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Whats the chance of failure

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chance
2K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  Adeebo145 
#1 ·
Went out yesterday for a day trip along loch doon and i was driving on a single track road when i was run off the road by a zafira:rant: speeding round the bend. My car dived into a grassy verge and fortunately drove away intact with some minor sill & exhaust damage, however i noticed today my brake pad wear light was flashing whilst driving (without touching pedals) and going over bumps. So i checked the car over and found my sump plug had loosened itself when coming into contact with the ground. So i have lost oil (Right down to the minimum :cry:)

I hope the big ends are going to be fine on such a high mileage car. :(

What the chances i will be fine.
 
#3 ·
The warning light started flashing about 2 mile from home and thats when i noticed the oil dripping past the plug.

Was sitting on the min line.

Since i hit the ditch i had driven maybe 25-30 miles but i think i may of hit a rock which dunted the sump/plug and has worked loose from the vibration and from tonight has been enough for the oil to start seeping.

I never had oil on the driveway last night. When i went out tonight (Which was slightly dark) i did not even think of looking for oil its only when i returned from my short journey tonight with the light flashing i spotted the oil puddle
 
#4 ·
Personally, I'd risk that it is OK and carry on driving, but what other option is there really?:

1) Top up/change oil, drive as normal

2) Top up/change oil, sell car quickly

3) Replace big end bearings before potential crankshaft damage is done


2) is a bit pointless, 3) is massively expensive relative to the car's value, so what other option do you have that is sensible?
 
#5 ·
Cheers Pud, i am 80% sure it will be fine, in my opinion these engines are stronger than what most people give it credit for.

I thought i would get other opinions on how low these engines will run before damage is imminent. But i am lucky.... if i continued driving it the sump plug would of come off :eek: it was hanging on by a few threads Just goes to show how fast the sump plugs will loosen through vibration.
 
#6 ·
Bloody Zaffa's!! I'd recommend treat it symptomatic - just fix sump plug and fill oil - no need to pee money on the unknown.

On the Brake wear indicator - there are those irritating little cables to the brake pads that always seem to break and touch somewhere giving a false pad warning. Remove front wheels - check pad level and snip them cables off.
 
#7 ·
Someone should verify this but there is more to these brake pad warning lights when they start blinking on the move, In the manual it says alfa romeo should be contacted immediately when the light blinks on the move, it also says when the light illuminates (Stays on) when touching brakes then replace pads.

I fixed the sump plug and topped up the oil and now the brake warning has gone!!
 
#8 ·
:p Hehe - did you also oil the brake pads? :tut:

I'm suggesting to just check the health of the pads and the cables going to the pads - if they are not broken somewhere. The manual is written so that the st(d)ealers will make the most money off the unsuspecting customer.
 
#9 ·
I know what you meant gertie, the brakes were done a month ago.

This warning light (Brake wear light) started blinking when the oil was low, it would stop blinking when i stop the car and start again when on the move.

The brake warning light appears to share the same circuit as the low oil warning because when i topped up the oil the light stopped blinking.

It says in the manual if the light is on when using brakes change the brake pads....WARNING when the light illuminates whilst driving contact Alfa romeo service dept IMMEDIATELY....so they know this brake warning light also warns you of low oil :confused: Dont ask me why but i am looking at the wiring diagrams.

You may think it sounds stupid but i am sure someone else will know what i am talking about.
 
#10 ·
I know what you meant gertie, the brakes were done a month ago.

It says in the manual if the light is on when using brakes change the brake pads....WARNING when the light illuminates whilst driving contact Alfa romeo service dept IMMEDIATELY....so they know this brake warning light also warns you of low oil :confused: Dont ask me why but i am looking at the wiring diagrams.

You may think it sounds stupid but i am sure someone else will know what i am talking about.
No dissing intended. I just thought something might have caught the cables during you grass escapade.

I get it now (I think) Weird logic built into it - the blinking is intended for you to APPLY brakes (stop and get assistance) - nothing to do with the pad level. I guess any fault the system deems SERIOUS will make the level warning blink.
 
#12 ·
I checked the wiring diagram and it should be straight to the pads, it must be the instrument panel has been tampered with and they have switched the wiring or something :confused: its weird how my brake pad light is effected by the oil....its no coincidence it's flashing because of the oil but i am stumped.
 
#14 ·
If you can drop the sump and replace the big end bearings NOW you may get away with it......but these engines really don't like being low on oil, and if the oil light (oil pressure warning light) was flashing then you were down to around 5 - 7 psi oil pressure....a TS normally runs at about 60 psi (4 bar) minimum....

Good luck:)
 
#16 ·
In my experience it shouldnt be too bad as i have driven quite a bit with a loose sump plug as well as a cracked sump. Depending on how full the oil is, drove with my crack for 2 months, only added oil once. The downside is the oil marks in the drive way. But nothing else was damaged.
But get it sorted
 
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