Another engine dies of neglect

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The tech we have at work is a buddy, and often asks my opinion on things, which I take as a great compliment from an ASE Master, who has shown great adeptitude in fixing all of our fleet vehicles, as well as the host of groundskeeping equipment we have, abused by our very own Willie the Groundskeeper.
Anyway, like most techs, this guy does side work.
We were talking last week, and he asked me whether I knew of a good source for low-miles used Saturn engines.
The story is that a young woman had her Saturn towed to his place, not running.
He said that she told him that the red light (oil pressure) had been coming on for the last few days the car had run, and that the car eventually quit on her.
He told me that there was no oil on the dipstick, and when he removed the drain plug, nothing came out.
His original thought had been to do a field overhaul, and get her back on the raod.
He said that when he removed the oil pan, he found a piece of conecting rod laying in it, so the engine was toast.
I told him that I had learned here that real Saturn engines consume real amounts of oil, and that she had probably run the poor thing dry without anyone having told her that she needed to check the oil level regularly.
Anyway, the girl bought the car, a 2000 SC2 with only 65K for a mere 2500.00.
Too bad she'll now have to spend 1700.00 with labor for a used engine to get the thing back on the road.
All of this could had been avoided with the regular addition of the cheapest 5W-30 (or anyW-any) she could have found.
A tragic case of ignorance no being bliss.
 
Yeah the engine oil light should come on at 1 qt low. And do more annoying stuff so people will not run empty. That sucks.
 
This car really could have used a level sensor in the pan. It was perfect for non-car people (especially women) except for the niggling problem of their not opening the hood...
 
I absolutely love this bit...

Originally Posted By: eljefino
...except for the niggling problem of their not opening the hood...


lol.gif
 
Originally Posted By: beast3300
Yeah the engine oil light should come on at 1 qt low. And do more annoying stuff so people will not run empty. That sucks.

Yep.
Maybe a 120db squeal for these people.
33.gif
 
plenty of females have learned this expensive lesson!!!! "apparently motor vehicles need looking after? can any body confirm this rumor?" LOL
 
I sold my Neon to a girl and told her it used 1 qt. of oil per 1000 miles. I stressed how important it was to check the oil and make sure this rate did not go up. She ran it out of oil twice before the engine died. Meanwhile people think I am just lucky that my cars don't have these problems. I simply am missing that niggling problem.

ref
 
A friend's daughter ran an early 2000's Saturn out of oil. The oil light was on when she left St. Louis, and she actually made it half way to Chicago before it seized up.

Then she mentioned that the oil light had been going on and off for the previous three days as well...

$1,800 for a used engine, installed, with a 12/12 warranty.
 
nearly everyone has heard stories of a woman driving around for hours/days with the oil idiot light on.i've experienced and heard of many such stories. never heard of a guy doing it.
a few of the women that i've known that blew up a motor for this reason -- are not stupid people. that's why i don't understand why they did such a stupid thing.one of the mysteries of life, i guess.
a couple of possibilities -- the woman is trying to match the idiot light shade of red to her new brand of blush. or -- the idiot light emits a different light in which to apply makeup.there's got to be a reason.
one poster brings up a good point -- the idiot light should go on when the sump is down a quart.but,it wouldn't make a difference to these people. the idiot light would just be on for a couple more days before the motor blew up.
in a perfect world, these people could not reproduce, and pass on an "idiot light ignore" gene.but, it's not a perfect world. all we can do is shake our heads, and laugh.
have a good day people.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
If we could only put a stamp on the forehead of these people warning others of their shortcomings.


Here's your sign?
crackmeup2.gif
 
The worst part, from my perspective is, that this woman will probably bad mouth Saturn or GM over this. Even though she will be informed that it was her fault, to others, who dont know the whole story she will badmouth the car as "junk". I see and hear it all the time.
 
kestas -- if you can't laugh at the stupid/goofy things that ALL of us do, from time to time, then you might as well put a bullet in your head. if you take exception to people's posts, then put said posters on ignore.
ls2 -- spot on. the latest one - a friend of a friend bashes honda's as being junk, since her L/S window regulator motor died on her 09 honda. all that you can do is laugh.
have a good night, guys.
 
Men are just as careless in caring for mechanical devices as are women.
The only reason you've never heard of a man running an engine dry is that no man would ever admit it.
 
My daughter and her cousin (my nephew)are in college and share an apt. in North Texas. He drives an older Saturn and knows ZERO about cars. She called and told me he pulled up one day recently and the motor was clattering like crazy. She yelled turn it off and checked oil and it was empty! Hold 4.5 quarts and she put 4.5 in it!!! She told me he's an idiot dad lol. I taught her well fellow BITOGERS NO?
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: SAJEFFC
My daughter and her cousin (my nephew)are in college and share an apt. in North Texas. He drives an older Saturn and knows ZERO about cars. She called and told me he pulled up one day recently and the motor was clattering like crazy. She yelled turn it off and checked oil and it was empty! Hold 4.5 quarts and she put 4.5 in it!!! She told me he's an idiot dad lol. I taught her well fellow BITOGERS NO?
grin.gif



You taught her well!
 
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