil and drive around for a few miles BEFORE my oil change...

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If the engine's oil capacity is 4.3 quarts according to isuzu that means 2 quarts is about 48% doing a quick math
Now guys,the whole meaning about how I flush my engine is the method i does do it,you all can add three quarts,4 quarts or 5 & apply the method the same way,got it ?

An engine blows when there's no oil pressure & over heated
I'll put you guys on the test table by asking how low our engine needs to go the breaking point ?

On an engine with KNOWN "starvation" issues to some cylinders, I can't imagine why on Earth ANYONE would want to knowingly run this motor for even 30 seconds with the oil capacity half full...:confused:

In defense of Gussie, the oil light doesn't come on until you are down about 2 quarts from full, which is of course around 2.3 quarts in the engine (using Gussie's 4.3 qt capacity figure). If the Isuzu engineers designing the system believed that 2.3 quarts was far beyond "not enough" then I think they would have set the light to go off before 2 quarts were gone.

That said, it is not necessary to run the engine 10 minutes in the low-oil-level state to get the remaining old oil out (2-3 minutes would suffice), but I think it's all overkill anyway - just drain and refill and run the engine, and you will see that the oil looks nice and fresh, not contaminated by a few ounces of old oil.

By contrast, my wife's A3 flashes its oil warning when it's down only about 1.2 quarts (out of 4 or 5, IIRC).

How often are you all changing the oil on this thread? If the oil is changed every 3k-5k with synthetic, I would say just perform an oil change with a quality oil filter. What am I missing? Are these 3.5l that prone to gunk build-up with the oil frequency changes I mentioned?:confused:

and dont forget that PCV ;)

There is a used motor on ebay with less than 10k miles on it (says the listing) and it's starting bid is $1200. I'm guessing he had his rebuild too. Unfortunately I have been unemployed since Feb when I was fired so the company could hire cheaper help. I don't think I can scrape that up in 5 days. This sucks! These last few weeks just suck

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

Info: My engine has 135K miles on it before it went crash.

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Originally Posted by ZEUS

I'm just curious Gussie, where did you get the idea to do oil changes that way? Was it passed down by dad or researched or what? I personally, run seafoam thru everything for a few days before an oil change to loosen up gunk. I also used to use a quart of Marvel to replace a quart of oil during changes (4 qts oil/1 qt Marvel) but found the oil level drops a quart pretty quickly - a few hundred miles. When I use a full 5 quarts of oil though it seems to maintain its level.

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Hi zeus
Being on the inquisitive side of the street is better then be on the challenging one,that's why i replay to you........

I change my oil that way simply because a engine with low mileage doesn't need any seafoam,although the seafoam is the best known engine flushing aplication so far,but it should only use on high mileage engines that doesn't had a good maintainance's record,today's engine oil has enough detergents & cleaning properties to keep the engine clean,especially if you bought the car brand new.

Some engines does well with other cleaning aplications,others engines no,even engines built by the same manufacturer for the same vehicule does not respond to the same cleaning proceeds at the same mileage because once a brand-new car hits the street the engine will be exposed to different factors & conditions & even performed differently from another car with the same engine.

That's what i stand for,i don't challenge any body way's to maintain their vehicule,but is also good to read,learn,watch & understand other's point of view even though you may not agree,follow & just think is bogus or a bunch of BS.

My 1rst vehicule was a 2nd generation toyota MACHO,a SUV that looks quite similar to the two doors trooper,which i purchased brand new when i was only 17 in 1991 & turn it into a rally cross SUV back in my country (venezuela) & became member of the national isuzu 4x4 rally club,that buggy never,ever dropped on me even with all the beat i gave him,months before coming into the US back in 2004 i sold it to my cousin with the average of 135K miles performing the same oil proceed i've shared with you guys & as today that buggy still runs with almost 240K on the clock because my cousin does the same stuff as i did.

I'm aware that i'm a newbie here & probably many old members consider that newbies aren't well aknowledge about cars,but that theory doesn't always apply,even though i am not the hand-on-tool kind of guy because never liked to mess around with greasy parts,but i know pretty well how a car works from up down,have no doubts about that.

I never add any oil flushing additives into that toyota macho's engine which in fact is also a V6 with 198 HP & never had to do any rebuilt job on it & because my Vx had only 38K on the clock at the time of purchased i knew oil additives isn't needed & confirmed by my mech when he tear down the upper block to work on the valve train.

And with this post i consider this thread over. Thank you !

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Originally Posted by hyperkid

There is a used motor on ebay with less than 10k miles on it (says the listing) and it's starting bid is $1200. I'm guessing he had his rebuild too. Unfortunately I have been unemployed since Feb when I was fired so the company could hire cheaper help. I don't think I can scrape that up in 5 days. This sucks! These last few weeks just suck

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

Info: My engine has 135K miles on it before it went crash.

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Hi hyper,i don't think you can scrap the VX if you own money on it.

I think you better move is to sell it like that for the amount you still owe & pay off the loan.
Your other option is to hold on 'till things gets better & you can be able to rebuilt the engine which is what i'll do,however the last word is yours.

Is unfortunate to know that such vehicule was paired with the worst engine i've ever dealt with,as you said ..it just sucks

This thread is supposed to be about ME! A proud VX owner with a nasty problem. This thread isn't supposed to be a pissing contest. I was simply looking for some thoughts from my fellow VX comrads. Some thoughts that might give me some hope.

Technically I can do whatever I want with my truck so your right the last word is mine. I could sell it piece by piece and probably make some money but not all of us can simply go out and get another car loan. Especially us unemployed ones.

I love my VX. My interior and exterior are flawless and I have had no other problems with this truck other than the damn windows. I still get all the chicks looking at me and their boyfriends looking at me twice saying "I want one".

And yeah this SUCKS!

well...if you want advice...

when my motor blew up at 74k i went to an isuzu certified mom and pop shop....and ended up paying them somewhere around 5k for a used shortblock with all new parts...

they purchased everything out of california and charged me $4,800 if i remember right for parts and labor...

I know Ldub pointed you to that Axiom swap link/thread. Maybe print that and take it to a local mechanic- they may help you "find" a motor as well. There are (i believe) places that would finance the operation.I'd hang on to the vx man, try to get back to work, buy a beater (or a cheap motorcycle)for the time being and take out a loan for a new engine. I hope other VX'ers have more help for you soon. Keep us posted and private message me anytime if you just want to bounce an idea off me.
Hang in there dude-

[quote=hyperkid;160579]This thread is supposed to be about ME! A proud VX owner with a nasty problem. This thread isn't supposed to be a pissing contest. I was simply looking for some thoughts from my fellow VX comrads. Some thoughts that might give me some hope.

Technically I can do whatever I want with my truck so your right the last word is mine. I could sell it piece by piece and probably make some money but not all of us can simply go out and get another car loan. Especially us unemployed ones.

I love my VX. My interior and exterior are flawless and I have had no other problems with this truck other than the damn windows. I still get all the chicks looking at me and their boyfriends looking at me twice saying "I want one".

Hey hyper,as you said the thread was about what can you do..if you check the 1rst three post you can see i was the only one who came foward & told you about the engine on ebay.com,wasn't supossed to be a contest as you figured out.

I feel bad that inmediately my 1rst post the thread was turned around to what you saw,i was attacked because i just shared what i usually does when it comes down to oil change.I don't like the confrontation in any way,the board is to share common interest issues about the VX & our personal experiences so can be applied if you believe it could work for you as well & make new friends.

I don't know what else to say,i'm sad to know that another VX is out of the streets where it belongs to.

As i always do i respect every one's decision no matter what it is.

And yeah this SUCKS!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hyperkid

This thread is supposed to be about ME! A proud VX owner with a nasty problem. This thread isn't supposed to be a pissing contest. I was simply looking for some thoughts from my fellow VX comrads. Some thoughts that might give me some hope.

Technically I can do whatever I want with my truck so your right the last word is mine. I could sell it piece by piece and probably make some money but not all of us can simply go out and get another car loan. Especially us unemployed ones.

I love my VX. My interior and exterior are flawless and I have had no other problems with this truck other than the damn windows. I still get all the chicks looking at me and their boyfriends looking at me twice saying "I want one".

And yeah this SUCKS!

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Brother I feel your pain, I'm in the same boat. In the past year or so I got laid off then used all my savings and 401K to start a business which as of last week is no more. Short saled my house, forclosed on 2 condos, burst 3 veins in my leg to which I am now undergoing a series of surgeries, and now a blown VX engine just I was about to sell my 2000 ford Excursion to help pay my escalating medical bills and keep me going until I recover enough to get a job.

Try to stay positive brother, when you hit rock bottom the only way you can go is, UP.

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Originally Posted by djvx

I know Ldub pointed you to that Axiom swap link/thread. Maybe print that and take it to a local mechanic- they may help you "find" a motor as well. There are (i believe) places that would finance the operation.I'd hang on to the vx man, try to get back to work, buy a beater (or a cheap motorcycle)for the time being and take out a loan for a new engine. I hope other VX'ers have more help for you soon. Keep us posted and private message me anytime if you just want to bounce an idea off me.
Hang in there dude-

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I'm 100% with djvx,hang in there & be pacient,right now your priority is finding a job.
Once you get on a job things would begin to get better for you.
The axiom's engine is a good option,iamironman did the swap & now the VX is running,your horse could be the next on the list

:bump:

How can I put this as subtle as possible...


GET AN AXIOM ENGINE ASAP!!! LOL

I did it and it's the best way to go.. you can go through this site:

http://www.car-part.com/

right now there are a couple for $1000

put in 2002/ Isuzu Axiom/ ENGINE/ All Areas/ and your zipcode

Look at MY thread about MY actual Swap of an Axiom engine in MY VX.

It works... I have not had one single problem with MY engine since I did this (I've had unrelated electical issues, but NO engine issues).. Absolutely no oil consumption... runs better than it did when it was a VX engine... or a Trooper engine... yes, this was the third engine I put in it... first, original '99 VX spun bearing and threw rod less than 2000 miles after I bought it... put a '99 Trooper engine with 88k on it and it DRANK oil like a quart a week.. approx every 200 miles... I got sick of feeding it more oil than gas (slight exageration). SO I researched and researched... an Axiom motor fits/works, it's the exact same engine... even had an argument (no yelling involved, maybe heated debate would be a better descriptive) with Tone Monday (God rest his soul) while he was putting my hitch and electronic torque convertor on... he said it wouldn't work because of the ECM issue... if you read MY thread THOROUGHLY, you don't use the Axiom ECM... you use the VX ECM and intake and injectors... make sure your mechanic xfers/puts on the cam rpm sensor and the knock sensor, the Axiom doesn't use these but the mounts are still there because its the SAME engine just with the oil consumption problems fixed. But if he's a good mechanic he'll see it anyways... mine did. I hope this helps... it IS the best solution to a blown VX engine... the labor and extras (gaskets etc...) should be around $1500... maybe less. You could do this for less than $3000!

READ THESE THREADS:
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=15031

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=15156

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=15789

I can't wait to take RUTHLESS off -road on July 18th in the Central Texas Mini Meet (yes, another shameless plug).

I wish there was some place Moncha could put these threads/info to be able to point people to this solution whenever there is a blown engine.

GOOD LUCK!

P.S. If you don't mind, PM me with what you owe... I MAY be able to help out, take it off your hands and get you out of the loan... emphasize MAY... no promises... I want a new project... thinking about putting a V-8 in a VX... /looks off to the horizon dreamily, wonders what a VX with 350HP could do?




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HYPERKID--- Any news on your engine situation???

I just wanted to update everyone - i'm sorry for not posting sooner

Well I have my truck back with a replacement motor. It took about half a year for me to save the $4000 bucks to fix her. For half a year i made my car payments while my baby was broken. I was able to find a used motor with 40k miles on it from Houston TX. The replacement motor purrs but I have had a few issues fixed since then. The transmission was shifting very rough so I had the neutral switch replaced and the wiring harness that goes under the motor repaired and tied out of the way. It was resting on the exhaust. I had an idle issue and replaced the TPS sensor which corrected that. And I had a coolant leak which I just fixed this weekend. Coolant was leaking from the seal on the water manifold. I read another post about this and ordered the seals and o-ring. I'm assuming when the replacement motor was installed these were not changed out. The seals were very bad and the o-ring crumbled to pieces when it was removed. Now I am not leaking a single drop of coolant (woot). As good as this replacement motor sounds and performs it still drinks oil like it's starving. Just checked a few minutes ago and i'm down 1.5qt. So that's about it - no other mechanical issues at all. Still have the freakin power window issues so maybe I will try to tackle that this coming weekend. Oh yeah i'm painting my hood insert I will post photos. I also took a video of the new motor starting. Took with my blackberry so don't get too excited. At least you can hear it doesn't knock or ping at all. Through all of this i decided to stick with my VX. I considered parting it out but just couldn't do it. I love my truck - I have wanted one since the first day I saw it back in 2000 and i'm not giving up. I'm gonna drive her until she falls apart - which I will probably fix her even then.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/sh...hp/photo/18598