Today i went to get gas and my car wpuldnt start. For a few dasy i have been hearing a slight knocking sound and when i stepped on the gas it seemed to get a little louder and faster. Then a couple days after that started when i would start my car it would start and then idle real low like it was gonna die then it would be fine. Today it did the same thing but it actually did die and now it wont start. It turns over and starts but immediately dies. The knocking is a thousand times worse. I need an oil change but its only been about 4000 miles and there is plenty in there. I dont know whatvhappened and i need to fix it fast. i deliver pizza and now im out of work. Ots a 2002 ford focus with 120000 miles on it. Can anyone help??
It’s impossible to diagnose a spun bearing from your description but as for starting and immediately dieing you might check the large air inlet that extends from the throttle to the Mass Air Flow sensor. If that flexible tube is split or loose and allows air to leak in the engine will not operate well especially at idle. And often that tube is damaged when the engine/transmission mount is failing and allows the engine to swing front to rear which will usually cause a lot of racket.
The two factors; the engine dieing right after starting… and the knocking being progressively worse…does sound like a spun bearing. But the only way to be sure is to remove the pan and bearing caps. An oil change will only waste new oil.
When a bearing spins it literally spins the bearing so that the oil passage is blocked. Because the passage is blocked…no oil is getting to that journal of the crankshaft. With no oil at that journal the bearing heats up quickly and expands to the point that it seizes the crank…causing the engine to bog down and stall from the load.
May as well start looking for a new car or a used engine.
Yosemite
Are you basing your statement that there’s plenty of oil in there on the fact that it’s been only 4,000 miles since the last change, or did you actually check the level?
Do you routinely monitor your oil level?
@"the same mountainbike" no im basing that statement on the fact that i checked the oil. I do check the oil often. I commute far distances quite often and always check just to be sure.
Good man.
Unfortunately, I think a mechanic is going to have to listen to it to determine where it seems to be coming from. If it’s coming from the “bottom end”, he may have to remove the oil pan, pull the caps, and check the bearings. There’s no cheap way out of it.
Hopefully the knocking won’t be coming from the bottom end. Hopefully he’ll find something much less intensive.
Im a girl but thanx lol and it is coming from the bottom. I work on my cars all the time just never had to deal with anything like this. I think im looking at havin to get a new car. I cant really take the risk of fixining something expensive and having something else go wrong. Thank you!
LOL, In that case, good lady!
It isn’t salable in this condition, so if you have the place to do it, it might be worth pulling the pan and a few caps after you get a new ride. The parts themselves aren’t the costly items, the labor is. Perhaps you can put some new bearings in and sell it. Worst case, you’d end up having it towed off by one of those freebie tow people. There are people that tow inoperative cars away for free for the scrap value.
Ill see what i can do thank you so much!
Good advice above. I’ll add that other things much more easy to repair can make a big knocking noise besides a crankshaft bearing, so don’t make assumptions until a mechanic has a chance to do a proper diagnosis.
a cracked flexplate makes a low, bottom end noise, which is often mistaken for major engine damage
If a bearing has spun the oil pressure should be way down to little or nothing and the oil light coming on.
If a bearing has spun the car does not need to move one inch. The next step will probably be a catastrophic bang.