nicobel

Here is the story:
I changed the oil in my shark last friday, as preparation for the bi-annual smog check; car was running fine friday from shop to home...
Car was parked over the weekend, started on tuesday to take me to work. I started hearing the pretty common lifter noise (it was pretty bad at first, like a diesel truck), but the car ran ok and i knew the noise was "going to diminish over time" as i should.
Yesterday when coming home car was runnning kinda rough, but ok
This morning car ran fine, when i was coming home in the afternoon, just 5 blocks away from home it was REALLY rough, lost power and died.
First thing i checked was the timing belt with a flashlight, looks fine (and it has less than 5000 miles).
Second, i checked fuse for fuel pump (it runs)
Right now i am waiting for AAA's flatbed tow truck, my shark is going home and to the shop in the next days.
I am pretty sure it can't be TBF, since the car is been running perfect before the oil change, Torque tube is new, and pressure was very recently checked.
Any toughts?
Can loose varnish kill all cylinders?
Help! please...

pmotts

What year?

John Struthers

He's got an 88 S4

Louie928

What oil did you put in?

AO

^
!!
!!
What he said!

nicobel

1988 S4, with less than 100K miles
I took it to the shop that has done my oil change all the time, they put 5-50 non synthetic.
Tow truck guy: "wow, that's a beautiful car!" "incredible suspension!" (he just towed an '06 escalade with a broken axle-suspension and a bunch of mercedes).

AO

How much oil did they put in? Hopefully not the standard 4.5 quarts that most cars take these days. The 928 take about 8.5 quarts.

Have you pulled the dip stick to see 1. if there is oil, 2. what's the condition of the oil (i.e. no milk shake)?

chaadster

MAF failure? It has been going around lately...you could try to disconnect it and see if it runs any better. If so, that would be a bad MAF indicator. But...

What about the noise? Did it ever go away, or what?

pmotts

So is this lifter noise a new thing?

heinrich

Your results could be many things but I believe are unrelated to oil change. Have you released the flex plate and checked crank end-play?

pmotts

"I am pretty sure it can't be TBF, since the car is been running perfect before the oil change, Torque tube is new, and pressure was very recently checked."

Big Dave

Was it still making the noise when it died? Did you open the hood and try to narrow down where it was coming from? Lifters that drain should pump up very quickly, so if the unusually loud noise lasted more than a moment or two, it might be something else.

Even though you recently checked flex plate pressure, you ought to do it again and check crank-play, too. You have to rule these out.

dr bob

The symptoms described are classic to oil starvation. Not enough oil, wrong oil, forgot to install a filter, wrong filter installed, drain plug left out. Did the oil pressure gauge read normally during all this? Knowing you had pressure would narrow the list down a bit.

Stupid stuff happens at oil change places. The 'techs' they hire seem to often come from a lower level in the 'smarts' barrel. Fine for doing the same thing to the same cars all day long.

Wrong oil filter, especially if the filter is not pre-filled. risks media collapse internally. Did you supply the filter? Most jiffy-oil places don't stock the right filter, and may have been tempted to use another that happens to thread on.


Having a lubrication-related failure right after a lubrication system service is not a coincidence. Go over what they did in detail. You need to witness, and perhaps have another to witness, anything they do to the car as they try to figure out what went wrong. If it were my car, it would be taken to a neutral third-party mechanic for evaluation, rather than back to the lube shop. It's too easy for them to "miss" problems they might have caused as they step back through everything they've done.

heinrich

Bob I suppose you're right. One wonders if the car was perhaps already screwed by the time it was picked up. I agree, it needs top be disassembled by a neutral third-party.

nicobel

I am calling the oil change place, they are not jiffy lube (ugh!), but a place i trust a lot, and they have been doing the stuff for years.
Yes, oil levels are OK, i usually recheck the oil after changes, since i know they never put enough of it. The oil level indicator did not show any signs of oil starvation.
I'll check the pressure on the flexplate and crank play. I am very confident is not related to those.
I got the car towed home almost by midnight yesterday, so the checkups will be done this afternoon after work.
Yes, i am calling a 3rd party mech (prec. motorwerks, the experts) if i can't narrow down the culprit.
My guess is on the MAF, since they change the air filter also, and there's a lot of heat an humidity around this days something could go shorting.