Intermittent Knock, 2.4l

[poontiacvibe]

Hi guys, I have a 2009 Vibe, FWD, manual with the 2.4l and the other day I noticed a knock. I checked the oil and the car was bone dry. Did an oil change 4 months ago and I don't drive a ton so I was pretty surprised. Never noticed any smoke out the exhaust, checked my driveway and didn't see any leaks. Must have been burning oil fast enough to deplete in 4 months but so slow that it didn't smoke I guess? Anyway I'm out a car now so I'm just trying to figure out my options. I put some oil in and ran it to try to determine what the issue may be. The knock only happens over maybe 3000 RPM and under load. Definitely not constant. If it just sits and runs it doesn't knock. Is there any way to fix this without a full engine rebuild? Thanks

[tpollauf]

Sorry about your luck. Give us a bit more info on this Vibe. How long have you owned it? What mileage did you put on it the last 4 months? Did your oil "idiot light" come on in the dashboard to alert you of a low oil condition? When you first noticed the knocking, did you shut the car off immediately so no further damage was done? Quiet at idle (no load) would be somewhat normal even with serious internal bearing damage. When under a heavy load (acceleration) the stresses put on the connecting rods & main bearings will be more noticeable. If you drive like a granny, and have limited short runs, you may be able to get some "bonus" driving time out of this engine before it gets any worse and eventually fails. A manual pressure gauge hooked up to the engine would be a plus to see what your "actual" true oil pressure is. Also what climate is this vibe being driven in (update your profile for us). So much more info needed to better help you out BUT you likely are looking at an engine rebuild OR replacement sometime soon. If this Vibe is real clean and low mileage, then it would be worth putting in the necessary $$$ to keep it on the road.

[joatmon]

Welcome to genvibe, and sorry to hear about the troubles

Obviously can't tell from here

I don't know about the on the 2.4L, but on the first gen 1ZZ engine, its possible to change the rod bearings without pulling the engine, just have to drop the pan, to get to them. Have to be careful of two critical things

- whatever you elevate the car with to gain access must be completely secure, or you could die
- when you remove the rod end caps, do not let the piston fall out of the cylinder or you will curse life trying to get it back in.

running a dry engine without oil can cause damage to many components, rod bearings are just one of them, but a potential cause if the knock you hear under load is the piston hitting the cylinder head.

Did you do the oil change, or did you have it done by someone else?

If you decide the risk of damage and the source of the oil loss are not worth the risk of small fixes and decide to go for a new engine, https://car-part.com/ lets you search junkyards for a replacement engine. Around me, there are a number going for ~1400, which is money you don't want to have to spend, but reasonable compared to the cost of buying a different used car. Some yards will do the install for you. Get one that comes with some warranty, maybe only 90 days is all you can get but it guards against buying one that is DOA