i just got a 95 mustang 5 speed and while i was testdriving it, it sounded fine i even got on it a little. on the way home it started making a knocking noise and 2 days ago it just let go and i am guessing it slung a bunch of bearings. anyways what do dealers or people that trade to dealers do to the motors that are about to go to make them sound fine. it had clean like new oil and filter. only 81000 miles on it. the mechanics i talked to told me there was no way that i could have done it in just 15 minutes of driving. i know i wasn't overrevving or anything.

 

thats ****ed up.....i wonder the same question. what kind of dealer did you get it from? also, did you run a carfax report on it? and you should take it for a thorough test drive. Floor it and slam the brakes a lot of times. I did it and they never said anythying (that was ford dealer of course).

 

well i did burn out and tried to get a 2nd gear scratch.i got sideways. anyway it is a big dealer named tom peacock nissan my stepdad works there. he is the one who called me with this deal. he paid for half and another motor out of a 2000 model.well it was just me and 3 friends that drove it and i could have done a lot worse of driving it. i did not run a check on it and i may after i read this just to be aware.i know it has a load of cool extras. boston acoustics speakers with a motorized face kenwood cd player. aftermarket chrome rims and true duals out the back and an alarm and bra which i took off. it looks brand new and is very clean

 

Could just be bad luck. Sometimes an engine will just let go. Most reputable dealers won't pull big tricks since their reputation is more valuable than Joe Blow("easy monthly payments") on the street corner.

You can quiet an engine down a lot with thick oil and additives like STP. Most engines that are going to die will make noise or smoke and run poorly. You can tune up an engine and STP will kill a lot of smoke and noise.

81,000 miles on an engine is getting into late middle age and it might not have been as capable of handling hard driving, a scratch is rough on the drive train. Getting sideways also indicates a problem(entusiastic driving) most of us guys had when we were younger. Not a problem for new cars but yours was getting into late middle age. The addons to your car also indicate a young driver who may not have been a gentle driver either so who knows what wear he put on.

I wouldn't jump too hard on the dealer especially since it sounded like your stepdad was involved. I doubt he would try to stick you with a lemon. Stuff happens, even new cars fall apart sometimes. I would expect the dealer to do some good will actions or discounts if you cr blew up just days after buying it.

Good Luck, including the new engine,

Jim Henderson

 

Yeah, STP and 20w50 will quiet 'em down a lot. If a bearing is going, the 20w50 will provide a thick enough oil film to support everything, for a while anyway.

Good luck on your new motor.

Edit: OBTW, 81,000 is nowhere near middle age. I have 189,600 on a '92 explorer, and it still runs nice and quiet. I'd say that car was more college student age.

 

that is funny cuz a college girl got rid of it and it is a 5 speed so i think she did not know how to drive it well. and so far every top end gasket i have seen is brand new. probably 2 weeks use on them at the most.the oil was brand new also and did not smoke at all and made no noises.

 

College student? That may explain it. When they drive it the 0.5 miles from the dorm to the classroom, on a day to day basis, it never has time to evaporate the water out, eating your bearings.

 

If you still have any of the old oil you may want to consider having it analized. They can change the oil and top it off with bleach which will make any motor slick as glass until you stress it a little. Can't say they did this but it's a possiblity. Blackstone can tell you for $20.

 

ok i got the motor out today and every gasket is brand new. like maybe 1-2 weeks of use. anyway i'm thinking it was a rebuild and somebody did not do something right. i took the pan off and no rods are loose and there were no bearings in the pan. and no shavings in the oil. i will take the pistons out later and see if there is any cylinder damage. i thought for sure i would see the culprit when i took the pan off. this thing was so loud going down the road i thought the crank was loosening.

 

Were the flywheel bolts loose? These sometimes sound just like a rod knock if they're loose.

 

Yeah, new gaskets probably mean someone did some major work on it. And it blowing up early probably points to a goof up.

One other thing might come to mind. Since you didn't find any evidence of damage in the bottom end I wonder if the harmonic balencer went bad. I have heard about engines running fine and then suddenly shaking like something broke. Sometimes the rubber inside the balancer goes bad and the weight turns which upsets the balance. Don't know if this is what happened to you but something to check into. I don't know how to check a balencer other than eyeballing it since I never had this problem. I think the rubber ring between the hub and the outer balance ring is visible. If it is missing or the rings turn that is the problem.

Now back to the gaskets. I would wonder why all the gaskets were new. Why did someone replace all the gaskets and then sell the car? Was it dying on the previous owner who sold it and then the dealer fixed things up? This could be fine, but something to wonder. Could just be head gaskets going bad, which I have read is a common problem on late middle age V6's, usually around 100K, but a wide range depending on many factors.

Your problem is starting to sound interesting. Your engine so far sounds like you haven't found any internal damage but you had a big problem which caused you to tear things down, so something is strange.

Be sure to update us so we can all learn something.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

well tomorrow i am going to take the heads off somebody said it may have drop some carbon into the cylinders. but it was not shaking it was just really knocking bad like it was about to throw a rod or something. but after i brought my new motor home i took it for a drive and actually took it to 60 and nothing broke. the flywheel was tight to.could a bad cam do this but i would think it would run bad or something. i don't know. when i tear it down completely then we will all know. it is killing me not knowing

 

i told the mechanic that the rods and crank were tight still and had no bearings in the pan and he said that's wierd maybe it is a cam bearing. i still haven't taken the heads off yet i have been busy

 

i took the heads off and found nothing out of the ordinary except for the new head gaskets

 

Look at the flexplate for a crack, did it die once it started kncoking, or did you shut it off?