car question

The_White_Horse

I hit some ice, and it seemed to do some damage under my car, meaning all the oil came out. The engine was making horrible noises!!

its a renault - 5.5 years old.

do you think the engine will need replacing? and if so, would that make the car a write off???

Thanks

hartcjhart

model /diesel/petrol??

catflea

From the details you've given it could be anyones guess tbh!

Did the oil come out in a big flood or dribble out? How long was the engine running for after the oil loss.

If the engine is making horrible noises you've damaged something! How bad the damage is, lord knows.

onejontwo

If it's something like an oil filter being damaged I would fit a new one, top up the oil and recheck, however if it's the sump or oil casing it would cost a packet to fit new and you wouldn't know if any permanant damage had been done until the parts were replaced and then retested. I would recommend towing it to your nearest garage and asking them to have a look whilst on a ramp.

Inactive

Sorry to say, but it sounds like it will be very expensive.

I am not quite sure how hitting a bit of ice can cause total oil loss.

waynedance

Sounds like you hit something and damaged the oil sump.

DO NOT DRIVE the car, someone advised go to a garage.

The_White_Horse

its an insurance job alright. it started off making no noise, then after 5 minutes or so, it started making slight noise, then after another minute or two, it made really horrible noises, and as I was about to pull over, the STOP light came on along with the oil light.

When I pulled over, I looked under the car and oil was pouring out.

The car was towed back to my house and it is currently waiting for the insurers garage to come and collect it.

I reckon the car, which i have had from new, is worth 4.5-5k ish and therefore, if it needs a new engine, not sure if that would make it a constructive total loss ie it would cost more to replace the engine and fix it in, than the car is worth. No idea what an engine costs or how long it takes to fix one in.

thescouselander

I'd agree with the others - sounds like the oil sump got damaged. What was the noise like? If it was a loud screeching noise it could be various pieces of metal making contact in the engine (big ends, cam shaft and followers etc) as the oil drained out - In that case there is likely to be significant damage to the engine. What model of car is it?

The_White_Horse

yeah, i think it came from the engine - but not sure.

its a 1.6 megane.

Obukit

When you say hit some ice, do you mean skidded or was there a big bang/jolt? As others have said sounds like you hit the sump - it will be difficult to see where the oil is leaking from but the sump it a big "pan" suspended under the engine. However, they're very tough so to break it you'd expect a huge bang when you hit the ice.

As others have said, sumps are very cheap but the damage will have been caused because you continued driving without enough oil in your engine. Only a garage can tell you what you need (prob engine write off) - just don't start the engine to give you the best chance of salvaging something. Good luck - at least you're not hurt .

catflea

Sounds very much to me like you've dumped all your oil and the engines run dry (continuing to drive in this state will have done you no favours)

Obviously a diagnosis is impossible without seeing the car but I'd wager that you have probabally mashed the bottom end of the engine and it wont be cheap to fix.