Ok......so my brother picked himself up an '86 Conquest TSi as a project car for $500. car is mint, except for the engine. apparently the owner put a new haed on the car, and after he went for his first drive after the head install, he forgot to put OIL IN THE THING, or forgot the drain plug, or the drain plug fell off, not quite sure on the truth to the story. anyways the car has VIOLENT KNOCK (as expected) however we are trying to troubleshoot the problem before we rip her apart this week.

We were wondering, what would running with no oil do. we were going to do a compression test, however the engine needs to be at operating temperature to do so, we are hesitant to let the car idle with this knock. the knock appears to be RPM related, as the RPMS come up, the knock does as well.

can anyone provide any theories as to what it could be? we are curious and somewhat stumped. the car starts and runs, holds oil and doesnt overheat (that we know of) but this thing just sounds HORRIBLE. i would never drive it in this shape

Edit: More clues

obviously the engine did NOT SIEZE!

oil pan was removed, NO SHAVINGS in the oil or oil pan

 

well here is the whole story, the head and head gasket went on car, so the owner replaced the old head with a new alluminum head and gasket but was in a hurry and didn't tighten down the oil plug. essentially, while driving down the road, the owner dropped the oil plug along with 5 quarts of oil. engine didn't seize and there were no metal shavings in the oil pan. all suggestion welcome and in the near future the block is going to be pulled...
thanks
Rival

 

You probably have some very sad bearings, with a *lot* more clearance than max spec -- so, you'll be wanting to pull and micropolish (perhaps turn .010 under) the crank, replace bearings, check rods (hopefully nothing is spun).

No metal is nothing short of a miracle.

I wouldn't trust the oil pump any more.

You'll want to check the cylinder and pistons walls (for galling) and clearance.

Good luck,

Mark

 

No oil. LoL. Ok, here is a comprehension:

The guy was putting about 10 thousand miles on his motor for every 5 minutes or so running without oil.

The car shouldn't even start. The pistons, disfigured. The crankshaft, fucked. The cam and valves, springs, retainers are probably all ok. Even if you do get that motor running again, it won't be for long. Tell your brother to get himself a new engine for the car, fast.

Good luck with the new project.

 

awesome help so far......we totally plan on rebuilding or buying a new engine.....hence the definition of a project car...

howver we were just looking for a place to start.....looks like we'll know more once we get the head off and take a look at the pistons/rods/crank

thanks for the input so far, it is GREATLY appreciated! dont ask me how, but the ****** has no metal in the pan and no "rocks in a coffee can" sound

 

Glad to help.

 

the only and best way to find out whats wrong is to tear it apart.
I would for sure not run it, maybe if you got lucky the damage is not mayor...if you run it its gonna make matters worse

 

Check crank and rods carefully. No oil = lots of heat. They can get overheated and lose their temper or get distorted. Have the block checked for straightness of the main bearing bores and the main bearing caps for overheating. I'm sure the rattle is the rod bearings. Don't be suprised if bearings are melted rather than making shavings. Use new bolts for mains and rods, they probably got too hot also. Cylinder wear is probably the least problem since they only get splash lubrication, not pressure like the bearings. Check the cam and head. Remember that the head is the cam bearings so damage can be expensive.

Don't forget to look over the cam chain and the counterbalancers and their chain. The balancers and their bearings could also have been cooked. Let's not forget the turbo, they like lots of clean oil for good lifespan. No oil in turbo = toasted bearing = new turbo.

 

awesome stuff! im sure this will benefit our cause greatly!

To HT tech support

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Paranoid Android &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The guy was putting about 10 thousand miles on his motor for every 5 minutes or so running without oil.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I find this rather optimistic. Chances are the motor won't even run for five minutes without oil.

 

heres a pic of a integra ls rod that was ran with no oil

 

thats a good example. If you want to see what happens when an engine throws a rod turn it on and rev it! It might just do it, but there is a dozen other things that could happen that would put the motor out of commission.

 

you spun a bearing. stop driving the car before it is thrown threw the side of the block and its useless. you might have already messed up the crank. dont go further

 

at the very minimum your bearings are gone

if thats all feel lucky

 

Agreed that if you're lucky, it's only bearings. It's probably a lot worse than that, but you have to break it open and start measuring to find out.

A friend of mine had one of these things about 7 years ago and sold it because it's impossible to get certain parts, like shocks. Literally, you can't even get them from a dealer, nevermind and aftermarket manufacturer. He also blew out the rear end lost a heater core all within about 8 months of buying it. Both were ridiculously expensive to replace. I'm not sure what the goals of the project are, but before you spend a dime on the motor, I'd look a little deeper into whether or not you're going to be able to do what you want and with it and whether it'll be worth the expense.

 

you know all the hardcore conquest guys ditch that 2.4 and toss in the eclipse/talon/galant/evo 4G63 motor. this engine is easier to find, can make more power, has better aftermarket support, and is cheaper i dont know for sure but that motor might even bolt up to the conquest RWD tranny

 

at this point we are not driving it at all.......its sitting lifeless, awaiting its apointment with Dr. Wrench......

good point on the cost of small things, such as shocks, and little things. we will def look into it.

more details to come once we rip her open. THANKS so much so far guys....