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Hey guys. I have an 89 camry with a 3sfe. It ran perfect until a few months when the engine decided to not start!
Heres the story, my dad drove it to work, and during the ride the oil light came on. He didnt pay much attention to it and drove to work and parked the car. When he was ready to go home, he started the car and the engine turned on for 5 seconds then shut off. Ever since then the engine wont turn over. It cranks, but wont turn over. What do you guys think could be the problem. My dad said he heard no wierd noises or anything when he was driving it. Help me out guys! Thanks.
P.S. the wierd thing is i had changed the oil and filter 2 days before this happened, any relevence you think? I used the proper filter and oil amount tho
do you think it could also be something with the oil sensor? Maybe the oil sensor is old and isnt working properly. Would that cause the oil light to come on?
do you think it could also be something with the oil sensor? Maybe the oil sensor is old and isnt working properly. Would that cause the oil light to come on?
Yes, it could cause the oil light to come on. However, it will not cause the engine to quit running. Most likely the oil pump failed, as atobe suggested above, and continuing to drive the car caused the engine to sieze up. That means that with no oil flowing throughout the vital engine parts, the engine got so hot from the friction created, that the pistons just expanded inside the cylinder walls until they could no longer move up and down. Other vital engine parts usually are destroyed too; like bearings. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it sounds like time for a new engine; that is, if the rest of the car is sound. You may want to have the car towed somewhere for a more definitive diagnosis.
Someone told me that if the engine cranks, then that meant the engine wasnt seized? It cranks but wont turn over. Im probably gonna tow it to a mechanic this week sometime.
The oil pump in 3sfe engine has very few moving parts, it is lobe type rather then gear type.
Most common places in oil pump that prone to defects are the round rubber gasket , shaft seal and relief valve. First two items will cause external oil leak and light flickering on idle.The later one causing the oil press. light to stay on and accompanied by dull heavy noise.
With your car:
was the noise present after the light came on?
is oil looks black?
If answer is yes, engine damage is indicated.
If answer is no, dran the oil into drip pan let it stand and inspect for deposits of brass particles . If they are present, te bearing inserts are scored
If oil is normal,replace filter, fill it with oil, put 20W50 oil and troubleshoot non starting conditon:
fuel, spark, timing belt .
Remove oil sender.
Disable ignition
Turm on the starter.
The oil must jet out of the hole after several seconds.
Lack of oil is usually will not prevent engine from starting.
I changed the oil yesterday, and there were no metal shavings or anything in the oil, but the oil was black. I had changed the oil 2 days before this happened, so i dunno why the oil was black after 2 days of use. Could it be that there is sludge on the bottom of the oil pan that made it turn black so quick? I put 10w30 oil in becasue thats what i usually put in. Will the 20w50 make a difference? I asked my dad, and he said he did not encounter any wierd noise while he was driving, everything was fine and the only thing that was different was that the oil light was on.
I checked the timing belt by removing the distibutor and cranking it and seeing it the rotor was spinning, and it was so the timing belt is fine. How should i go about checking fuel and spark?
One of the possibilities the fresh oil washed the deposits accumulated before.In such case the oil pan and valve cover must be removed to check the oil pick-up screen and cam lobes. If the parts inside are coated with partially broken down dark brown deposits, the oil passages must be cleaned (which may require partial engine tear down) prior to starting. What brand and API grade of the oil you have put two days ago?
when i meant i changed the oil 2 days before this happened, was that i had changed the oil 2 days before the engine died. I used regular Castrol 10w30 before the engine died, the same oil ive been using everytime. When i drained that oil yesterday it was black. Then i replaced that oil yesterday with new castrol 10w30. What should i check next? How should i check spark and fuel?
When i try to turn on the engine and it just cranks, afterwards ill go look at the engine and there is a strong smell of fuel, so i think the fuel is fine. Let me know what i should do next.
Attach timing light
Squeeze the trigger
Crank the engine
If light flashes, the spark is present.
Do the vacuum test:
Attach vacuum gage to the intake plenum instead of cruise control vac. hose.
Crank the engine
The gage must read 5 inches vac., reading must not pulsate a lot.
If low vac is indicated , do the compression test to check rings /cylinder walls.
Try to find my posts about fuel system troubleshooting. If the fuel mixture is too rich, the carbon and soot may contaminate the oil to make it black. It is also necessary to do oil delivery test to determine if oil is going into the system.
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