What does it mean when you have a vehicle with over 160,000 miles on it and the technician at the lubrication and oil change place says “sir, there is no oil on the dipstick”. There are only two things I can think of, one of them is you have an engine oil leak. The other answer is not so thrilling. You probably have a worn out engine and the oil is going out of your tailpipe.
A good place to start is to make an appointment with your mechanic or the repair shop you deal with. Make sure you explain the problem on the phone. Have the vehicle checked out from bumper to bumper as if you were going to buy this car. Make sure it is not a leak before you lose your mind. It may turn out to be very simple and inexpensive if it is a leak only.
If it is not a leak and it is actually the engine burning the oil, the second thing to ask your mechanic is to make sure the vehicle is in good working condition otherwise, so you don’t end up replacing the engine with one of the three choices available to you and then have a transmission failure next because the car has over 160,000 miles on it. If the vehicle is in super good condition it may be worth fixing and updating the vehicle and driving it another 100,000 miles. It sure costs less than a new car, as in spending a few thousand dollars on a used engine and used transmission is much cheaper and economically responsible than spending $20,000 or more for a new car. Even if you borrow the money, it costs less.
After a good examination, using a checklist, you are in a good spot to talk about alternatives to your mechanic. If it is agreed upon that the vehicle is worth fixing than lets briefly outline our choices.
A. Used Engines
B. Reconditioned, remanufactured engine, rebuilt or second hand engine
Choices A. B. and C. apply to transmissions as well if you need to replace that at the same time.
Make a list first and talk with your mechanic about the repairs that are in your best interest.
Most reputable engine and or transmission shops automatically call GotEngines.com because their products are thoroughly tested and certified before you get them. I was messing around in my garage yesterday and Brian called me, Brian is the founder and owner of GotEngines.com and has a great ear for listening to people. We discussed very seriously the fact that in almost every engine failure cases, the radiator is worn out. The question was, ’should we include a radiator with every engine that leaves here or should we make them readily available to our customers at a very affordable price’?
I don’t think you can force a radiator on anyone, you can explain the value of a fresh cooling system. I suggested to Brian that I thought it was a great idea to recommend one to your customers and explain why. And perhaps stock them or have a hi-quality source available to your customers. Obviously when you change a radiator, more than likely the belts and hoses will need replacing too. And that is why a quality mechanic or repair shop can outperform the average repair shop or most backyard mechanics. The GotEngines.com Blog is your automotive engine information source. Enjoy it and take care of your car.
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