Friend blew up his car today

[tinmanSC]

A friend of mine called me this afternoon and asked me to pick him up and take a look at his car. He has a 2005 Chevy Cobalt with a 2.2L 4cyl and a 5-speed. It has 136K miles. He said that he was driving fast to get back from lunch and he "missed a gear" then he heard a loud popping noise, the car shook and then just grinding. He pulled over and stopped the car and called me. I came out there and took a look under the hood. No parts sticking out.

When I pushed the clutch in it would not depress all the way to the floor. About half way down it would stop and I could feel movement in the gear shift. The stick was moving slightly when i was pushing the clutch in. After some debate, we started the car up, HOLY COW! terribad noises coming from the front of the car. I shut it down fast and the noises stopped, but it sounded like the engine compartment was being fed through a wood chipper. We had the car towed to my house, it's in the driveway.

Is this flywheel or clutch failure? Has anyone experienced this before? I can only assume that it's clutch, and that's what I told him. I would like to have a better idea of what the heck happened before I go taking it apart.

 

[mikered30]

I guess this is an interference engine?

 

[RiceCake]

Won't be a timing belt or chain if it starts. What do you mean "missed a gear?". If he money shifted into the wrong gear, it could mean the entire engine is blown. But from what you've said it sounds like the clutch may have simply annihilated itself.

Clutch or flywheel, hard to say without taking it apart. Likely the clutch material exploded.

 

[Drew99GT]

I agree on clutch failure. The noise is probably blown up clutch disk rattling around inside the pressure plate.

 

[tinmanSC]

Originally Posted By: RiceCake
What do you mean "missed a gear?".

That's all he said. That's all I could get out of him. Honestly, he seemed a little embarrassed about it and was reluctant to give me exact details.

 

[Mau]

instead of putting it to 5th he must have been close to redline in 4th and shifted it into 3rd.

 

[yonyon]

He probably just broke something is all. Once you fix that it should be okay.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: yonyon
He probably just broke something is all. Once you fix that it should be okay.

Well done, Carnac!

+2 on the clutch theory.

 

[johnachak]

Originally Posted By: mikered30
I guess this is an interference engine?


Cobalts have a chain.

 

[simple_gifts]

Originally Posted By: johnachak
Originally Posted By: mikered30
I guess this is an interference engine?


Cobalts have a chain.


Some years have a tensioner issue IIRC

 

[default]

Put the front on ramps, should be a drain hole on the bottom of the bell housing for inspecting the clutch.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: yonyon
He probably just broke something is all. Once you fix that it should be okay.


Duuuhhhh, yeah I agree...

I blew the clutch on a 4cyl Mustang(shoved it into 1st at 60 MPH) and it didn't make any noise at all... Well it made a little poof when it blew and dumped all the friction material(lining) but nothing metal was broken... Seen another one that didn't always release the clutch and made a screeching noise when acting up, that one had some loose springs caught inside the pressure plate assembly...

 

[JimPghPA]

Well it will be interesting to see what the clutch, and throw out parts of the clutch look like.

 

[mechtech2]

Clutch or transmission are likely.
Does your friend really care what we guess is wrong?

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
I agree on clutch failure. The noise is probably blown up clutch disk rattling around inside the pressure plate.


That's what it sounds like to me.

 

[crazyoildude]

if he does not know take it to a reliable trans shop

 

[INDYMAC]

Sounds like a classic money shift scenario to me (mechanical over-rev). Check dropped valves, piston rods, etc. He will need a re-build, if not a new engine.

 

[A_Harman]

If the engine still runs, it's not a broken timing chain, or any kind of an engine failure. Failed clutch disc sounds the most plausible.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
If the engine still runs, it's not a broken timing chain, or any kind of an engine failure. Failed clutch disc sounds the most plausible.


Agreed but, I've seen running engines with broken rods that didn't make any noise, even a few with a hole in the side of the block(anything & everything comes through the auctions)...

Poster said the clutch was weird(or something like that)when depressed, not much doubt there is a failure inside the bell housing...

 

[tinmanSC]

Thanks for the input, everyone. In theory, if I separate the transmission from the engine, I should still be able to get the engine to start? I want to make sure that the engine is working (i.e. no loud banging noises coming from the bottom end) before I replace parts. If I can drop the trans, verify that it is an exploding clutch, with the trans out the engine should still start, right?