Engine Trouble caused by driving without oil

T

TFRnoob

New member
Hello everyone,

I have a 1999 Toyota 4Runner and love it. When I bought the car I knew it had an oil leak. I would routinely check the oil and make sure it was at an appropriate level. I let my sister borrow the car for 2 weeks and completely forgot to remind her about the oil leak.

She was driving on the freeway when the oil light went on and smelt an odor she describes as burning oil or "brakes", the car rattled to a halt as she pulled over. She called me and I immediately met her with 5qts of 10W-40 oil. I poured the oil in after checking the oil level and drove to my house (about 30 miles) I noticed a drop in power and a loud-ish knocking noise particularly in the higher RPMs. I am afraid there is likely to be some major engine damage. That being said I would love some advice on how to diagnose the problem(s) the car will have and the different scenarios that are associated with the problems the car faces.

Thanks everyone!

Rich
 
Register to hide this ad
Do you have the 3.4L engine? It takes 5w30. Not sure if that's part of your problem, but figured I'd point it out.
 
Normally when this happens the motor gets so hot that it destroys the rod bearings. Which is the knocking sounds. You should hear it at idle and it gets louder with rev. If the motor was driven with all oil missing and powered off due to this im guessing entire motor needs rebuilt. I would get a good mechanic to verify but I would think about new motor time.

Last time I had this happen my oil gauge line broke in my talon, was 2am and jamming music. Next thing you know motor shuts off, I look at temp which is pegged, oil pressure all gone. I ended up welding #1 rod to the crank. Motor would not turn at all, when I was rolling and she died I dropped clutch and tires locked because it was welded together. Not fun.
 
Sorry to tell you, but the engine is in its twilight days now. Being a Toyota, it might truck along for a bit more. But the knocking sound is a telltale sign that the bearings are toast.
 
Brique said:
Do you have the 3.4L engine? It takes 5w30. Not sure if that's part of your problem, but figured I'd point it out.
Click to expand...

LOL, that is not the problem Oil is oil, it will do its job. I mean even some gear oil in the motor would have been better. No oil is not good.
 
TFRnoob said:
Hello everyone,

I have a 1999 Toyota 4Runner and love it. When I bought the car I knew it had an oil leak. I would routinely check the oil and make sure it was at an appropriate level. I let my sister borrow the car for 2 weeks and completely forgot to remind her about the oil leak.

She was driving on the freeway when the oil light went on and smelt an odor she describes as burning oil or "brakes", the car rattled to a halt as she pulled over. She called me and I immediately met her with 5qts of 10W-40 oil. I poured the oil in after checking the oil level and drove to my house (about 30 miles) I noticed a drop in power and a loud-ish knocking noise particularly in the higher RPMs. I am afraid there is likely to be some major engine damage. That being said I would love some advice on how to diagnose the problem(s) the car will have and the different scenarios that are associated with the problems the car faces.

Thanks everyone!

Rich
Click to expand...

Sounds like motor lower end. Top end would probably make the noise all the time. Most likely rod bearings/piston rod, maybe piston wristpin or lastly main bearings/ crankshaft which would be affected by a rod failure. Any way you slice it if your taking the bottom end apart, it all needs to be rebuilt. Which essentially means a motor replacement. Best options are a used motor with decent miles or one of those JDM motors I've read about which are also used. Whatever you do don't try to rebuild it unless you know what you're doing and even then I still wouldn't do it. I wish you well.
 
Last edited:
As already said, it was ran dry, and bearing(s) got way too hot, and seized. Yes, once they cool down, you can sometimes get the engine to run again, poorly, for a short period of time. But the damage is done.

It's time to rebuild or replace the engine.

10w40 is fine to use, as long as the temperature doesn't get below approx. 0° F.

The reason that Toyota recommends 5w30, is mainly due to CAFE. It will cover the ambient temperature range generally seen in the USA, but it also offers a very slight improvement in MPG over a 10w40, due to less hydrodynamic drag in the engine from the oil itself.
 
Last edited:
R & R Engine = 19 hrs= 1,520.00
EVAc and Charge A/c System- 35.00
Engine Install Kit (Belts, Hoses, Gaskets, Etc) 150-300
Engine- 1,000 with out warranty- with up to 1700 ish for around a 100k Used Engine

2705.00-3,555.00

This is a good idea of what you are looking at if you take it to a shop for repairs/replacement.

This is what I would hand a customer in they were in our shop.

Information is power, I hope that it helps.

Good luck man.

I'm sorry this happened.

Blue
 
Thanks for the help everyone! Okay, so here are a few symptoms I found upon a more careful inspection that may help narrow the focus of the possible issues at hand. I suspect a cracked head or head gasket because there seems to be coolant towards the front end of the engine bay.

New symptoms are as follows:

coolant leaking from unknown source towards the front end of the engine bay.

when going in reverse, there is a pulsing.

The higher the RPMs, the louder the noise is.

No significant noise when in neutral.

Noise (clacking) occurs when turning on the car and when I am driving especially over 25mph.

Anyway, I hope this helps a little bit. I will be checking the compression later as well as checking for metal shavings in my oil later tonight. Any comments/ suggestions?

Thanks again all! :)

-Rich
 
I don't mean to be blunt, but you most likely spun your rod bearings. The motor is toast.

Anymore investigating you do at this point is purely silly.
 
Same thing happend to my BMW... it was mostly the connecting rod bearings and a little extra wear on the main bearings.

I did the work for about $300, big job.

Can you pop in conrod bearings just by cracking the oil pan like a BMW?
 
Kiss that motor goodbye.. unless you want to be stranded on the side of the highway. I would stop driving it.
 
TFRnoob said:
Hello everyone,

I have a 1999 Toyota 4Runner and love it. When I bought the car I knew it had an oil leak. I would routinely check the oil and make sure it was at an appropriate level. I let my sister borrow the car for 2 weeks and completely forgot to remind her about the oil leak.

She was driving on the freeway when the oil light went on and smelt an odor she describes as burning oil or "brakes", the car rattled to a halt as she pulled over. She called me and I immediately met her with 5qts of 10W-40 oil. I poured the oil in after checking the oil level and drove to my house (about 30 miles) I noticed a drop in power and a loud-ish knocking noise particularly in the higher RPMs. I am afraid there is likely to be some major engine damage. That being said I would love some advice on how to diagnose the problem(s) the car will have and the different scenarios that are associated with the problems the car faces.

Thanks everyone!

Rich
Click to expand...

For some reason when I read this.
All I keep seeing in my mind is this.

86376d1366127208-panhandler-catches-4runner-fire-000.jpg
 
TFRnoob said:
Thanks for the help everyone! Okay, so here are a few symptoms I found upon a more careful inspection that may help narrow the focus of the possible issues at hand. I suspect a cracked head or head gasket because there seems to be coolant towards the front end of the engine bay.

New symptoms are as follows:

coolant leaking from unknown source towards the front end of the engine bay.

when going in reverse, there is a pulsing.

The higher the RPMs, the louder the noise is.

No significant noise when in neutral.

Noise (clacking) occurs when turning on the car and when I am driving especially over 25mph.

Anyway, I hope this helps a little bit. I will be checking the compression later as well as checking for metal shavings in my oil later tonight. Any comments/ suggestions?

Thanks again all! :)

-Rich
Click to expand...

I think you're missing the point. Compression is irrelevant at this point, you've got rod knock. A head gasket will not help. Your motor is not pining for the fjords. It is no more. It has ceased to be. It's off the twig, it has kicked the bucket, it has run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. It is an ex-motor.
 
I am having a tow truck tow it to a mechanic to diagnose the problem(s) with the vehicle tonight when I get off work. I expect the mechanic to diagnose the problem and for him to say (like everyone on this forum) that the engine is completely toast. Hopefully he can tell me specifically what broke inside the engine. When I get that information I will post and maybe either get to fixing the engine after pulling it out of my truck or look for advice on seeking a new (used) motor. I love this truck and maybe I can even give her an upgrade.

:ranger:
 
JayRolla said:
LOL, that is not the problem Oil is oil, it will do its job. I mean even some gear oil in the motor would have been better. No oil is not good.
Click to expand...

As another wise man here once said, "even buttery flavored crisco would be better than nothing"
 
I will post and maybe either get to fixing the engine after pulling it out of my truck or look for advice on seeking a new (used) motor.
Click to expand...


Don't waste your MONEY trying to fix it.

It would be one thing if you could do the work yourself but since you will be paying $4,000 to fix it and new-to-you USED engine with < 100K miles can be found for $1500 and installed for $750 there is no good reason to fix it. Especially since it wasn't just a head gasket or head. This was more serious and did more harm.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 365 (members: 3, guests: 362)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,309
Messages
3,554,075
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top