did i blow it up?

[XJ6GUY]

Well i was driving the vette today and something very bad happened, all of a suddun i lost power and had no 4th or 3rd gear. and then i had a bad banging noise that seemed to com from the top of the engine and no power. it wasn't a knock or ticking noise just a semi loud banging like the cam had broke in half or something. the strange part is the oil pressure was at 70 which is normal for my car but the oil temp was 400!!! my oil temp usually runs 210. the water temp was normal at 197.has anyone got an idea of what this could be? the engine is now locked up and wont start. could i have droped a valve or broke the crank or cam? why would the tranny go at the same time? is it possible something like a flywhell bolt came lose and was making the noise and finally jamed the engine? would a bad knock sensor make a banging noise like that? it's just strange that the tranny and engine would go at the same time. it's also strange that the water and oil pressure would be normal but the oil temp would be 400. i checked the fluids this morning before i left and they were all full to the line. anyone have this happen or have any ideas as to what it may be before i spend big bucks just to find out i need to spend big bucks for a rebuild or new engine and tranny? its an 88 L98 i only paid 7 grand for the car 5 years ago and i am not going to pay 7 grand to fix it, i will sell it as is and buy another one first but this is my baby, i always said even if i buy a c5 i would still keep the 88 because i loved it so much. i had to take 4 valium just to cope with this, loosing this car would be like going thru a divorce for me i have a very sentemental attachment to it but i cant justifie spending more to fix it than i paid for it. PLEASE any advice or suggestions as to what it may be please let me know as i am devestated, that car is the most enjoyment i have had in my whole life!. thanks in advance...tom

 

[bossvette]

Its hard to say what it is without looking at the car. How much it will costs depends on how much work you can do yourself. And you never know until you try.
350's are actually one of the cheapest engines to buy parts for since they made so many.

Calm down and look at it another day.

 

[RodsnRides]

Sorry to hear of your woes. Bossvette is right-step off, take a breather, relax for a day .

Start simple: pull the plugs and do a compression check. My hunch is a bad valve or timing chain and gears. Good luck.

Rick

 

[BarryK]

Tom
calm down and relax like Bossvette says and don't worry about the car, she is fixable one way or another.

Can't tell you whats wrong with your motor but even if you figure the absolute worst case senario and the motor was completely destroyed (a major crack in the block) it doesn't have to cost you $7,000 to fix it.

In most cases you can get the motor completely rebuilt for $3k-$4k or you could drop in a brand new 350 crate motor for $2k-$5k depending on how much power you want.

chances are your motor is fixable though

also, as Bossvette mentioned, a lot of the cost will depend on how much work you can do and save labor rates at a shop.
If you don't know how to work on your own car now is the perfect time to start learning. I'm very serious. I gave up trying to find a local mechanic that was capable of wotking on my vette competently so less than a year ago I started to learn how to do my own repairs with the help of the forum.
When I started I knew NOTHING, (ask anyone in the C1/C2 forums and they will tell you I even asked how to jack up the car! I even had to ask for help on removing the fan clutch and that was only four simple bolts!
in less than a year I've now worked a lot on my '65 and since also bought a '78 non-running project car and pulled the motor, cleaned everything up, put the motor back in and she runs and looks really good.
My point is that is you take it step by step you ARE perfectly capable of learning to do a lot, if not most of the work yourself and save a ton on shop labor rates.

you should be able to diagnos the problem yourself with the help of the forum by asking questions, listening to the answers, describing what you find, taking pictures if needed to post and show us, etc and people can talk you through it.
Once you find the problem you can determine the best way to get it repaired or replaced.
Even if you need a complete rebuild you could save a lot of money by pulling the motor yourself, taking it to the rebuild shop, and than afterwards reinstalling it yourself. Believe me, if an idiot like me can do it, anyone can!

good luck!

 

[tlong]

My condolences. I want to say that what a bargain for 7K! 5 years of fun and games. Now feel thankful that a 19 year old sports car didn't try to die earlier. A used or partly rebuilt drive train can be had if yours is a complete gonner, if not fix it or sell as is and go for another vette romance.

Many here have faced this. But that's what this all about-support for problems as well as cheerful testamonials. Stay calm and focus on your next few moves, the first- diagnosis. Advice will surely follow.

 

[compyelc4]

Compression check on a locked up engine? :eyerole

I suggest you get her in to a reputable engine shop ASAP. Knowledge is a wonderful thing! That will probably do better than the valium. It may not be as bad as you think. Most often things are never as bad as they seem at first.

I'd say that if you love her that much spend what ever it takes to get her back together. We can tell that you are VERY attached to her. Go for it, and let us know how you make out.

 

[vetteboy86]

You may want to check the oil for metal shavings, and then evaluate the condition of the oil. Next would be pulling the valve covers. Just let us know how much you want to get into. Problem with taking it to a shop and not knowing anything about the situation is that anything they say, you have to believe. I would inspect the motor as good as I could. I know it can be overwhelming, when my engine went down, I thought it was the end of the world, but when she came back to life it was like bieng re-born. Were all with ya buddy, Craig

 

[XJ6GUY]

thanks guys,
well i just woke up a little calmer and read your threads.thanks for all the advice.I guess my next move is to find out exactly what the problem is.At this point in my life i havn't the time or the tools to do the major work so it's off to a friends shop to drop the pan and maybe remove the top end then go from there.as much as i love the car it's got to be worth it to fix. if i can get a used engine and have it installed for under 4k i will keep her but i doubt i can get it done at that price.anyway, when i find out what caused it i will let you all know .thanks for the support.....Tom

PS it's an 88 vert and in the 5 years i have had it the only thing i ever had to do was put in a radiator, i have drove the hell out of it with no problems. thats one of the reasons i love her so much

 

[vetteboy86]

I think a shop will quote you 7 hrs of labor or so to pull a motor and then another 7 to put it back in. So 14 hrs roughly at 80 bucks an hour. Now you can find used L98 motors. I have seen them on ebay, and there is a reputable site, I cannot remember the url, but I will look. I think it is corvette salvage or something like that.

Good Luck,
Craig

 

[RodsnRides]

Compression check on a locked up engine? :eyerole

Pulling the plugs can reveal many things. If the engine IS locked up, it may be a hydrostatic lock from a bad head gasket. Who knows? My point was to start simple and look for the problem. Reading the plugs is a good start. Pulling the valve covers would be next. At least then you are better informed about what you need to do. Fair enough?

Rick

 

[XJ6GUY]

thank's vetteboy, if i could get someone to do it that that price i would definetly have it replaced.$1120 labor would be fine by me i most likely would build my own engine or buy a crate engine, i just thought the labor would be much higher. i have enough experiance to build an engine on a stand or bench but all the bending and lifting not to mention remembering where everything goes is too much for me..... tom

 

[vetteboy86]

Well when my brother had his engine pulled, they charged him 6 hrs of labor for removal and installation. I think the corvette shop then charged 60 dollars an hour labor.

 

[WhalePirot]

First, I'd pull the dipstick and check the oil color.

The 'loss' of 3rd and 4th may ONLY have to do with a huge power loss in the engine. The tranny may be just fine.

 

[XJ6GUY]

the oil is fine ,no contamination. the coolant is fine ,not low or contaminated. the funny thing is the oil pressure never went down nor did it ever overheat. is it possible the flywheel broke and is jamming everything? or could the timing chain broke and somehow jammed every thing causing it to lock up? i have never encountered the way it happend. i have had blown heads , blown rods , all types of engine failures but nothing with these symtons.the only thig i can think of is flywheel breakage or a droped valve that didnt go through the cylinder lining. i'll never know till i open it up i guess. the good news is worse case i found out that a new engine and labor is not as expensive as i thought it would be. i was in chicago friday and they have a gm long block crate engine for $ 1600 and if i could get labor for $1000 or less it would be worth fixing to me, at least then i should be good engine wise for at least anothe 100,000 miles. thanks for all your help so far please keep all the suggestions coming. and anyone knowing where i could purchace a rebuilt engine gm or not for a cheaper price please let me know. i am in the cleveland ohio area so if you know a place that rebuilds and installs them at a fair price let me know....thank's Tom

 

[vetteboy86]

Have you been underneath the car? There is a shiny shield that is visble and if you take that off you can see the flywheel. A visual inspection should give you answers about that scenario.

 

[6 Shooter]

Bummer!

Spun a few bearing and took out 2 rods and a crank in my 96 Z28 several years ago, +$3k to get it back on the road!

Heck it's only money . . .

Later . . . . . .
6 Shooter

 

[XJ6GUY]

not yet, i am going to have it towed to a friends shop and have him inspect the flywheel and drop the pan so he can check the timing gears first and then go from there....

 

[Mad-Mic]

I am almost willing to bet you had either a timing chain broke or slipped (milage of the car was never mentioned) or a valve spring let go and dropped a valve. hopefully it was just a timing chain slipped a few degrees and didn't bend up anything in the valve train

you can get a rotating assembly cheap from jegs from 600-1700 bucks depending on if you want good stuff or real good stuff stroker or no stroker. 500 for block prep and a few hundred more for assembly then the labor to put the new one in.

i would go this route if you know a reputable engine builder in your area. i'm not a fan of "Crate" motors.

You can't beat this deal with a stick from Jegs on a Crate motor although it isn't my cup-o-tea

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10002&storeId=10001&categoryId=85488&parentCategoryId=10763&langId=-1

here is the rotating assemblies

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10002&storeId=10001&categoryId=19411&parentCategoryId=10759&langId=-1

here's the one I wanna get

454-ci SB-Chevy MoTown Short-Block Assemblies
View Image 955-101210 MoTown Short Block Assembly 454-ci
-20cc Inverted Dome Pistons
4.250'' bore x 4.000'' stroke

$4,795.99
Add to cart Add to wish list
©2006 JEG'S High Performance. All rights reserved. | Privacy policy

Oh yeah if the trans is toast or if you have any doubts about it do yourself a favor and have it rebuilt when the motor is pulled. will save you some cake on the labor since it will already be partially torn out anyway

 

[John Robinson]

Another Veiw

Why don't you go to the Jasper engine site and price a rebuilt motor and tranny just so you have an idea how much things cost. Then depending on what the mechanic finds you can make an informed decision about the prices he quotes you to do the work. If i read you post correctly you stated that the oil pressure was 70lbs and the oil temp was 400 degrees. If that is the case then something was seizing up and causing a lot of friction to raise the oil temp that high. The sound in the top of the engine probably was either a spring (as earlier suggested) or a rocker arm breaking as it seized on it's pivot point. If the engine is toast as I suspect just think how well the oil did it's job getting all the way to 400 degrees before it would fail to lubricate. Question were you using synthetic oil. This is not to start a long discussion here but rather I am interested to know what kind of oil would stand up under the heat you saw.

 

[XJ6GUY]

I was using castrol 10/40 syntec blend, my temp usually runs about 10 degrees hotter than my coolant.I just happend to flick the temp/pressure switch when things start going wrong trying to see what my specs were at the time. i wouldn't mind putting a bigger engine in it such as a stroker or small block 400 but i don't want to get into changing chips or computers or anything else . I just want something that will fit with no extra mods. is there anything with more horse that will fit without mods?also while i would like the extra horse's i do not want to give up the low end torque,i love that part of the car. as i said i may buy a C5 and get more horse but i understand i will lose the torque.but even if i buy a C5 i will still keep my C4, it's my first vette and i will keep it until i pass away then it will go to my son.i have grown to sentimentaly attached to it and will never forget all the enjoyment it has brought me.every saturday for the past five years (excluding winter) i get up at 2 am drop the top and cruise in the silence of the warm night air until i see the sun come up.even after five years it still takes all day for the smile to go away not to mention what it does to help you cope with the everyday stress's of life. no person,no drug, no other therapy's could do for me what that car has done.sorry for the long windedness but i guess i have a unatural attachment to her. any more advice would be welcomed,thanks Tom