Let me preface this by saying this is not my car.
My friend has (possibly “had” now) a 2000 Mazda 626, V6 engine, AT. Had been taken to mechanic for misfire and Plug 4 was replaced. Problem seemed to be fixed for a couple of days, but then it came back. Misfire would occur just under 2500 RPM, and could be remedied by applying more pressure to gas. Recently began seeing check engine light (maybe 3 weeks ago), which would come on and stay on for a while then eventually turn off again.
A couple of nights ago, after driving the car for a half-hour, the engine began making a popping sound. Parked it in driveway and let it rest overnight. When started again, the popping noise started immediately, accompanied by copious amounts of blue smoke (obvious oil burning) that seemed to not only be coming from the exhaust, but from the undercarriage as well. I followed my friend for about 20 minutes to get back into town and get the car to his mechanic. He reports that a few minutes after I stopped following, the popping noise was punctuated by a CRUNCH as the car ran out of oil.
What happened???!?!??!
Good question . . . what DID happen? I don’t see the misfire necessarily related to the eventual crunch. The popping is curious . . . but the start-up noise and smoke should’ve clued “your friend” to NOT DRIVE THE CAR! Since the poor Mazda is already at the mechanic, wait for the bad news. Driving a car which is banging/smoking/popping for even a few seconds can be expensive. Hope not, good luck! Rocketman
Another case of negligence. I wish he hadn’t driven the car - $3500 for a new engine. Needless to say, putting a $3500 engine in a $2500 car is not cost-effective.
The mechanic says that something got into the oil, causing it to leak. Sounded like kind of a BS explanation to me, but does this person really require anything else at this point? Basically (as I thought), the engine ran out of oil and then threw a rod. It was just a chain of unfortunate events, but now my friend has learned a little something about regular maintenance…keeping on top of oil changes at regular intervals can help prevent some of these major problems BEFORE they occur.
My favorite part of the story is the “CRUNCH” at the end…hahahaha…sorry…that made me laugh out loud when I read it.