Engine crapped out today.

[AzNMpower32]

Originally Posted by Wagner

Check the oil lines and oil filter canister. Also check the pan at the bottom of the engine. Sounds like too much oil blew a line out. Sadly, if you topped off the engine as indicated, the warranty isn't going to cover a possible messed up engine.

Well, topping off could mean different things. If the computer stated that it needed more oil (I guess it says +1 litre?), then filling it back up to the "OK" point is fine. I doubt anyone would overfill the oil on purpose. It definitely sounds fishy.

[vinuneuro]

You can't blow oil lines from adding too much oil. Oil pumps have pressure relief/regulatory valves. The worst that can happen is the oil gets a little frothy in the pan, but that's not going to cause the kind of failure he described.

Should be interesting to hear the cause of failure on this one. I'd guess that maybe the oil cooler/line leaked (in a large way lol).

[Wagner]

Originally Posted by vinuneuro

You can't blow oil lines from adding too much oil. Oil pumps have pressure relief/regulatory valves. The worst that can happen is the oil gets a little frothy in the pan, but that's not going to cause the kind of failure he described.

Should be interesting to hear the cause of failure on this one. I'd guess that maybe the oil cooler/line leaked (in a large way lol).

In line with that...

There is DEFINITELY harm in having too much engine oil. The most common problem is -- believe it or not -- lack of lubrication caused by low oil pressure. What happens is the crankshaft "whips" the oil in the oil pan into a foam. The foamed oil is then pushed through the lubrication system. The air bubbles causes a drop in oil pressure and less oil is delivered to moving parts. This results in increased wear, lower fuel economy, higher temperatures and generally just a Whole Lot Of Bad Things.

The action of the crankshaft whipping up the oil also robs the engine of some power; it takes effort to push the crankshaft through all that extra oil.

[y5choi]

wow I can't wait till the verdict on this one. Keep us posted please!

[vinuneuro]

Originally Posted by Wagner

In line with that...

There is DEFINITELY harm in having too much engine oil. The most common problem is -- believe it or not -- lack of lubrication caused by low oil pressure. What happens is the crankshaft "whips" the oil in the oil pan into a foam. The foamed oil is then pushed through the lubrication system. The air bubbles causes a drop in oil pressure and less oil is delivered to moving parts. This results in increased wear, lower fuel economy, higher temperatures and generally just a Whole Lot Of Bad Things.

The action of the crankshaft whipping up the oil also robs the engine of some power; it takes effort to push the crankshaft through all that extra oil.

I completely agree with that. However, an oil line blowing as you described can't happen with low oil pressure.

Moreover, why I said that what he's describing isn't in line with low oil pressure is that if there's a low oil pressure condition, he isn't going suddenly start leaking oil; in fact, an oil leak won't result as an effect of that. The bearings would start to spin, and eventually the rotating assembly would sieze or the crank would crack in the most extreme condition.

The first thing to happen with oil pressure low enough to cause damage is spun bearings. If bearings are starting to spin, he'd hear knocking. However..if the oil was topped off too high, it wouldn't cause an acute loss of pressure. The knocking would've progressively gotten worse. What he described was that things went south extremely rapidly. Which means oil pressure became critically low very rapidly. -> Oil left the engine rapidly.

[x5_48i_VA]

wow I feel for you man,I have a 4.8i too, I full throttle it a lot of times, this is worrying, keep us posted!

[Wagner]

I had just agreed with you being right

Originally Posted by vinuneuro

I completely agree with that. However, an oil line blowing as you described can't happen with low oil pressure.

Moreover, why I said that what he's describing isn't in line with low oil pressure is that if there's a low oil pressure condition, he isn't going suddenly start leaking oil; in fact, an oil leak won't result as an effect of that. The bearings would start to spin, and eventually the rotating assembly would sieze or the crank would crack in the most extreme condition.

The first thing to happen with oil pressure low enough to cause damage is spun bearings. If bearings are starting to spin, he'd hear knocking. However..if the oil was topped off too high, it wouldn't cause an acute loss of pressure. The knocking would've progressively gotten worse. What he described was that things went south extremely rapidly. Which means oil pressure became critically low very rapidly. -> Oil left the engine rapidly.

[vinuneuro]

Originally Posted by Wagner

I had just agreed with you being right

crap

[Wagner]

Originally Posted by vinuneuro

crap

[SpeedTriple]

Contacted the dealership today and the service rep said a connecting rod punctured the engine, so the engine will be replaced. I didn't ask him what might've caused that to happen, but this definitely smells of bearing failure. However, I had never heard any knocking from the engine except right before the failure happened and the car only has 6200 miles on it. Hopefully this was an isolated incident.