Engine Problems

Originally Posted by Heathers

Ned...Cullompton is about hours drive. Im on Dartmoor, so just up the A38 and 2/3 juntions on the M5. It would probably make it there..I have breakdown cover...What day are you going? and what time would it be likely to be? thanks

I have no idea where Cullompton is, I just know it is down west somewhere. I am not sure if I would be comfortable with you driving your sick car that far for fear of further damage, if I can help I will help but I am not going to Dartmoor. Last time I went there I had to run 45 miles in 24 hours up and down 10 big hills

Ned

Low oil is never good for an alfa engine and it will be a good idea to get it checked out sooner rather than later, one thing i did pick up on though was the fluctuation in temperature, that does sound like the water pump, the old v6 engines water pump had a plastic impellar which usually cracks and then fails to do its job, as for the low oil have someone listen to it for any knocks or rattles.

Its knackered basically, can't believe anyone gets a low oil pressure warning light, adds only half a litre then continues to drive the poor thing!

any idea on the power loss and the steering lock. suffered from that last night steering didnt lock more like lost power + power steering for about 1 or 2 seconds.

The steering stops working (or at least the power assistance does) when the engine stops running. If bearings have run you are getting metal to metal contact which generates heat plus the engine is struggling to run becasue its bearings are shot!

Thank you for your kind advise regarding the water pump, I will get that checked, thank you

Hi Rockhopper...as to the oil pressure warning light, I have had conflicting advise regarding this matter, I was told oil can warning meant you were running low on oil and need a top up (hence when I saw this warning I gave it 1/2 litre) 'funny red pen squirting something' at 2pm on dial I was told was oil pressure warning...this only came on a couple of days ago, this is when I re-checked oil and found none to be in. I wouldn't intentionally drive any car without oil..that would be stupid! I did not realise it was out of oil...I obviously have warning lights that don't actually warn me before the event...but after I jave knacked my car!! they are not much use really if they don't warn me....in advance of a problem

Originally Posted by Heathers

I was told oil can warning meant you were running low on oil and need a top up

No.
That is oil PRESSURE, it means you have run out of oil or have a VERY serious problem.

Originally Posted by Heathers

funny red pen squirting something' at 2pm on dial I was told was oil pressure warning...

No.
That is the engine management warning light.

Hi Ned, Cullompton is junction 26 on the M5 about 20 miles from Exeter

Thank you very much David C for clearing this up...Im pretty buggered then as the oil can warning was coming on everytime I pulled up to a junction, I filled it up when I got home after I had let it cool for about 2 hours. The oil can warning never came on and stayed on for more than a second or two, does this mean I may have escaped permanent damage, someone else told me the engine takes 5.69 litres and I had to put 4 litres in to bring it to maximum, so it was running around on 1.69 litres any idea what sort of damage I have done?

I think people are maybe over reacting a little. I had a mini and a 16v dolomite sprint (which are nototriously fragile) and the oil warning lights occasionally came on on those for a second or two, perhaps every month maybe five times (they both had dead piston rings and used LOTS of oil which i rarely bothered to check...until light came on). They lasted ages with this kind of totally numpty, stupid, forgettful treatment i gave them (engines were cheap and plentiful, and needed to come apart for rings anyway). mini lasted 3 years, an i sold it, still with no bearing trouble, regularly red lined, and guy drove it to france from me in lincolnshire. Sprint light came on going up M11, i thought, must be the switch, doesnt normally come on solidly, without flickering...41 miles later it stopped...oil pump had packed in, new bearings and regrind and away....

What i'm saying is that engines can take a lot of abuse, new and old, and if they arent run for long (no more than 5 secs say) with the oil pressure light on, then no MAJOR damage is normally done. As the guy said items that are splash fed will have suffered but there arent any of those in an alfa v6 anyway. So i reckon your bearings are probably ok - u must have dodgy piston rings or valve seals if its used that much oil though (unless you've not checked the oil in years!!!!)

On the engine management light subject. It sounds a bit like a dodgy air mass sensor. I had very similar symptoms on my car. Didnt stall, but lost all power some gearchanges - get it plugged in within 20 starts (ecu clears fault after that) of it coming on and either alfadiag on a laptop or a code reader will tell you whats up.

Hope this puts your mind at ease a little., waiting for the torrent of abuse off other members of my opinoin now...

No torrent of abuse, just to say that Afla engines are very fragile and don't tolerate being run with the oil level anywhere near the minimum mark let alone below it! Modern cars have very little oil in the sumps compared to older engines so a small drop makes a big difference.

haveyoubooked....thank you for coming to my defence...I know eveyone is trying to help and I genuinely appreciate any helpful advise given. Basically, the car was running fine until this oil problem, now I seem to have a little too many gremlins, which Im sure are all connected to the low oil pressure, Im just trying to work out how to get it all fixed, or whether I have done so much damage that it's going to cost me an arm and a leg to fix. I have just had to go out in it, 25 mile trip and I can't say it was a pleasant experience, the steering sems very heavy, engine seems sluggish in 4th and 5th, temperature was on occasions at what I think is 95. If you look at the temp dial it starts at 50, then a slash where 75 should be, vertical is 90 and mine is reading on the next slash which I hope is 95 and then the max slash (directly on the opposite side to 50) with the large red marker is 100. Please correct me if I am wrong. It is at 2pm looking directly at the dial, sitting directly on the first slash after 90. Hope this is making sense. The fan is soming on at 90-92, it does bring the temp back down to 90 after a few minutes, unless Im in low gear, or climbing hills, at which point it stays at 95 with the fan whizzing away. When stationary, say at trafic lights, it is having a job idling, almost trying to stall, and sometimes does!! To be honest I don't feel very safe driving it, it doesn't feel right at all, but Im not sure how running low on oil could have casued all these problems???

Originally Posted by Heathers

Thank you very much David C for clearing this up...Im pretty buggered then as the oil can warning was coming on everytime I pulled up to a junction

Sounds like every time you let the engine idle the pressure was dropping low enough to trigger the switch. Did it come on during cornering as well?

Hi Rockhopper..no offence taken at all, I understand what you are saying, and you are quite right, runing low on oil is definately not good for my engine, but unfortunately the damage has been done, Im just trying to find out what I have done and how I can get it fixed, there seem to be so many things all going wrong at once, I can't understand how running low on oil could cause so many??? Never had this trouble with other cars, they don't like low oil, but they have never started a snowball of engine problems...Im not very good with engines as you can tell...just thought someone else may have been as silly and done the same thing and would have an idea how much damage I have done and to which components specifically...thank you for your advise

IMHO, the first thing to do it make sure the engine is turning over freely. There's no point worrying about oil pump / water pump / MAF / thermostat / anything else until the condition of the bearings is understood, as that's the thing most likely to suffer from running low on oil. If that's all OK, then it's worth trying to isolate any cooling / fuelling problems, but unless these problems were there before the low oil incident, I strongly suspect they are secondary.

now that you've explained it like that, it does sound a possibility that youve knackered the bearings - engine sounds as though its running tight. thats what my dolly sprint did shortly before it stopped (gradually lost power, struggled to idle then died - basically its one step away from seizing) If you can, try draining the oil, if its got lots of mettalic bits in it or it has greasy lumps in it then you've fried the bearings.

Try smelling the oil in your engine - oil that has been very hot caused by v.poorly bearings will smell very different to normal oil. If you poke your nose in the filler cap, then at the oil in the bottle you will be able to tell. Finally another tell tale is a rumbling or knocking noise when you put your foot down.

Ignore the above if the engine managent light is still on - if it is, it could be the cause of all the above problems. i.e. a sensors died and engine is running way to lean. DONT DRIVE IT UNLESS YOU HAVE TO - if its bearings, they will soon fail and it might seize or smash your block up, neither of which are nice whilst your driving; if its engine management, running to lean will cause detonation which leads to piston meltdown.

so million dollar question... was the light still on?

You are still driving around in it?