Saw a poor 1.6l Gamma engine go to an early grave today, check your oil people!

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Feb 6, 2021
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Massachusetts
Customer came in for a no start on a 2013 Veloster, checked battery, battery was good, checked immobilizer key and clutch safety switch, those checked out good. Checked the oil and....uh oh, dipstick shows nothing and is covered in burnt smelling varnish. Grab a 22mm socket and ratchet, engine is locked solid. Customer wants to try an oil change anyways so I oblige, drain out what was probably 1/2 quart of oil and refill with 4 quarts, I can already tell the engine has been starved of oil because nothing comes out when pull the vertically mounted filter. The smell reminds me of that time I tried lighting a bonfire with motor oil as a kid (didn't work well), that oil had to have gotten 3-400°F to be cooked like that.

After filling the oil I try again to turn over the engine, not budging, it is completely locked up.

What I think happened is this guy was burning oil and never bothered to check it, the little bit of thin 5w20 got super hot and lost it's ability to keep the bearings apart along with starving the engine of oil, and the engine literally welded itself together.

I know most of us here are more on top of maintenance stuff than your average driver but I just have to say, check your oil, this did not have to happen.
 
It's amazing from other forums how many people never check their oil. Worse yet, they get offended when it's suggested oil should be checked regularly. I've had numerous people "explain" to me how it shouldn't be required to check it so long as you change it every X miles. I'm old and curmudgeonly so that's when I usually reply that's the same answer all the stupid people give.
 
1990 or thereabouts, I was just finished fueling up at the Chevron station right off of US-101.

A woman came up to me and asked me how much oil does an engine hold? I told her 4 or 5 quarts depending on the engine. She told me she already put in 3 quarts and there was still nothing on the dipstick. I told her to put another one in and you should see something.

The oil pressure light came on the highway so she came into the station to add oil. She was driving a black Ford Escort GT. I hope it survived.
 
Customer came in for a no start on a 2013 Veloster, checked battery, battery was good, checked immobilizer key and clutch safety switch, those checked out good. Checked the oil and....uh oh, dipstick shows nothing and is covered in burnt smelling varnish. Grab a 22mm socket and ratchet, engine is locked solid. Customer wants to try an oil change anyways so I oblige, drain out what was probably 1/2 quart of oil and refill with 4 quarts, I can already tell the engine has been starved of oil because nothing comes out when pull the vertically mounted filter. The smell reminds me of that time I tried lighting a bonfire with motor oil as a kid (didn't work well), that oil had to have gotten 3-400°F to be cooked like that.

After filling the oil I try again to turn over the engine, not budging, it is completely locked up.

What I think happened is this guy was burning oil and never bothered to check it, the little bit of thin 5w20 got super hot and lost it's ability to keep the bearings apart along with starving the engine of oil, and the engine literally welded itself together.

I know most of us here are more on top of maintenance stuff than your average driver but I just have to say, check your oil, this did not have to happen.
Thanks, made me go out and check it. Oil was fine, it was pretty dark out there tho.................
 
Pour out a quart for our fallen brother
Ashes to ashes, rust to rust :(
I don't understand why Hyundai can't get engines right, still :cautious:
Although this sounds like abuse/neglect
The Gamma series was a bit better than the Theta engines
I'm waiting for my neighbors Elantra SmartStream engine to blow
...still hasn't taken it in for the piston ring recall
 
A woman came up to me and asked me how much oil does an engine hold? I told her 4 or 5 quarts depending on the engine. She told me she already put in 3 quarts and there was still nothing on the dipstick. I told her to put another one in and you should see something.
I would be curious and want to know if she was pouring it in the correct fill hole.

I had a neighbor that went to Florida to work for the Winter.
I checked his wife's car over and it was down three quarts of oil.
 
I used to be religous about checking oil level.
But both my Nissan Xterra with the 4.0 V6 and my Pathfinder with the 5.6 V8 do not seem to burn a drop of oil between changes.
The other week I took my pathfinder and drove 2000 miles in summertime round trip heat through the Mountains on Appalachian interstates and rarely dropped below 85 and some of it above 90, flirting with triple digits too ( I run H rated tires even though its an SUV not easy to find Hrated tires that are also AT rated)
It was well loaded on the return trip too ( I was closing out a storage unit in a state I used to live in)

Checked the oil, does not appear to have used any. or maybe... and I do mean maybe, a very tiny amount just on the edge of what I can detect. maybe a 16th of a quart... but I am not sure, could also be zero.
So when I check the oil every week and the reading is always the same, no matter how much or how hard I have driven, it takes away from my diligence...
Alternating between Valvoline synthetic high mileage oil in 10w-30 and Mobil1 0w-40 (I like the internals to be Exposed to different detergent packs) every 5000 miles.
Only exception was when I had the Xterra in germany and during COVID oil change places were closed for a bit and I crept up to 7600 miles on Valvoline synthetic high milage 10w-30, a fill I had gotten before I went to germany.
The german Nissan dealer put in Shell Helix 5w-40 and that was my fill until the vehicle returned back to the US
 
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I check the oil on the Tundra and RX 350 monthly and the oil level has never moved one way or the other and to be honest that's only about 1000 miles of average travel. With the Soul, that get's checked weekly and with the 16 year driving it that's about 1000 miles of travel per week on average. The plan is to keep a close eye on the Soul for ever.
 
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So when I check the oil every week and the reading is always the same, no matter how much or how hard I have driven, it takes away from my diligence...
My car doesn't burn or leak oil. I just put 4,000 miles on the last change, and the level is right where it was on day one. I know the engine is good in that respect.

Still, I check it frequently. Takes but a moment in the morning. An engine can spring a leak, a hose become disconnected, maybe the coolant is low ... frequent underhood checks just make sense to me. It's not just the oil level that gets checked.

I want to stay ahead of problems, not fix something that might have been prevented by a simple peek under the hood.
 
What I think happened is this guy was burning oil and never bothered to check it, the little bit of thin 5w20 got super hot and lost it's ability to keep the bearings apart along with starving the engine of oil, and the engine literally welded itself together.


The same thing would have happened with a 30 or 40 grade oil.
 
What I think happened is this guy was burning oil and never bothered to check it, the little bit of thin 5w20 got super hot and lost it's ability to keep the bearings apart along with starving the engine of oil, and the engine literally welded itself together.

I know most of us here are more on top of maintenance stuff than your average driver but I just have to say, check your oil, this did not have to happen.
Any thoughts on why folks don't check their oil on a regular and appropriate schedule? I believe the instruction to check the oil is in the owner's manual, but many people don't read the manual. Do oil change places recommend that the customer check the oil? The shop that I take my car to doesn't mention it.
 
Any thoughts on why folks don't check their oil on a regular and appropriate schedule? I believe the instruction to check the oil is in the owner's manual, but many people don't read the manual. Do oil change places recommend that the customer check the oil? The shop that I take my car to doesn't mention it.
The same reason spark plugs never get changed: most of today's cars are so reliable the average consumer never thinks to open the hood.

I once heard someone say of the GMT800s that they were so reliable all they really needed was plugs every 100k, but when you have a vehicle that just starts and goes every time for 100k miles very few consider plugs at 100,001.

I grew up with my mom having a '67 Mustang and my dad always drove carb'd '70s stuff. The hoods were always up and so I think the basics were also checked more regularly

I'm even guilty on my '07 F150 which is my "shop truck". I'm always running and hurried with my daily so I don't check the oil as often as I should. But with my workhorse/road tripper F350 I go over everything before hooking up a trailer and driving across several states.
 
The same reason spark plugs never get changed: most of today's cars are so reliable the average consumer never thinks to open the hood.
That’s it. After owning several cars that have been fine with even 10k oci and no oil usage, I rarely check oil level. I should, as sometimes oil usage can seemingly start overnight. But cars today sure seem like appliances, gas and go.
 
When I worked at full service service station I heard knocking so I turn around and there was a Cadillac pulling in. The lady stated red light on so I had her shut off engine and looked underneath only to see missing drain plug. (She had her oil changed recently.) Put new plug along with 5 quarts of oil and sent her on her way. Lifters ticked for a little while and only knocked under acceleration so she had places to go. Never seen her again.
 
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