Engine will not crank and oil pan shattered

Tiny
ANDREW RYAN
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 FORD MUSTANG
  • 3.8L
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 175,000 MILES
So I drove through water and the car stalled out. So while on side road right after this happened I had tools so I pulled plugs dried them dried out air intake and left air filter out. With plugs still out cranked the engine to get water out from pistons it cranked but while cranking it stopped cranking suddenly with a metal hit noise but not like a rod just a clunk. It stopped cranking and has stayed with starter at least engaging the teeth but engine wont turn. I decided to give a shot in the light tomorrow and pushed car into a parking space. I noticed that looked like oil which it ended up being like maybe 2 cups worth started going over where it may have came from and noticed to my amazement my pan is not just cracked but in a lot of pieces. Now this had to have happened in the water because the amount of oil when I pushed the car but there was no noises it just stalled. Any ideas? Please help. Piece of pan in engine maybe engine doesn't seem seized. Starter bad or still wet and grounding out? Is my engine ruined and how did oil pan break so badly?
Tuesday, August 13th, 2019 AT 12:49 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
SCGRANTURISMO
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,897 POSTS
Hello,

If your oil pan broke into pieces then all of the oil would have been lost from the engine. Without oil to lubricate the rotating assemblies in your engine, it probably would have seized, or at the very least caused major bearing damage. The good news is that with the oil pan broken like that you should be able to jack up your vehicle and secure it safely.here is a link for you to go to about that:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/jack-up-and-lift-your-car-safely

After your vehicle is securely jacked up you should be able to look up into your engine and see not only the main bearings but the connecting rod bearing as well. Normally with low oil bearing failure the camshaft bearings are the first go go since they are the furthest away from the oil pump/sump, but with a catastrophic failure of the oil pan like this the mains and connecting rod bearings might be the first to go. Please check the bearing out and get back to us with what you are able to find out.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros
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Tuesday, August 13th, 2019 AT 2:24 AM

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