interesting problem - could use some help....

[Qx4X4]

I've done some searching on the forums and haven't really found anything that applies... any help or guidance in the right direction would be really appreciated!got a 03 Qx4... the oil pressure light came on while driving and the engine cut out. had it towed and the dealer started it up heard the engine noise and said it needs a new engine. wanted a second opinion so took it back from dealer....

i let it sit overnight and in the morning checked it and found oil was 2 quarts low. filled it up and it started right up.

ran great - no codes, no oil light, no warning lights, no noise - like nothing happened. took it for a test drive - it gets four blocks away and stalls in the middle of an intersection! started right back up... noisey as hell but doesn't stall. again no codes, no warning lights.

not sure which direction to go in here - am i looking at a new engine or is it posible that maybe its an oil pump? not sure what common failures are on these engines.... but i don't want to do a new engine unless i know that is what it is.

there is some evidence of metal shavings in oil. but i don't understand why it would be running great after sitting overnight...

help!? thanks!

[SteveTheTech]

Hey there and Welcome to NICO!

Sounds like you have a bit of a problem there. If there are metal shavings in the oil you are pretty much done unless you have the motor rebuilt. You most likely have significant bearing failure.

So a few questions are you leaking oil?

What type of oil are you using?

At what intervals are you changing it?

[Qx4X4]

regular oil changes.... whatever the dealer recommends. leaking a little bit of oil from what i believe is the oil cooler... but not much.

what would cause it to suddenly stall and than have such a major knock when it was running fine up to that point. and no CEL? just seems odd....

[SteveTheTech]

I don't know. I am not knocking the other dealer but you may want to have someone else take a look at it.

When it comes to motor repairs it is usually cheaper to replace the whole thing than to pay the r&i labor and parts which usually works out to be a significant amount more.

Metal shaving are just never good, maybe your oil strainer got clogged temporarily and letting it sit over night allowed the crap to fall out and sink. In any case it's not good. They may want to pull the lower oil pan and see whats inside. If you are willing to pay them like an hour or so they should be willing to give you a thorough examination of the motor, checking the compression may cost more as all the plugs have to come out.

[TJcars2]

It sounds a bit like mine before it died. It was the oil pump. I did similar things to your motor except it was the 3.3. If your pressure light comes on or flickers while you're driving, shut off the car and have it towed to a shop and have them take a look at the oil pump. Just my opinion on what to do about it but it sounds like the oil pump.

[Buzzman]

Could it be the old power valve screws coming loose problem we've heard so much about?

[SteveTheTech]

It could be but that's highly unlikely in this case.