- Have your mechanic figure out what’s wrong first. Sounds like the only person that’s looked at it was the AAA guy/gal, who may or may not know anything about cars.
- Discuss the options with your mechanic as others have already said. If you need to take a day or two to decide, then do so. Do not be pressured into deciding before you’re ready. You’re the one that has to live with your decision.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the support and help you get from those around you. I think most people help others who try to fix their problems and who are genuinely appreciative of the help received. Learn to bake some cookies or brownies you can give to show your appreciation.
- And when you get this fixed, READ YOUR OWNER’S MANUAL on the maintenance needed. Inspections, like fluid checks and tire pressure checks, are very important and can mostly be done by you. I would guess the manual recommends doing some sort of inspection at least monthly. I think your every 6-month visits to the mechanic were good; the problem was not doing any inspections in between.
Yes, absolutely. Thank you for those points. I’m sure it’ll all get worked out, but it’s incredibly upsetting.
One thing I was thinking: when the AAA guy attached his battery to my engine, he said it was moving, but slowly. Is that something that could suggest it’s Not fully seized and might be able to be released or something else is going on? I’m reading about if it can be manually turned, it’s not seized.
Though I didn’t personally check the oil, It was checked in between appts in jan and I got a thumbs up. It’s hard to imagine in two months the oil went from thumbs up to Nothing.
Oil can go from thumbs up to nothing in days, hours or even minutes. It looks like this will be a learning experience for you, we all started somewhere you know. We’ve all made mistakes too. The important thing is to learn.
It might help if your mechanic removes the spark plugs and pours a small amount of oil into the cylinders before trying to start it. It does not need to be penetrating oil, just a little motor oil will work. That may get the rings to move a little easier. If it starts after that, it will smoke for a few minutes but should clear up. If it doesn’t, then the engine is gone.
One more thing, car repair is not about you knowing anything about cars. It is a business deal. If you feel your mechanic has let you down, it is OK to ask for an explanation, but try to ask in a non confrontational way. A confrontation will not help. It is quite possible that a seal just let go and more frequent visits may not have prevented this from happening. But it is OK for you to let the mechanic know your expectations, otherwise he won’t be able to help you.
Your mechanic may have limitations on his time or shop space, so the options I and others have mentioned may not be practical for him. He may even have another option. But the most important thing is that this is a business transaction and to treat it as such. Don’t try to be the car expert, thats his job. Just be a good business person.
I would not put in a junkyard engine and plan on putting in a rebuilt after you have saved up the money. You would be paying for the labor twice and that is expensive.
Chose one or the other and if you would rather have a rebuilt engine, borrow the money.
Update: Took the car in March 26th. Just got it back yesterday almost 2 months later. So thankful to work in IT and from home! Living in the sticks without the car has been Rough and kind of awful. Basically, spent the first 2 weeks trying to save the engine–the mechanic thought it could be saved as it was still turning. Basically it started to unseize with a thin lubricating oil down into the cylinders filtering in and holding for 4 rounds, but never got to the point of running without getting stuck. I think the oil was called something like Marvin’s Mystery Oil or something similar to that. It’s wild how miniscule the damage looked, just a few tiny little grooves and the engine was an expensive paper weight.
So the mechanic sourced an engine from the local area through the his contacts/connections, when it arrived, it had a cracked intake, so it was sent back and got another one with pretty much the same number of miles on it 55k. It’s back up and running, though now I need to replace the battery that is 10+ yrs old. It is what it is. I’m so thankful to have it back. Though my face was probably deadpan from exhaustion in my head I was thinking “I could half scream for joy and cry right now simultaneously.” haha
I really appreciate all the advice! We’re thinking the oil got sucked up somewhere and/or was leaking when the car was moving on a slow drip. I live in the sticks and drive a lot of steep hilly roads, sometimes have to basically off-road because roads get washed away. May have hit something and something got cracked/loosened/warped. Not sure. And the car has always had a few weird electrical issues. Windows crap out, the light on the dash died, the turn and hazard lights died/were erratic, the tire pressure light is always on, etc. The corolla has no oil pressure gauge, and I’ve noticed the Corolla has a few weird features, no accessible aux port, no trunk button on the fob, no oil pressure gauge, etc.
So now I’m keeping a freaking $7 bottle of oil in the car -.-, and taking it in every 500 miles or if the check engine light goes on this next first year. Got a yr warranty on the engine, but this was definitely a pain in the butt; I thought I was doing everything to avoid something catastrophic and have put thousands into this car to keep it healthy. Taking it in every 5-6 months for a Full Safety, way before every 3k miles. Everyone’s said it was sort of a freak accident. Oh well, no one died, it’s just a car and money, definitely unfairly easy to say after the fact, but, was quite the learning experience to put the automotive paranoia/fear of god into me for life, or at least a few months. 
Took a bit longer than expected from trying to save the engine, getting an engine that probably got damaged in transport, then trying to separate the transmission from the engine. In rural western Mass it ended up being a bit less than 2k. And now I have a relationship with a mechanic I like, so that’s really valuable.
You really need to get in the habit of checking the engine oil and other fluids on a regular basis; say every 500 miles at most and more often if a problem is suspected.
This is an easy DIY procedure that can prevent you from going though this again.
That’s what I’m gonna do. Was doing that every 5 months, which would range i think between 600 and 1000 miles, if that. There was no problem, or indication of a problem, just a sudden crapping out after getting the oil checked two months prior, certainly was significantly less than 500 miles at that point since the last check. There really was no good reason for this to have happened.
Just wanted to update for the folks who took the time out of their life to respond and help when I was really in it. Thank you all!
Thanks for letting us know you got it fixed. We always wonder what happened with the posts.
Did you notice the oil light on while motor was running and you kept driving. Or did you notice oil light on after the motor stopped?
It is noteworthy that if the motor dies your red engine oil light will illuminate if key is in run position. I think you possibly jumping to conclusions about seized motor when it simply may be a running problem.
You need diagnosis.
@Masha1234 Do you know how to check the oil yourself? If you don’t, I’m sure your new mechanic will be glad to show you how. It’s easy. You should check it every time you fill the gas tank.
Did the used engine come with new seals? That might be something to consider and it would have been extremely easy to change these while it was out of the car. I have transplanted engines before and always change seals during the process as it is easy at this time. Seals are cheap and labor is not so this is the way to go.
I have seen small engines on mowers unlock before by simply adding oil. Some will run fine while others will fly apart. I have heard similar stories about car engines although they are a lot more complex than your typical mower engine. Someone gave me a mower where I had to hit the blade with a piece of wood to get it to turn over and free up and then the thing ran. That is amazing if you ask me.
Either way, keep an eye on your oil level. Not all engines leak oil. Some also BURN oil and you won’t even see smoke to indicate it is burning oil. I would check at every gasoline fill up or at least once a month if you ask me. I once hit a piece of debris in the road and put a hole in the oil pan. Luckily it wasn’t a large one and it wasn’t even below the fill mark when I noticed some oil on the ground. It sounds like you live in an area where you might do the same. Maybe you should buy a pickup truck the next time around.
Pretty much every engine loses engine oil at a different rate. Some as much as one quart per 100 miles, some one quart per 10,000 miles. There’s no way to know without measuring it. Suggest to measure your oil consumption once you get your car back on the road, so you know how often to check the oil level. Start by assuming it uses one quart per 100 miles, so check the dipstick every 100 miles at first. You’ll quickly figure out how often you need to check on your particular engine.
OP might also want to peruse one of those basic Auto Maintenance for Dummies books found in most bookstores.
Have you tried filling the engine with oil to the proper level and then trying to start it? Where is the car now?
I think the engine is replaced with a used one as of now. It sounds like they tried filling the engine up and putting oil down the spark plug holes but it didn’t work. Too much damage was done.