my kid killed my camry now what

[scottt]

My son ran my 1996 camry out of oil said it made a loud pinging and died. now won't start, turn over click or anything. Going out on a limb and say he seized the motor.

How do i confirm the motor is dead.

What are my options at this point, donate to science, part it out, is it worth dropping in a new engine and what does that cost? if i was to sell it as is what is the going rate for a car like this.

[Durrby]

Originally Posted by scottt

donate to science

sorry to hear about your situation but that just made me laugh...cause my friend actually donated his old explorer to some organization like that. it was kinda a joke between us.

[marc780]

It ran without oil and seized, so its safe to say the rings and bearings are toast, unfortunately... : (
On a 10 yrs old car its a tough call to make whether a new motor is worth it or not. It would cost at least $1000 around here and thats if you do the work of installing it. It may cost a little more because the core engine is probably no good and cant be rebuilt without a lot of machining. A used japanese engine may be something to consider.

I think i'd look at the mileage and general condition of the car, if it were in very good shape with low miles it might be worth it. If its beat up anyway, then probably not.
If you were to try to sell it with a dead engine, it might be the same as parting it out because the people who are doing this might be the only ones to buy it. I'd say maybe $500?

[Klutch]

Make your 16 year get a job, fix your car and then buy his own damned car. He pays for it and I guarantee you he will take care of it.

[lenjack]

That's inexcusable...trade in yur kid.

[BlackCamSe]

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine1.htm

have your son read this article. I posted a segment of it in my post so call him over and show him the underlined bold print at the botom of the post.




What Can Go Wrong?
So you go out one morning and your engine will turn over but it won't start... What could be wrong? Now that you know how an engine works, you can understand the basic things that can keep an engine from running. Three fundamental things can happen: a bad fuel mix, lack of compression or lack of spark. Beyond that, thousands of minor things can create problems, but these are the "big three." Based on the simple engine we have been discussing, here is a quick run-down on how these problems affect your engine:

Bad fuel mix - A bad fuel mix can occur in several ways:

• You are out of gas, so the engine is getting air but no fuel.
• The air intake might be clogged, so there is fuel but not enough air.
• The fuel system might be supplying too much or too little fuel to the mix, meaning that combustion does not occur properly.
• There might be an impurity in the fuel (like water in your gas tank) that makes the fuel not burn.

Lack of compression - If the charge of air and fuel cannot be compressed properly, the combustion process will not work like it should. Lack of compression might occur for these reasons:

• Your piston rings are worn (allowing air/fuel to leak past the piston during compression).
• The intake or exhaust valves are not sealing properly, again allowing a leak during compression.
• There is a hole in the cylinder.

The most common "hole" in a cylinder occurs where the top of the cylinder (holding the valves and spark plug and also known as the cylinder head) attaches to the cylinder itself. Generally, the cylinder and the cylinder head bolt together with a thin gasket pressed between them to ensure a good seal. If the gasket breaks down, small holes develop between the cylinder and the cylinder head, and these holes cause leaks.
Lack of spark - The spark might be nonexistent or weak for a number of reasons:

• If your spark plug or the wire leading to it is worn out, the spark will be weak.
• If the wire is cut or missing, or if the system that sends a spark down the wire is not working properly, there will be no spark.
• If the spark occurs either too early or too late in the cycle (i.e. if the ignition timing is off), the fuel will not ignite at the right time, and this can cause all sorts of problems.

Many other things can go wrong. For example:

• If the battery is dead, you cannot turn over the engine to start it.
• If the bearings that allow the crankshaft to turn freely are worn out, the crankshaft cannot turn so the engine cannot run.
• If the valves do not open and close at the right time or at all, air cannot get in and exhaust cannot get out, so the engine cannot run.
• If someone sticks a potato up your tailpipe, exhaust cannot exit the cylinder so the engine will not run.
• If you run out of oil, the piston cannot move up and down freely in the cylinder, and the engine will seize.

In a properly running engine, all of these factors are within tolerance.

[AMScamrySE]

I think your son should definatly be paying for that, And tell him that hes comparable to a woman for doing somthing as dumb as not checking the oil, then maybe he will learn.

[Eye8Pussies]

Originally Posted by lenjack

That's inexcusable...trade in yur kid.

I agree....


but in all seriousness, if you just want a car that will be reliable and don't want to spend much, then it's still well worth it to drop in another engine

pick up an engine from the wreckers or off ebay (with a warrantee of course) and get it dropped in. If you do it yourself, then the engine will run you less than 500 plus time. otherwise, find a cheap shop to drop it in- they really can't screw it up since it'll be a direct drop-in- just part the engine and tranny and drop the new one in and wire everything back up

[DOHCammer]

Originally Posted by AMScamrySE

I think your son should definatly be paying for that, And tell him that hes comparable to a woman for doing somthing as dumb as not checking the oil, then maybe he will learn.

You state it was your car, when was the last time YOU checked the oil in YOUR car? Not trying to defend the kid in any way, but a 16 year old must be taught to check the oil and that's your job. Now, if your son was the sole driver of that car and he was told to keep an eye on the oil because obviously the car burned a lot of it, then by all means, give the kid "his" car and tell him to fix it. A smack upside the head would also be in order.

[marc780]

If you do it yourself, then the engine will run you less than 500 plus time. otherwise, find a cheap shop to drop it in- they really can't screw it up since it'll be a direct drop-in

Eye8pussy, judging by the work i see from many shops i see nowadays...they could destroy an anvil. Me + Car + Shop = It must be my bad breath.

[ryanmartini]

Your nicer than my dad, hehe

Make sure you really get after him tho. Its kinda hard not to notice the temp gauge go up in a quite steady manner.

Also what casse the oil leak ? Maybe something was hit? There has to be another side to this?

But honestly, no. Its not worth putting 1000$+ into a 10 yr old car. Sell it for parts, and put that money to help for a down payment. Tn'ers here flock on parts cars, so thats always a choice :P

[BlackCamSe]

Originally Posted by scottt

How do i confirm the motor is dead.

If your son herd a loud ping then your motor is shot.