VinhZXT Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 My friend took his LS1 Z up to Boston last weekend. He ran over something and cracked the oil pan. He was stupid not to watch the oil pressure gauge and kept driving. He told me he heard some engine noises and pulled over. By that time he reallized the oild pan was cracked because the oil was all over the back of the car. I asked him how long did he drive after he heard the clunk and he said not long and he pulled over right the way when he heard noises from the engine. My question is what the worst can happen to the motor? He asked me to replace the oil pan for him and put some oil in and start it up and see what happens. My guess is if the motor makes noises then the damage was done already. My plan is to do compression test first. What is the compression reading on these engine? Anyone else have any suggestion to what to check while I have the oil pan out? I like to inspect the bottom end while I have the oil pan out. Can I just remove a few bearing caps and check them? Thanks for any input. V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Rod bearings usualy suffer damage first. Then mains follow. Cut open oil filter and inspect for metal. Drain remaining oil and look for metal. If you have the pan down, I would certainly pull all mains and rods. If hydraulic lifters, they usualy get noisy first.........Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 If you hear engine noises best bet would be to tear down the motor and rebuild it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismopowered Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 compression wont tell you anything in this case. If he was quick enough then just change the pan and filter and see what happens. If it make noise what have you lost, oil and a filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColtGT4g63 Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Depending on how long he actually drove it on the "bad noise" if he's lucky enough he may be able to get away with throwing in a set of rod bearings. Before even pulling the pan, try throwing some oil in there and starting it up and see how it sounds, maybe you won't even have to change the bearing. Who knows... I would plan on worst case scenario, but try the easy stuff first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinhZXT Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 Thanks for all the tips guys. I am waiting for the oil pan to get here. Should be here some time this week. I will keep you guys updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 My ex wife drove over a square manhole cover that was sticking stright up in a parking lot in her '77 Honda Accord and split the oil pan. Of course not being mechanically inclined she just drove the car about 5 miles home, inspite of the noise and the glowing check engine light.......grrrrr. Turned out the lack of oil didn't hurt anything. Since it was the fault of the parking lot owner they told me to take it to the Honda dealer. The mechanic replaced the rod and mains but showed me the parts and both of us agreed there was no visable damage. She put another 100k on that car before trading it off on another Honda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinhZXT Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 Update: I replaced the oil pan, filled up the oil and start it up. First 3 seconds it was making the noise but after that everything was OK. I cut up the oil filter and it was clean. I removed the windage tray and check for metal shavings and there was none. Everything was clean. I guess my friend didn't lied. He pulled over as soon as he heard noises coming from the engine. Thanks for all the tips. V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joela Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Hmm, I wouldn't go driving to California (or a racetrack) on that critter... Maybe think about AAA until you check the bottom. I'd pop it apart for sanity's sake, and finding parts for these isn't cheap if it goes wrong. Then again it might be my OCD kicking in too... j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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