Broken engine

[cris r]

My friends car broke down, when they got it to the garage they told her no oil was getting to the engine and that it why it broke down. When she put the dip stick in it indicated the oil level was ok and the low oil indicater is not on does anyone know any other reason it may have broke down, or is this to complicated to diganose the car is only three years old and the garage is not being very helpfull

[essex bloke]

hiya cris
on most cars the oil sits in the bottom of the engine in the crankcase/sump and the mechanical pump normally belt driven drives the oil around the engine . But on the end of the pump is the oil pickup which does the sucking up of the oil and sprays it around the engine. Is the car high mileage? if so the strainer could become blocked over time time , the same if it isnt reg serviced

[Toureman]

I don't know of any car that has it's oil pump driven by a belt.

The (strainer?) will not be blocked.

If what the garage says is true it can only be caused by a catastrophic pump failure or a leaking internal pipe, this would cause the engine to seize up in a very short time.

As the car is only 3 years old it should be taken to the dealer who supplied it, if you have full service history they should make a large contribution to the repair.

[harley_Husky]

"a catastrophic pump failure" ... possible but to what extent did they investigate ..?

1 - Did it seize...loose power dramatically...over heat ...??

Please elaborate.

2 - As per above answer the car should go to the garage that supplied the car & depending what make you have there may be still be warranty cover.

3 - In what way was this garage " not helpful " ??

Eddie

[eltelioni]

If the pump failed or was blocked then the oil pressure warning light would have come on. I think your friend needs to engage the help of someone who knows more about engines to talk to the garage on her behalf. What kind of car is it?

[jake-the-peg]

Or you're not getting the whole story.

Was she perhaps picked up by the AA/RAC who added some oil in the hope of getting the car going again?

[cris r]

Thanks so much for all your advice and comments. I will pass them all on. Im not sure what is going to happen Apparently I have found out she had some work done on the oil filter three weeks ago so Im sure the lack of oil would have been picked up then. But apparently the car needs a new engine and as the service was not done in the recomended garage she is going to have a problem

[colin6789]

The good wews is that provided the work was carried out at a reputable garage ( VAT registered and better still a member of a trade organisation) and you have a recite the fact it was not the garage you bought the car from or a dealer for it.

The bad news it that most modern cars have a one way valve in the oil filter and this stops oil from running from the pump into the sump when the engine stops. If is is not fitted to a new oil filter it will cause the pump to run dry and no oil will get to the engine

[srmoorehouse]

it could be that an oil way in the cylinder head is blocked and causing an oil starvation to the cam shaft ultimately causing the cam to seize. but it is a very hard question to answer without stripping the engine and having a good look around. hope this helps, good luck