[Depressed in MO]

Hello, yet another problem in a different area of my life... my car! I am so embarrassed to say this, but need some hope.

I was driving my car down the road the other day and it started running really hard, as if it didn't want to shift out of first gear or something. So I was coming off an exit to get it to a service station and it died at the stop sign. When I tried to turn the car back on, (bare with me because I can't type out "car noises")it made the sound as if it was trying to come on, but was out of gas (which is not the case, it had gas, this is just what I am comparing the noise to as to what it sounded like when I tried to restart the car). But did not stay on, of course. Tried to turn it on again, no sound at all.

So I put my car in neutral, and pushed it off to the side of the exit ramp. There was a little bit of smoke coming from under the hood, and green fluid was flowing out the bottom like crazy (sounds like radiator fluid, huh?).

So I get it towed to my dad's company, and the guys that work there take a look at it and say it is completely out of oil.

I hope my questions are obvious-what could be wrong with my car? Did I run it out of oil, or is there more to it? I have absolutely NO knowledge of cars.

If it turns out I ran it out of oil and killed my car, I will die of embarrassment, not to mention the financial burden of getting a new car.

Any thoughts are welcomed.

Thanks!

[kev-in]

Bad luck.. the reason you had green fluid coming out of the bottom of your car can be caused by having no oil in the system and the car just overheating because there was no oil in the engine, oil acts not only as a lubricant but also as a coolant for the engine, sometimes it is possible that it can be rectified as easy as putting in some fresh oil and hoping for the best but don't hold your breath it sounds like its going to cost you a new engine

[TxGreaseMonkey]

Sounds like it ran out of oil, overheated, and caused antifreeze to leak (either boil over or cracked block). This is how many become concerned about preventive maintenance. In the future, use Mobil 1 synthetic oil (greater margin of safety) and check all fluid levels frequently.

[kitch428]

Well you described it perfectly. So, good job there. But that's all the good news I can give.
:( Sounds like a no brainer here. You cooked it! The life's blood of the engine is the oil. If you loose it, it will have a major heart attack.
I would like to hear what you 'were' driving. Did it make any rat-ta-tat noises before it went south?
My condolences,
Regards.

[Depressed in MO]

Well you discribed it perfectly. So, good job there. But that's all the good news I can give.
:( Sounds like a no brainer here. You cooked it! The life's blood of the engine is the oil. If you loose it, it will have a major heart attack.
I would like to hear what you 'were' driving. Did it make any rat-ta-tat noises before it went south?
My condolences,
regards.

LOL-Well I had my car looked at last night, and it actually had oil in it, but no antifreeze. And yet the motor was indeed locked up. So my car is gone :(.

I was driving a 94 Dodge intrepid. No offense to anyone, but I hate Dodge vehicles anyway.

It made no noise that I am aware of. It just sounded like metal grinding up under my hood right before it croaked.

This is one of the many reasons I am Depressed in MO.;)

[TxGreaseMonkey]

You might want to take a minute and read the link below on preventive maintenance. There's some good information that could help you with your next car:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-t...tml#post219991

AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts sell rebuilt engines:

AutoZone.com | In Our Stores

[kitch428]

I serviced a 98 Corolla today. 218,000 miles. It was a little sick, so I tuned it up, lof, and did an induction clean along with a injector cleaning service. That little Corolla now runs like a scalded rabbit!
I'm trying to lead you in a direction here. This person is driving the right car, and taking it to the right person to keep it from being sick. :D

[civicracing369]

If you want to help out your next engine from over heat or croaking try this stuff out it's called slick 50 really good stuff.
My buddy hade some in his engine(used to burn alote of oil to) and actuly ran out of oil in his car for about 2 hours the engine never over heated didn't grind and the car still run's today like a new won you should take a look at it.

[Depressed in MO]

I serviced a 98 Corolla today. 218,000 miles. It was a little sick, so I tuned it up, lof, and did an induction clean along with a injector cleaning service. That little Corolla now runs like a scalded rabbit!
I'm trying to lead you in a direction here. This person is driving the right car, and taking it to the right person to keep it from being sick. :D

Thank you very much.

[Depressed in MO]

if you want to help out your next engine from over heat or croaking try this stuff out it's called slick 50 really good stuff.
my buddy hade some in his engine(used to burn alote of oil to) and actuly ran out of oil in his car for about 2 hours the engine never over heated dint grind and the car still run's today like a new won you should take a look at it.

Thank you kindly.

[fordpos]

Don't mess around with synthetic oils most synthetic oils will cause the need to replace oils seal and make you need even mor engine work because if the engine diddn't leak there will be a good chance that it will. Go to junk yard that has an engine house (garage full of used engines for almost any vehical you can think of. You can probably get an engine that runs but it is a good idea to change the oil and check inside the valve and oil pans at minimum to make sure that it will last for the rest of the life of your car.

[Depressed in MO]

Don't mess around with synthetic oils most synthetic oils will cause the need to replace oils seal and make you need even mor engine work because if the engine diddn't leak there will be a good chance that it will. Go to junk yard that has an engine house (garage full of used engines for almost any vehical you can think of. You can probably get an engine that runs but it is a good idea to change the oil and check inside the valve and oil pans at minimum to make sure that it will last for the rest of the life of your car.

Do you think it is even worth it?

[fordpos]

Grinding souds usually come from wore out pumps such as the water pump so you probably ended up throwing a connecting rod through the side of the engine block

[fordpos]

Well around hear in southeastern Ohio I'm able to find good used engines between 100 and 500 dollars depending on popularity of the year make and model. So you might get lucky and find one for real cheap as opposed to paying 3000 for a remanufactured engine or paying up to 45000 for a new car.

[TxGreaseMonkey]

Don't mess around with synthetic oils most synthetic oils will cause the need to replace oils seal and make you need even mor engine work because if the engine diddn't leak there will be a good chance that it will.

Fordpos, if you make the statement above at BobIsTheOilGuy.com you will get flamed. Try it and let's see what their response is. Such a 1980s statement. Synthetics are factory fill in the finest cars in the world today.

[Depressed in MO]

well around hear in southeastern Ohio I,m able to find good used engines between 100 and 500 dollars depending on popularity of the year make and modle. So you might get lucky and find one for real cheap as opposed to paying 3000 for a remanufactured engine or paying up to 45000 for a new car.

I'm in MO. Buying a used motor is only half the battle. Then I have to find someone to actually put it in for me.

I'm totally screwed.

Thanks for all of your input though.

[kitch428]

Ya know, I'm sitting here thinking. It might be just your water pump that seized up and not your engine. When H20 pumps are about to fail, they make a horrible grinding noise. Then when they seize, the motor locks with it, and coolant comes pouring out! The starter isn't strong enough to crank it after that
Just this week we had a Lexus towed in and no one wanted the job because everyone thought the engine was messed up. One of our techs came from Lexus and took on the job. Several hours later he was driving it out. Just the pump seized up. :rolleyes:
Don't be so depressed in MO! May not be as bad as you think. Get it checked by a known good shop.

[Depressed in MO]

Ya know, I'm sittin here thinkin. It might be just your water pump that seized up and not your engine. When H20 pumps are about to fail, they make a horrible grinding noise. Then when they seize, the motor locks with it, and coolant comes pouring out!! The starter isn't strong enough to crank it after that
Just this week we had a Lexus towed in and no one wanted the job because everyone thought the engine was messed up. One of our techs came from Lexus and took on the job. Several hours later he was driving it out. Just the pump seized up. :rolleyes:
Don't be so depressed in MO! May not be as bad as you think. Get it checked by a known good shop.

Thanks, that gave me some hope. I will get that checked out.

[anniesford]

Thanks all for the above posts. This all describes what happened to my Ford Explorer SUV. Hence the rebuilt engine questions of mine :(