General No warning light, No oil in engine, I may have killed it.

[GraemeC3]

Hi newbie here, I was about 17 miles from home in my 2011 1242cc 68BHp Panda when my engine started making grinding noises, there was no oil warning light and my car knowledge is poor so I just kept going with the noise getting progressively louder and temperature off the scale. I managed to limp to the garage and there was no oil at all in the engine which is odd because it was serviced just 3mths ago and there were no signs of an oil leak on my drive etc. However I did bottom it on a short piece of farm track about a week or so ago which must have done something I suspect. The mechanic is very busy and can't even look at it until next week. He thinks 50/50 from what I have said that I could have hurt it badly. Hopefully I am jumping the gun but if I have to replace the engine which model fiats could I possibly use? Would a 1.4 100BHP Panda engine be an easy swap with regard to mounts etc or would I need a bigger exhaust and brakes etc etc? Is that engine info on here already? I am not sure how to use the search filters properly. Thx in advance Graeme.

 

[porta]

Hi newbie here, I was about 17 miles from home in my 2011 1242cc 68BHp Panda when my engine started making grinding noises, there was no oil warning light and my car knowledge is poor so I just kept going with the noise getting progressively louder and temperature off the scale. I managed to limp to the garage and there was no oil at all in the engine which is odd because it was serviced just 3mths ago and there were no signs of an oil leak on my drive etc. However I did bottom it on a short piece of farm track about a week or so ago which must have done something I suspect. The mechanic is very busy and can't even look at it until next week. He thinks 50/50 from what I have said that I could have hurt it badly. Hopefully I am jumping the gun but if I have to replace the engine which model fiats could I possibly use? Would a 1.4 100BHP Panda engine be an easy swap with regard to mounts etc or would I need a bigger exhaust and brakes etc etc? Is that engine info on here already? I am not sure how to use the search filters properly. Thx in advance Graeme.

You’d be hard pressed to find an engine to fit without all the ancillaries and electrics to go with it…as for your more pressing issue, I’d wait for a proper diagnosis, I had a similar thing with a 90’s tipo and, after a new water pump (the cause of the noise) and headgasket, (and engine oil flush, new filter and fresh oil ) all was fine for at least another 50k miles

 

[koalar]

It's a straight swap mechanically, that's the easy part

But you also need from a 100HP
Wiring loom
ECU
Clocks
BSI
Keys
Exhaust

The dash has to come out

It can and has been done, It's neither trivial nor cheap


Was it a grinding noise

Or

A knocking noise worse accelerating

 

[GraemeC3]

Defi

It's a straight swap mechanically, that's the easy part

But you also need from a 100HP
Wiring loom
ECU
Clocks
BSI
Keys
Exhaust

The dash has to come out

It can and has been done, It's neither trivial nor cheap


Was it a grinding noise

Or

A knocking noise worse accelerating

Defintely worse when accelerating, I would say more grindy than knocking but I am not sure to be honest, sorry.

 

[varesecrazy]

If it was diesel I would have more hope..

SOUNDS like you have had no oil circulating.. And petrol isn't a lubricant

Think of it like a dry door hinge, it will be stiff and make noise..
Adding oil makes it smoother and quieter

What mileage on this engine?

Did you get an Overtemperature warning?

 

[GraemeC3]

70k

 

[varesecrazy]

70k

Worth putting a temporary patch on the sump and £10 worth of oil

See how it sounds

You Might be lucky

My old diesel did 100 miles towing with no oil.. The damage took out the oil pressure wiring.. So NO WARNING LIGHT

Made it oil tight again and it was fine

 

[GraemeC3]

Worth putting a temporary patch on the sump and £10 worth of oil

See how it sounds

You Might be lucky

My old diesel did 100 miles towing with no oil.. The damage took out the oil pressure wiring.. So NO WARNING LIGHT

Made it oil tight again and it was fine

Cheers, I could do with it lasting a few more years, it is basically a dog bus and I was hoping it was going to outlive my 10 year old dog who will not be getting replaced and to be honest it is (or rather was) in good nick. Fingers crossed I get lucky.

 

[jrkitching]

Firstly, condolences. This isn't a nice place to be.

and my car knowledge is poor

In which case, I'm thinking you might not have the skills, tools and facilities to fit a replacement secondhand engine yourself.

I've said this before, but paying someone else to fit a secondhand engine to a 12yr old Panda is likely to be a losing strategy. You'd do better to sell the car as it is, and put what you get for it with the repair cost and buy something else.

If you can do it yourself, buy an engine which is as close as possible to the one that's currently fitted.

 

[GraemeC3]

The Panda lives, still misfiring and won't be fixed until after Xmas/New Year but the engine isn't destroyed :>)

 

[Yolanda]

So, what did you or someone else, and how did you come to that conclusion.

 

[varesecrazy]

The Panda lives, still misfiring and won't be fixed until after Xmas/New Year but the engine isn't destroyed :>)

Good that it runs..

But the misfiring doesn't sound like the best news

Did it lose coolant too?

 

[GraemeC3]

So, what did you or someone else, and how did you come to that conclusion.

I have no Idea what the mechanic did or did not do to come to that conclusion as I did not ask. I presume he just put some oil in her and fired her up and listened. The mechanic is v good and I have known him since primary school, he doesn't b/s. I will get a more detailed report when he gets time to breath, at the moment he is swamped.

 

[GraemeC3]

Good that it runs..

But the misfiring doesn't sound like the best news

Did it lose coolant too?

Sorry I didn't ask him, he is literally stressed out and run off his feet at the moment (he as just lost one of his best young mechanics to BAE systems).

 

[GraemeC3]

Panda eventually needed a replacement throttle body. Delay due to Xmas and me getting the wrong type ( electronic one needed not wire) Got the panda back yesterday mechanic hadn't given her run out and told me to bring it back if problem. After two minutes no acceleration when using the accelerator, pulled over and turned the engine off, and started her up again. Was fine for 2mins then the same issue again with the accelerator. Presumably, the 2nd hand throttle body is no good or it hasn't been fitted correctly??

 

[varesecrazy]

Panda eventually needed a replacement throttle body. Delay due to Xmas and me getting the wrong type ( electronic one needed not wire) Got the panda back yesterday mechanic hadn't given her run out and told me to bring it back if problem. After two minutes no acceleration when using the accelerator, pulled over and turned the engine off, and started her up again. Was fine for 2mins then the same issue again with the accelerator. Presumably, the 2nd hand throttle body is no good or it hasn't been fitted correctly??

Could even be unrelated..

1st, check fluid levels

Then have a look around the underbonnet area,

Are the cables on battery terminals actually tight/secure.?

 

[GraemeC3]

Could even be unrelated..

1st, check fluid levels

Then have a look around the underbonnet area,

Are the cables on battery terminals actually tight/secure.?

Cheers will do.

 

[koalar]

Symptoms

Noise worse when accelerating

Misfire

Equals throttle body

Does not sound correct to me

Are we going to try and diagnose and fix it or is it straight back to the garage

 

[portland_bill]

Ran out of oil with nasty noises.
Now runs a for a few minutes then loses power.

Got hot, trying to seize. After a few minutes, the pistons are picking up in the bores. Left to cool for a short time, they let go, ready for another couple of minutes. Or could be the crank bearings going tight.

Needs a compression test. And useful to stick a borescope down the plugholes.

Due to their robustness, complete engines are available cheaply, as there's little demand. Be careful to get an identical spec.

 

[GraemeC3]

Ran out of oil with nasty noises.
Now runs a for a few minutes then loses power.

Got hot, trying to seize. After a few minutes, the pistons are picking up in the bores. Left to cool for a short time, they let go, ready for another couple of minutes. Or could be the crank bearings going tight.

Needs a compression test. And useful to stick a borescope down the plugholes.

Due to their robustness, complete engines are available cheaply, as there's little demand. Be careful to get an identical spec.

The engine doesn't stop running and now sounds fine. The issue is just a sudden complete loss of acceleration.

Symptoms

Noise worse when accelerating

Misfire

Equals throttle body

Does not sound correct to me

Are we going to try and diagnose and fix it or is it straight back to the garage

I will be taking her back to the garage on Tuesday.