Look Ma No Oil

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junior

junior

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Windsor Ontario Canada
I got a very disturbing call from my 80 year old mom yesterday, she was going home from her exersize class she was sitting at a traffic light and her 1999 Jeep g Rand Cherokee started to rattle and shake then quit running so I grabbed my road kit and went to the rescue. When I arrived she was at the light with 4 ways on people were blowing their horns and going around her and flipping her the bird and yelling at her to get off the road she was in tears... ya think one off these jerks would have helped her get out of the way would have taken less time than it took to get around her, any way the seal on the oil filter blew out and the engine seized. After getting the car to my shop I replaced the filter and oil and it would hardly turn over at all so I gave it a jump and it started to spin very slowly and it started to pick up rpm then it started up but was making all kinds of noise's, after about 2 minutes started to purr like a kitten, oil preasure went to normal and now all seems good.....or is it??? I drove it around for a while still good. Is she very lucky or is engine failure just around the corner? Don't know wether to give it back to her or not as she is a very active 80 year old and allways on the go and I don't want her stranded where I can't get to her. What do you all think???
 
How hard is it to drop the pan for a quick look see? If it seems ok, run it. Maybe she got lucky.
 
4wd pain in the rear, think I will drive it some more then change the oil again and cut open the oil filter and have a look see
 
I don't know about the engine, but if I saw that happen (people being so rude to an 80 year old lady and failing to help) I would write a letter for the local paper describing the incident and chastising those people... (can you tell I live in a small town?)
 
Change the oil frequently, let her loose, and get a AAA membership.

It may run for years, it may die in a week, no real way to know. With as hard to get it moving as you describe, sounds like there was some bearing interference, so my bet is there was some damage done, but hard to tell how much.

If it fires up and runs, it may have pulled through, but with a shortened life span.
 
I have heard of this happening w/ 2 slant 6's, and they both ran afterwords.I wish I knew if they are still running or not. I think if you do another oil change, and open up the filter, you should know your answer.Lets hope your mom can keep the wheels spinning!! My dad is 87, and is always on the go too!
 
guys, are you serious???????????????? if the engine seized while hot due to no oil, what do you think it did to the rod and main bearings?????????????????

I THINK YOU ARE SENDING HER OUT IN A DEATH TRAP ONCE AGAIN. THERE WOULD BE NO WAY IN HELL I WOULD SEND MY MOM OUT IN A CAR AFTER IT LOCKED UP. just cause you got it to run again, she will take it out,a nd it may not be just cars going around her the next time. think of it that way. a dead car in the road is one of the worst senario for a young kid not paying attention.
 
FYI the oil pressure switch in grand cherokee's will shut the motor off with lack of oil pressure.
I bet the one in your mom's is getting ready to fail.
I had one fail on my 99 after the motor cooled off it would start.
I change the switch, and added a "T" and put an mechanical oil pressure gauge in.
Every once in a while the gauge will start reading erraticly but the mechanical one reads just fine.
The switch is on the top back side of the motor but is a real pain to change.
 
My wife had a Ford Tempo and the oil pump went out on it and the engine ceased up. Even though the oil light came on, she thought she could get it home for me to look at it. I replaced the oil pump and checked everything over. Tore the filter apart and didn't see any metal in it or the pan. I put every thing back together and it started right up and it ran for another 40k to 50k before we sold it. It still ran good when we sold as well.
 
Sometimes they just overheat due to no oil and seize due to cylinder tightness. Might have had just a little oil in it or probably would have spun a bearing. I would change the oil and drive it a while myself just to be sure.
 
Drain the oil and see what it looks like....but I gotta go with 340Plot here. The reason it seized was because the bearings overheated and expanded and clamped down on the crank. Caint no good come outta that.
 
Sorry to hear about your Mom's experience. My Mom is currently in her 90's and in an assisted living facility. But when she was in her 70's and 80's, she too was very active, and would think nothing of getting in the car and driving 13 hours, without stopping, to visit friends or family. Once, she was driving on a highway in Atlanta during rush hour, and her car broke down. No less than seven vehicles stopped to help her. A couple drivers stayed with her until they were certain that she had the help she needed.
Another time, on a weekend, her car broke down on an interstate somewhere in Arkansas. The car was towed to the nearest town, where the repair shop (closed for the weekend) opened up for her, but couldn't get parts till Monday. There was no motel in town. A local pastor took her in for the weekend and she was an honored guest at a church social that weekend.
 
I wouldn't send her out in it at her age. Do you have a vehicle that you can "trade" with her while you drive the GC and see if it blows?
 
Was there actually any oil in the engine? If not where did it go? Burning it? Leaking it? Did the pump fail? What about coolant? I would look for the cause of the engine seizing and see what consequences it had on the engine before I would turn it back over to your mom.

P.S. - People do suck, someone should have stopped and helped out your mom.
 
I have now driven the car for around 100 miles changed the oil again and cut open the filter and all still seems good oil preasure still normal. My brother has given her one of his cars to drive and I plan on driving hers for a while to see how things develope. And yes I worry alot about her and have suggested it is time for a new ride but this was my dads car and is very low milage and she swears that she will drive it until she is at his side again even if I have to rebuild the engine...stuburn old girl. Thanx All...Larry
 
Blackstone oil analysis.
might tell you if there is continuing damage occuring
if you had any of the older oil (last change 100 miles ago)
that would be good for a baseline..
 
well let me start by saying the its not going to live as long now i had a 92 dodge dakota that was ran out of oil 2times not by me when i got it it smoked liked a train but it never died it ran when i sold it just fine just used oil now that mite be what urs is in for later i would not put a 80 year old in it after that mine or urs i drove that truck for 2 years like that but mine never locked up keep that in mind he just let it run so low it rattled nocked like a m f.er but when we put oil in it it never rattled agin
 
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