Blown Engine

m1i2k9e

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Ok now that I have your attention, my mother "blew the engine" on her 2001 pahfinder. Does anyone have knowledge of 4x4's because she supposedly blew it by driving on the highway on 4Low. Is this possible? Wouldn't this affect the transfer case or was it really the engine? I don't know the specifics of this as I live 2 hours away she really didn't know what happened. She explained it as her driving on the highway and stopping because she heard something that sounded wierd. When she pulled over and turned the car off it would not turn back on. Like I said I don't have access to the car so it's really hard for me to even comprehend what's going on.
 
4 lo should only be used when going very slow like to pull someone out of a ditch, 4 hi is for going higher speeds like down normal roads, 4lo =low speed, 4hi = higher speed, i'm suprized the motor didn't $hit way sooner
 
Yea that's the reason why she pulled over. In her words the car sounded loud lol. She was actually able to pull over before the engine blew, it just wouldn't start back up once she turned it off. That and I just found out she was driving around with it in Lo ALL DAY. I have no idea how it lasted that long. Anyway, time to start looking for a new engine.
 
You may want to check the fluid of that transfer case... running around in that low of gearing at high speeds builds up heat VERY VERY fast and a transfer has no way of of shedding it's heat build-up like a transmission does. If the oil got too hot, you could have some serious damage. Drain the lube, check for metal and sediment... put in new lube if it checks out okay. A high ratio (read, low gearing... such as 6:1) can build up huge amounts of heat, so it's just a heads up.

Oh, and you might want to check the tranny while you're at it too... That wasn't made to handle constant input of 6000RPM either.
 
Thanks a lot Nate. Turns out the engine was seized due to the extreme heat like you mentioned. Surprisingly enough, the transfer case and transmission checked out fine when it was taken into the dealership. Thanks again!
 
This is the funniest thing I've heard all day. Didn't she notice that she had to have the pedal to the floor to get up to 50mph? I feel bad and all, but you have to admit this is pretty funny. A strange noise? I bet there was.

:lol:
 
Yeah, those engines just don't wind up like the good ol days. heh heh.

Some people just shouldn't be allowed near anything more complex than a light switch, my wife is one.

I am surprised the engine didn't have a rev limiter to keep it from over reving. Seems like every car I have bought in the past decade or two had limiters.

4 LO really would scream at anything over a fast walk. My F250 woulod pull a building off it's foundation in 4 LO, but I sure won't be able to run at highway speed. I guess if she had a 4 banger she might have gotten it up to speed, but as we now know, it didn't like it.

Engine is probably toast, burned rings and cylinder, maybe bad bearings etc. Not going to be cheap.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson
 
You're not the guy who painted his ENTIRE rotor or tried to port and polish his intake by pouring sand in the motor, are you?

I had to ask just because :D
 
You're not the guy who painted his ENTIRE rotor or tried to port and polish his intake by pouring sand in the motor, are you?

I had to ask just because :D

You don't pour the sand in, you take the filter off, stick the intake tube in a bucket of sand then rev the motor for awhile! You have to get the sand particles airborne to really get a good polish. I call it sand-vacuuming or sand-sucking!
 
Thanks a lot Nate. Turns out the engine was seized due to the extreme heat like you mentioned. Surprisingly enough, the transfer case and transmission checked out fine when it was taken into the dealership. Thanks again!

NP...
I'm surprised the demise was that the engine over-heated; usually the cooling system of the engine is good enough to stop this from happening and the ultimate failure for sustained high RPM's is broken rods/rod bolts and spun bearings. Usually it's the tranny and transfer that would have the problems getting rid of their heat. Of course, most engines that are forced to endure RPM's of this level are in a vehicle traveling three times as fast with a much higher airflow over the radiator. Either way, I bet it's a mistake that won't be repeated!
 
Many year back a friends girlfriend was driving his truck and did the same thing. Ran it in 4 LO on the highway. Heat killed that engine also. I can't remember what kind of truck exactly, but it was a jap minitruck. Maybe an Isuzu. Probably an early eighties, before rev limiters, etc...
 
This ALL Explains why 99% of men works on cars in their garages...Women would bring the car home destroyed and they leave to the kitchen to prepare dinner......
 

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