Did I Destroy My Engine?

[Scott Feit]

Long story short, I was trying to accelerate hard in my 1999 Corolla, and I downshifted into 2nd at about 70 mph (didn’t realize how fast I was going). I watched as the tach instantly zipped up to 8k (redline is 6k), thought “oh shit”and kicked in the clutch again, but it was too late. The engine stalled. No bang or anything, just stalled. So, still going about 65 mph, I tried to restart the car using the key, nothing. Put it in 5th, released the clutch, nothing. I managed to coast safely to the side of the road in neutral, and I popped the hood. It smelled heavily of clutch– later I realized this was due to my attempts to restart using 5th. I tried starting with the key, and the starter sounded like it really was trying, but couldn’t spin the engine. I put the car in 5th and tried just pushing it, and it reached a point where the engine just wouldn’t spin anymore, going either direction. So, does it sound like the engine is seized, or something else? There’s no hole in the block, so I didn’t throw a rod or anything, but it’s certainly possible there’s internal damage. What do you guys think?

Also, the shop I had it towed to is closed over the weekend, so I’m considering going there today and removing the oil pan just to see if there’s any metal chunks in it. Should I even bother?

Topic

[Scott Feit]

[quote=”dohc-kindaguy” post=59500][quote=”lifeinhd” post=59473]I’m still calling BS on “never changing oil ever out lasting 3 cars” deal unless they were like totaled all about in a 2 year time frame :P[/quote]

I dunno, seems some cars can go pretty long without oil changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC-SxrsgEwo

^^135k miles like the car in the vid is 10k more than my 99 Corolla went before I killed it.

[Coty Miller]

eww, I’ll bet he couldn’t pass emissions because the VCT was gummed up, and since you can use VCT in place of an EGR, it couldn’t adjust timing for either emissions or performance reasons… To much longer and it’d been toast… I’m honestly very surprised it lasted that long with only 1 or 2 oil changes… but modern cars are rated for 10,000 miles… Still I’m surprised the crank position sensor wasn’t gummed up…

How many time did eric replace that one civic engine for not changing his oil, 2 or 3 times? That was a honda, and they are known for reliability as well… I just don’t think it’s good to push your luck 😛

[Scott Feit]

[quote=”dohc-kindaguy” post=59514]How many time did eric replace that one civic engine for not changing his oil, 2 or 3 times? That was a honda, and they are known for reliability as well… I just don’t think it’s good to push your luck :P[/quote]

Reliability, yes, but that doesn’t mean it’ll necessarily last long with no/old oil. I have a cousin who works for Honda (engineering, not repair) and says regular oil changes are crucial to a long lifespan with Hondas. Why he doesn’t just engineer an engine that can do without (like Toyota) is beyond me (but it probably has something to do with his job being in dashboard control layout, not engine design 😛 ).

[Josh]

Personally I would say yes you did destroy the engine by accident. I also say stick to the corolla. THey are legendary for a reason. As for daewoo they no longer exist and parts will be harder to come by. I drive a subaru and it’s a super reliable car. Just did my first oil change with this particular car it’s it’s vary happy. The honda thing with eric was the used car salesmans daughter’s car…who as we all know before the second engine swap never checked the oil. just let it run dry and well killed the engine. I would just go to a junk yard, find a toyota engine, buy it and have your mechanic install it. Shouldn’t be to expensive to do the swap. As for FORD I will never buy for a few reasons.

1) I find that ford’s are pretty cheaply built

2) My personal experiance with them are they die quite easily and often

3) They are not really that powerfull in my personal opinion.

That’s why I will never buy a ford. I will however buy chevy. I love the design and under the hood performance of the V-8’s. I also love how they designed the mid 90’s Suburban. My favorite SUV of all time.

Anyway that’s my two cents. Good luck and keep us posted on the out come of the situation

[Scott Feit]

I’ve officially begun the search for a replacement. Problem is, the more I think about it the more I think I don’t really have a good place to even attempt a swap, so I’m better off selling as-is. Anyone want a Corolla with 125k that’s been abused to hell but still in good cosmetic condition? :cheer: no I’m serious :blink:

So far, besides Camrys, only one type of car really stands out: Saturns. They’re cheap, they’re reliable (relatively) and they’re commonly found with 5spds. Something like this or this. Then the Camry I’m most interested in is this, and the car I’m most tempted to get but probably shouldn’t is this.

Now I get to go look at the newspaper listings… woohoo… god this is such a tedious process. And to think usually I like looking at used car listings :/

[Josh]

I personally would go for the toyota, Although it’s an auto it will out do the saturn’s.

[Coty Miller]

Me personally… uh… I’d buy that benz LOL especially if I could talk it down to 500 It’d drink gas like a pig, but I’m always tempted by luxury… But it would be more practical to get the toyota…

[Bill]

I can’t believe that one broken Toyota and a Television on wheels caused so much of a Buzz.

[Scott Feit]

Well the thread’s kind of evolved into a “what car should I buy” thread, and that’s always fun for everyone banana:

[Lord Ihcalam]

look for a cavelier. u can pick one of them up for about what you are looking for. if you see a saturn run far away unless it is DIRT cheap, like mine was (492.50, the cost of the train ticket to get it, and the registration fees to import it into my state). I think Chev metros were rebadged corollas back in the day, u might see if any of those are about. dont buy a daewoo, might get your ass kicked for driving one, well you would here. Rednecks dont like people that drive late 90’s walmart tape players. On a thought you dont see Aveos here either….

[Scott Feit]

We had some Cavaliers in my driver’s ed class… absolutely horrible little things. No power, no comfort, no economy, no real standout in any category. Third worst vehicle I’ve ever been in.

Instead, yesterday I looked at a couple Camrys, one a 93, the other a 98, both with major dealbreaker issues, and a Buick where the owner had disabled the check engine light hoping I wouldn’t notice (fortunately I’ve learned from previous mistakes so I thought to check). Really kind of a bummer. And most of the cars worth looking into seem to be in MD (I’m in NoVA) and my friends don’t really want to travel that far, which is understandable. So, it looks like I’m consigned to looking at 80s Volvos. I’m actually quite fond of old Volvos, I convinced my friend to get one and it’s been an amazing vehicle. They remain solid (with proper maintenance), they last forever, and they’re good at felling trees when you crash into them. But they’re harder to resell. So we’ll see. I’m still trying to schedule appointments for today, and of course I’ll be on the lookout for any new Camry V6es or Buicks people post (I’m quite fond of the 3.8; the 4-speed it’s mated to, not so much).

This is quite a process….

[Matthew]

[quote=”LanEvoX” post=59526]As for daewoo they no longer exist and parts will be harder to come by. [/quote]

NOT TRUE Daewoos still exist what do you think The Chevy Aveo, 2010-Up Buick Lacrosse, Chevy Cruze and Chevy Volt are? The Aveo is the Daewoo Kalos the Lanos successor, The Cruze is a Daewoo Lacetti-Premire and the Lacrosse is the Daewoo Alphloean (something like that).

[Matthew]

[quote=”lifeinhd” post=59534]I’ve officially begun the search for a replacement. Problem is, the more I think about it the more I think I don’t really have a good place to even attempt a swap, so I’m better off selling as-is. Anyone want a Corolla with 125k that’s been abused to hell but still in good cosmetic condition? :cheer: no I’m serious :blink:

So far, besides Camrys, only one type of car really stands out: Saturns. They’re cheap, they’re reliable (relatively) and they’re commonly found with 5spds. Something like this or this. Then the Camry I’m most interested in is this, and the car I’m most tempted to get but probably shouldn’t is this.

Now I get to go look at the newspaper listings… woohoo… god this is such a tedious process. And to think usually I like looking at used car listings :/[/quote]

RUN AWAY from Saturns they may be cheap and reliable until they need repaird in which which you end up investing MORE In repairs the the thing is even worth. Their cheap plastic parts and paper engine gaskets will not last long at all!

EDIT: DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM A PRIVATE OR “BY OWNER” SELLER. THERE IS A REASON THEY ARE SELLING IT AND MOST LIKELY IT IS DUE TO SOME PROBLEM(S) WITH THE CAR THAT IS TOO EXPENSIVE TO FIX OR THEY DONT HAVE THE MONEY TO FIX SAID PROBLEM(S).

EDIT II: I should add the the Aveo is no longer a Daewoo as of 2011. The Daewoo Kalos is now the Chevy Sonic as of 2012 and the Aveo has not been a Daewoo since it used the Ecotec engine (W/e that is) which it started using after the 2008 Model Year (2009-2011)

[Its me]

As far as selling your Corolla, I may be interested. Where are you located?

Karl!

[Trent “Teddy” Martin]

My advice …. Go by a 2.4L Camry or a 1.8L under 150,000kms your pretty set with that just try and make sure theyve had the three major services 40k,80k and 120k for the corolla and the 45k 90k and 120k on the Camry …especially the 80k service on the corolla that’s a major service with intake fuel filter. You get one of those two your set may not be the fastest or prettiest cars on the planet but they are damn reliable

[Author]

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