GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

ok so hi i am new here. my wife and i have a 03 Blue Vibe GT with about 129K miles. today on the freeway doing about 75 mph we lost power, and then i heard the knocking. got it off the road and in the few minutes of getting off the highway the knocking got MUCH louder. neither of us heard or saw anything prior to the incident. no lights or smells. checked the oil and its full and a little dark brown. what can cause this?? is my engine done for?? how much to fix?? rebuild or replace. any help appreciated

won't hazard a guess why it happened or what went wrong, or how to fix.

About all I can offer is sympathy, a welcome to genvibe, and that perhaps http://www.car-part.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (with engine code LNK) might be a good start to finding an engine at a nearby junkyard

possibly timing belt failure?

2zzge doesn't have a timing belt, its a chain.

Check compression on the cylinders? Usually run 91 octane?

Always run premium. Do you need to run the motor for compression test??

foamy302 wrote:Always run premium. Do you need to run the motor for compression test??

No, just replace spark plug with the tester and crank it to measure the compression.

by how bad the knocking is, cranking it isn't quite something i want to do. which would be more cost effective, replacing or rebuilding??

replace vs rebuild sort of depends on what is wrong with the engine.

If the issue is that your rod bearings are shot, then that is something you can replace (with some dexterity) without pulling the engine, and the bearings aren't that pricey, so it might be wasted money to replace them, but it might be worth the trouble, Can't tell.

Pull the spark plugs and look for physical damage. Maybe pull the valve cover and look for anything obvious. Drain the oil through a fine screen and see if you have any metal bits.

If you decide to replace, a lot of junkyards offer install service, which might be worth it if you don't have the tools/time/patience to swap it yourself

now the fun part. finding a engine that isn't expensive as heck

Used parts hotline:
http://www.partshotlines.com/?phl=searc ... d=36563805" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

OK foamy -- since your thread started with redundant questions to begin with - could you at least let everyone reading your thread know what the bottom line is/was on your engine problem?

Perhaps you were running with no air in the engine lol.

Sounds like a spun bearing and rod knock. Get a new shortblock would be the best option. In all likelyhood your oil pump and crank as well as the bearing are toast.

Well - that's good you were able to get off the road and find a tow.



I had the same thing happen once on a trip, and found out the next day that the car needed a new camshaft plus the other parts for that kind of job. Very frustrating and not much fun - but I learned to keep my oil changed after that experience!




::Dave