After bad oil leak, engine ticks. Help!

dayspring_theory · 09-06-2010, 10:30 PM

Well, I was driving home from work and my oil light came on and went off. Came on longer and went off. Finally stayed on and then my valves were all clicking due to only like 1 quart of oil in the engine. Got oil and put 3 1/2 quarts of oil in the engine. Went to close my trunk and it was coated with oil. Not good. Drove it home and found I had a major oil leak. Dropped it at the shop next morning and found out the oil sending unit busted. Got it fixed and now I notice when the engine gets warm I have a valve tick. No loss in power however. Not sure if this can be answered but will this clear up? I was planning on Sea Foaming the car to see if I could get it cleaned up. Any help is greatly appreciated!

[ion] C2 · 09-06-2010, 10:32 PM

If oil was low enough to cause noise due to metal-on-metal, stuff was damaged.

tunerkid · 09-06-2010, 10:35 PM

yuup happened to me
on my 2.2 ecotec it was clicking and then eventually led to a knock
now idk how you drive but with the way i do it was knocking pretty soon afterward. low oil damaged my number 4 rod bearings and those ones ended up spinning. for longer life until you get money i'd recomend getting some oil treatments that treat the metal

Redog · 09-06-2010, 10:41 PM

Sorry to say this, but the engine will blow soon.

An ahoe that worked for my mech only put 1.5 quarts of oil in my Delta and the same thing happened. Changed the oil, and then I spun a rod

dayspring_theory · 09-06-2010, 10:42 PM

I'm praying it's something not too serious. It's a light tick at idle that goes faster when I give it gas but goes away. Cruising around town around 35 MPH I hear it come back when I get off the gas. Under WOT acceleration you can't hear it. Knowing my luck the bearing will spin on the way to work tomorrow and I'll be up you know what creek! lol

Redog · 09-06-2010, 10:46 PM

You have low enough oil level to bring on the oil light, so what made you think it was a good idea to floor it?

dayspring_theory · 09-06-2010, 10:55 PM

Oops, sorry! I should clarify that I floored it AFTER the fix with all the oil in the engine! Tick only seems to be there at idle or low RPM. At about 2,500-4,000 RPM no tick. Actually, all the way to the shift RPM which is about what 5,800 RPM at WOT?

On a side note, IF the Alero does die perhaps I'll get that Mercury Marauder I've been looking at on a dealer's website I found a few days ago? Just a thought...

Ttop191 · 09-06-2010, 11:00 PM

i'de bet the tick is still there...you just can't hear it cause you're WOTing

zzyzzx · 09-07-2010, 09:34 AM

Even if your engine is going to blow, what do you have to lose by just driving the car and ignoring the noise?

Also, what kind fo oil are you using? Just curious since all those synthetic oil adverts imply that driving after running out at least temporarily isn't so bad.

dayspring_theory · 09-07-2010, 10:07 AM

HAHAHA! This is the definition of "irony"! Because of the dreaded UIM/LIM gasket issues befallen on this "quality" vehicle from the good folks at GM, I decided that I was wasting my money sinking synthetic in the car so I switched from Mobil 1 synthetic to Castrol GTX. Actually, I first switched to Valvoline synthetic due to an article I read and then really switched to regular oil when I did the job with my brother-in-law. Which was only 4-5 months ago! Yippy yay for me, right?!

Oh, and I was wrong. The tick or knock doesn't go away no matter what RPM.

I don't mean to step on anyone's toes in here, but for a car that is 7 years old a lot of stuff has really gone wrong with it! I had old Mopars that were run to death and then some and lasted longer than what this car has. Just venting....sorry if I ruffled feathers!

zzyzzx · 09-07-2010, 10:43 AM

How many miles are on the car?

Seriously, even semi synthetic would have been much better in your case.

tunerkid · 09-07-2010, 07:07 PM

yaaaa and i bet you hear it real good at high rpm's. i'd like to tell you don't worry it should br fine. but we all know it's ganna blow. your most likely going to spin a rod bearing do to the high heat friction that messed up and over heated the bearing. sorry man. might wanna look into some bearings and a possible crank turn.

dayspring_theory · 09-07-2010, 09:18 PM

126,000...maybe closer to 127,000. Somewhere in that ballpark.

[ion] C2 · 09-07-2010, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dayspring_theory

I don't mean to step on anyone's toes in here, but for a car that is 7 years old a lot of stuff has really gone wrong with it! I had old Mopars that were run to death and then some and lasted longer than what this car has. Just venting....sorry if I ruffled feathers!

Take care of your shit and it won't break as often. There's a reason they call them dummy lights.

heineck · 09-07-2010, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

Take care of your shit and it won't break as often. There's a reason they call them dummy lights.

Caboose73 · 09-07-2010, 10:46 PM

Ya take any car and put 1 quart of oil in it and see how long it lasts

dayspring_theory · 09-08-2010, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

Take care of your shit and it won't break as often. There's a reason they call them dummy lights.

Wow....yeah, I guess you're right. I mean if I could have prevented the oil sending unit from busting on the interstate at 9:30 pm... but then again I don't take care of my "shit".

Whatever, dude...

Redog · 09-08-2010, 01:15 AM

Hey at least he's not like the guys in the past. Totally effed up their car and then come on here and cry about how much of a POS an Alero or American cars in general.

The past few dumb ass kids that did this have moved on, and bought either a Japanese or European, err I mean, a Mexican car, and most likey did not take care of that car either and it blew up and they went on that car's fourm and said what a POS their car is, again.

I don't really think this guy falls in this group. I mean I don't really think it was too smart to go WOT when he heard the ticking, but that's really the only thing he said that was a mistake. The other mistake, was not pulling over ASAP when that oil light came on and turned the car off. But you live and learn. Come on, some of us have been there before

dayspring_theory · 09-08-2010, 01:41 AM

Looking back I wish I had pulled my car off to the side of the road. I think we all have had the "when it rains it pours" feeling with any car. I have been overwhelmed with the UIM/LIM issue, the mysterious oil sending unit busting and leaking oil like a stuck pig, and then normal wear and tear that I've not been able to take care of due to health and financial issues. Of course, my own personal issues is something you guys don't care to hear about and I'll spare you the details.

Like I said before, I never meant to upset anyone with my own feelings about my car. I've had good times and bad times with my Alero, as with all my vehicles in the past. If I offended anyone, I do apologize.

[ion] C2 · 09-08-2010, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dayspring_theory

Wow....yeah, I guess you're right. I mean if I could have prevented the oil sending unit from busting on the interstate at 9:30 pm... but then again I don't take care of my "shit".

Whatever, dude...

I was saying in general when you mentioned you "had old Mopars" that were inherently better than this car. What exactly has gone wrong with your Alero since you purchased it? I can tell you what happened to mine. Battery, caliper, brake pads/rotors. Wow. 10 years old and 208,000 miles. And now built, raced, etc. Original engine has 240,000+ miles and is running perfectly in another car.

You probably would've noticed oil leaking from that area if you popped the hood once in a while, and been able to do preventative maintenance. I've never heard of the oil pressure sensor just blowing apart. It usually leaks slowly.