need help and info have an engine emergency
 

I need some serious help I have a 2001 lightning. It's mileage is just over 65000. The vehicle is used in a business I have and is frequently on southern California's freeways. My business partner was driving the vehicle when the check oil light came on. A clicking noise developed in the engine and then it died. It sounds like a rod went out. What is most disturbing is that when I took it to the dealership where I got it they told me that the warranty wouldn't cover anything becasue the oil wasn't measuring on the dipstick. My issue is I have a receipt from an oil change several weeks ago and a quart of oil was put in the vehicle after the engine went. Now the dealership is trying to stick it to me. Any idea if there is any problems with the oil pump, or defective rods on this lightning. Also since the vehicle has 18,000 owed on it what course of legal action could I realistically take



thanks

Who did the last oil change, and did the dealer find an oil leak? If the oil all leaked out from a poorly installed oil filter that is the first place you need to go for help. If you added oil after the engine failed and there was no or little oil in it that oil would come up CLEAN and thus prove it wasnt there before the failure. We have had people let thier engines go dry and then fill it up after the engine locked up... too easy to see this. If you have not had a record of large oil consumption before this then your last oil change may very well be the source of the failure. The manufacturer is not going to buy an engine failed due to improper maintenance from anyone, including a dealer. And your oil lamp coming on should have told you to immediately get off the road and shut down. If your vehicle continued operation for even a minute after that lamp came on, the operator of the vehicle allowed the failure to occur, regardless where or when the failure occured. It was most unfortunate that it occured on the highway but no one can predict when or where this would happen. You were simply stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Your first mission here is to determine what caused the failure and respond accordingly.

thanks for the info.