Ruined engine from neglect...

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: ATex7239
Originally Posted By: funflyer
Here's a 14 Insight engine on Ebay with 25k miles on it. Not bad for about $500 including shipping. Be sure to take plenty of pictures for us when you do the swap

I see plenty of quality bonding time for the holidays.

Engine


Thanks for the link, but I’m not helping him with this one. He is more of a computer guy than a gearhead. He doesn’t even own any tools. He brings in me or my father-in-law for stuff like this. If I do this for him, which is basically what would happen, and he is out only a couple hundred bucks and weekend hanging out with me, what contingency is present to punish this behavior again? Not much, by my measure.

He is going to get tough love from me on this one. This needs to hurt, a lot, or he’ll just do it again.


Maybe charge him to do it. Say, a 25% premium on parts, and half what a shop would charge for labor.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: NibbanaBanana
Bought my E150 with only 78K miles and 12 years old. The guy I bought it from was a market farmer who had bought it used at about 50K. He change the oil every year but only put a couple thousand miles on it a year. He would use it all summer to sell at farmers markets then after the last market in October would park it in his shady New England driveway and not touch it until spring. When I bought it the cargo bay door hinges were so seized I thought the body panels were going to break from flexing so bad. The auto tranny gear shift was so tight, it took all my strength to move the gear selector. (It's finally starting to loosen up now after three years of regular driving. I have no idea why it got so tight from sitting. Probably not good.) Motor needed isolator bolts but other than that has been pretty good. Don't let 'em sit too long. That's the lesson I learned.


Sounds like the cable to the transmission (I think Econolines use cables) is bad. If so...might be worth replacing it, I don't think they're expensive. Or maybe try oiling it-bicycle shops sell cable oilers cheap.

 

[addyguy]

Years ago had a buddy whose sister went California, and brought back a 1986 Toyota Corolla. This was in the late-1990's, and this thing was like new - no rust, and was a bit of a rare site as most had rusted away up here.

She moved on to a better vehicle, and sold/gave it to my buddy. He never did maintenance, and never checked anything, even though I kept bugging him to keep up on the car to no avail.

After a year, maybe two, the car's engine seized up due to lack of oil. I told him he could have prevented this, but he shrugged me off, saying it was an old car and was going to die anyway. It killed me a bit, b/c the car was mint and could have lasted years.

He still does this to his cars, and I've lost touch with him, so no telling how many he's been through.

 

[StevieC]

If I had an engine under warranty using a quart of oil per 1,000 miles/kilometers I would do certain things to the engine to get it to use even more oil so I could get it replaced under warranty. That's just OE nonsense right there.

 

[ATex7239]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: ATex7239
Originally Posted By: funflyer
Here's a 14 Insight engine on Ebay with 25k miles on it. Not bad for about $500 including shipping. Be sure to take plenty of pictures for us when you do the swap

I see plenty of quality bonding time for the holidays.

Engine


Thanks for the link, but I’m not helping him with this one. He is more of a computer guy than a gearhead. He doesn’t even own any tools. He brings in me or my father-in-law for stuff like this. If I do this for him, which is basically what would happen, and he is out only a couple hundred bucks and weekend hanging out with me, what contingency is present to punish this behavior again? Not much, by my measure.

He is going to get tough love from me on this one. This needs to hurt, a lot, or he’ll just do it again.


Maybe charge him to do it. Say, a 25% premium on parts, and half what a shop would charge for labor.


I appreciate the advise but I’m not interested in fixing his car. I have some large projects at work I’m trying to get wrapped up before the end of the year and we have family coming into town next week.

He is a grown man and I don’t have time to help him, so he is on his own on this one.

 

[SatinSilver]

Stopped by this charity motors place where people donate their cars. Most of them are unlocked. Found an 05 Camry, pretty dirty esp the inside. Oil change sticker was at a local tire place that uses generic bulk oil. Car was 10k miles past what was marked on the sticker. Popped hood and checked oil with nothing showing on the stick. Placed was asking $3300 for it. No thanks!

Did see what looked like a mint condition 07 MB E350 with 161k on it. Prob the best condition car on the lot. Most of the cars there are one step away from the junk yard. Kind of depressing in one respect but then I feel like the 05 Matrix is in mint condition compared to other cars there.

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Years ago had a buddy whose sister went California, and brought back a 1986 Toyota Corolla. This was in the late-1990's, and this thing was like new - no rust, and was a bit of a rare site as most had rusted away up here.

She moved on to a better vehicle, and sold/gave it to my buddy. He never did maintenance, and never checked anything, even though I kept bugging him to keep up on the car to no avail.

After a year, maybe two, the car's engine seized up due to lack of oil. I told him he could have prevented this, but he shrugged me off, saying it was an old car and was going to die anyway. It killed me a bit, b/c the car was mint and could have lasted years.

He still does this to his cars, and I've lost touch with him, so no telling how many he's been through.


I am way too cheap to purposely pour such money down a rat hole , that way .

How much $$$$ does this sort of thing add up to , in the long run ?

Be safe out there .

 

[MCompact]

A couple of my friends have kids who are just hopelessly inept when it comes to maintaining their cars. My son isn't as big a gearhead as me, but at least he maintains his car by the book.

 

[GMBoy]

I have a friends 2008 Suburban Z71 in my shop now. She ran it completely low on oil and now the engine is toast. This is even though at EVERY oil change I explain to her that she burns oil and to check it weekly. She rolled into my driveway knocking and ZERO oil showing on the stick. When asked if she has been checking the oil she says yes and it says 67%!! Too many people equate oil life with oil level and she is not able to learn but now she has to buy a new engine for $3500 (that's just the engine before labor) she might learn now.

 

[Hootbro]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle

Maybe charge him to do it. Say, a 25% premium on parts, and half what a shop would charge for labor.


OP is right to stay clear of it. Even if he did what you ask, his friend will probably be expecting him to fix anything that breaks going forward. Some people only learn when it hits their pocketbook.

 

[fdcg27]

OP is probably thinking that he doesn't need the non-trivial job of replacing BIL's engine.
He has other things to do and probably has little interest in devoting a weekend to R&Ring an engine, especially since that engine would have been fine had BIL pulled the dipstick and looked at it.
Anyone who's actually swapped an engine can understand this.
It isn't all that easy and you always run into something unanticipated, aside from the fact that the physical labor involved will leave anyone who isn't a young working wrench with sore muscles and plenty of new cuts and bruises.
Been there, done that and probably won't do it again.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: NibbanaBanana
Bought my E150 with only 78K miles and 12 years old. The guy I bought it from was a market farmer who had bought it used at about 50K. He change the oil every year but only put a couple thousand miles on it a year. He would use it all summer to sell at farmers markets then after the last market in October would park it in his shady New England driveway and not touch it until spring. When I bought it the cargo bay door hinges were so seized I thought the body panels were going to break from flexing so bad. The auto tranny gear shift was so tight, it took all my strength to move the gear selector. (It's finally starting to loosen up now after three years of regular driving. I have no idea why it got so tight from sitting. Probably not good.) Motor needed isolator bolts but other than that has been pretty good. Don't let 'em sit too long. That's the lesson I learned.


Sounds like the cable to the transmission (I think Econolines use cables) is bad. If so...might be worth replacing it, I don't think they're expensive. Or maybe try oiling it-bicycle shops sell cable oilers cheap.

Itd be a 4R70 so yeah, cable. It could be in the column to. The bushings that the tube ride on do go bad.

 

[jeepman3071]

There are a few in my family who always have trouble no matter what brand of car they buy, and they always blame the brand. "This _______ is a piece of junk after only 3 years". Then I look at it and the alignment is way off, the tires are all flat and different sizes, oil hasn't been changed by Jiffy Lube in 3 years, dash is lit up like a Christmas tree, etc. This is why you have to take some car reviews with a grain of salt. Some cars do have a lot of issues, but I think there are a lot more owners who drive with the dash lit up and the gauges pegged in the red.

My friend is a manager at a mom and pop oil change place. He says they have at least 1 car a day where they open the drain bolt and less than a cup of oil comes out. Last week they popped the drain bolt on a car and nothing came out.

 

[WyrTwister]

Some people are dim bulbs .

 

[circuitsmith]

I'm sure I'm considered to be the eccentric on my block,
because I'll be seen occasionally opening the hood of my car, or even rotating tires (oh my!).
I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen other neighbors doing that.
People walking by often ask if I had a break down or a flat when they see me checking tire pressure.
In the late '60s my father was the eccentric because almost every day he wiped down his car
with a rag and bucket of water.

 

[WyrTwister]

And I will bet your money stretches further !

 

[EA82]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
What confounds me is people like that are able to make a perfectly good living and pay taxes like they're supposed to.

Good point there

 

[miden851]

This is why some people should change oil at 3000 miles. If you leak or burn oil, maybe your a QT down when oil is changed. Not too bad. Better than being 2QT down if you waited for 6000.

Thus the OLM and real words to say what to do. we


Edited by Donald (11/19/17 06:51 AM)


+1 concure

 

[SilverSnake]

And people want to know why I don't ever buy a used car. Between the evidence in this type of thread, all the jerks out there that "beat the snot" out of their cars or "drive them like they stole it," and the crowd that thinks getting the last mile or day out of a change of oil is paramount, I stopped buying used cars decades ago.

 

[Crispysea]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
What confounds me is people like that are able to make a perfectly good living and pay taxes like they're supposed to.


I have relatives like that. They don’t really pay taxes, they always get a refund and blow it in a week or two. I worked with one genius who quit the week he got his refund!