Car quit after a bang; any ideas?

[GTSnake]

I was coming home tonight and as I was just out side of my sub I heard a loud clank and then some grinding from underneath. It sounded like an exhaust pipe snapped but the exhaust is intact. The car ran for about 3 seconds then quit. As I cranked the starter it seemed like there was something dragging on the starter. It was like something was holding it back and wouldn't start. After cranking for a few seconds it would sputter a little but never catch. The voltage shows 12V, I have a 1/4 tank of gas and I can hear the fuel pump spinning. Although the fuel pressure gauge shows only 40psi where normally it's at 58 psi. I added another 1/2 gallon of gas just to be sure and it still does not start.

As I sat there thinking waiting for the tow truck I ran the possibilities through my head. Could it be electrical? The voltage seems fine. The starter cranks ok but labored. Fuel seems to be enough. Somehow it's got to be related to the big clank. Maybe it's the clutch or throw out bearing? But why would the engine not start if it's the clutch? Unless the clutch is semi engaged somehow and dragging on it.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[viper spray]

Look under your car and look under your hood.................

 

[SylvanSRT]

threw a rod?

 

[plumcrazy]

didnt you just do some engine work recently ? what was it ?
any oil on the floor ?

 

[GTSnake]

Look under your car and look under your hood.................

Did that last night. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. I'm going to pull the belly pan today. No oil leaks or loose parts.

If I threw a rod wouldn't it be more of a clink/clank sound in the engine? I heard more of a grinding rubbing sound around the middle of the car. I'm thinking something to do with the clutch breaking loose then sheared off some sensor that killed the engine.

I wasn't even under hard throttle. I was slowing to a stop light with the engine barely reving 2,500rpm.

 

[plumcrazy]

a rod bent pretty bad in my engine recently at less than 4500rpms. it sounded like a bang followed by what sounded like valvetrain noise. but kept running.

 

[CROM]

I dont think you are experiencing the same problem I was, but you are describing the same sounds that came from my car.

I first heard a loud BANG, like a large rock hit the undercarriage then broke apart making a clank clank sound. Then I heard a loud rasping; BRAAAAANG BRAAAANG, sounding like something metal rubbing against a piece of thin sheet metal which is exactly what it was. My transmission alignment dowel fell into the bell housing and was rubbing against the flywheel cover and the flywheel.

Can't hurt to check that out. Take off your fly wheel cover and see if anything is out of the ordinary. I didnt stall out or anything, but if that or something else is jamming against the flywheel enough it "could" give you that kind of trouble.

 

[androbud]

Totally different car, but it sounds similar to when my flywheel just mysteriously cracked one day in my Tracer. It didn't completely come apart, and it still ran, but I would hear a clattering sound when the car wasn't in gear.

 

[FE 065]

Well, I've no real idea, but if ain't starting/running it sure sounds like something internal to the engine. Let's hope it's something really simple and cheap.

 

[GR8_ASP]

I am going to take a wild ass guess and say that you have a accessory drive pulley that seized. The scraping was the bearing seizing. The bang was the a/f ratio being extremely rich due to limited air passing by a stalled Roe supercharger. The lack of starting was due to a low battery.

Any prize Tom???

 

[viper spray]

Check your flywheel and the bolts.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Pull the clutch inspection cover and oil pan, look for the obvious. ONLY TURN THE ENGINE OVER BY HAND!!! Pull the belt off the blower and turn it by hand, see if any of the accessories feel funny.

It sounds like it will be external of the engine, as an internal issue should have been MUCH more of a show, and likely wouldnt even crank over. I dont know what kind of blower you have, but the first thing that popped into my head was a paxton blower where the impeller came loose and siezed into the housing. I suppose it could happen to a Roe too if the screws ate something big enough. A blower is the only accessory I can see seizing enough to keep an engine from starting, short of a PS pump, which you would have noticed when you lost it.

Other things crossed my mind; Flywheel (but it should still run a little, or not crank at all if it actually came all the way off), Rod (cant see this happening without having parts of the block laying on the ground... and certainly wouldnt crank if it didnt toss the parts out) Timing Chain (would have been much more of a show in most cases... wouldnt crank.

You should be able to figure this out easily, big issues are always easier to track down.

 

[GR8_ASP]

Dan, I stopped at Tom's last night and helped him diagnose it. As I stated above some accessory, possibly the SC itself, seized. All of the symptoms match that given a positive displacement blower was no longer turning.

Tom was not able to remove the belt at the time so we could not confirm which accessory seized. No clear signs of heating. Belt slippage was on the crank pulley. He was already planning on some pulley updates. The biggest worry is that it is the SC itself.

Ron

 

[GTSnake]

Thanks for giving me a hand Ron. If it was the blower hopefully no pieces got into the cylinders. But my money and I'm hoping that it's either a water pump or or A/C compressor.

Either way at least it's narrowed down to the front of the engine and so far nothing inside the engine.

Thanks for everybodys input.

 

[99 R/T 10]

If it was the S\C, I think Sean can rebuild them for about $600, but call him to be sure.

 

[Hisserman]

Bummer, Tom

I know how much you were looking forward to dyno day. I hope it turns out to be something minor. We talked to Andy and he will treat you well for some dyno pulls after you get it sorted out. Hang in there and let us know if we can help.

Bruce

 

[GR8_ASP]

Thanks for giving me a hand Ron. If it was the blower hopefully no pieces got into the cylinders. But my money and I'm hoping that it's either a water pump or or A/C compressor.

Either way at least it's narrowed down to the front of the engine and so far nothing inside the engine.

Thanks for everybodys input.

I seriously doubt that anything from the SC got inside. If the drive seized the rotors would be unaffected. Not enough inertia there to cause a big force. Have you taken off the belt to just find out which pulley is seized. Easy job (same as tensioning but relaxing the tension completely).

 

[Purdue_Boiler_Viper]

Keep us posted. I'll be interested to know which bearing seized.

 

[GTSnake]

Well, I figured it out. It was the worst possible component. It's the Blower. The thing has only got like 10k miles on it! It pretty much ***** that it cost $6500 and dies after 10k miles.

I know it's an aftermarket part but who would have thought after only 10k miles it seizes.

 

[Casey]

Good luck Tom!
Hope you get her back up soon!

 

[AZTVR]

Well, I figured it out. It was the worst possible component. It's the Blower. The thing has only got like 10k miles on it! It pretty much ***** that it cost $6500 and dies after 10k miles.

I work in a manufacturing environment that builds pretty high priced stuff. Cost is not necessarily relevant. If they used name brand bearings, then, you may have just been a victim of a random assembly defect. Stuff happens !

 

[FE 065]

What exactly malfunctioned in the blower? Did one of the rotors break, or?

 

[GTSnake]

What exactly malfunctioned in the blower? Did one of the rotors break, or?

Don't know. It just seized. Most likely a rotor.

 

[GTSnake]

I work in a manufacturing environment that builds pretty high priced stuff. Cost is not necessarily relevant. If they used name brand bearings, then, you may have just been a victim of a random assembly defect. Stuff happens !

That's true. Nothing is 100% reliable. However there are things one can do to improve the mean time to failure. I would suspect that bearings should be rated at a much higher life than 8-10k miles.

 

[GR8_ASP]

Tom, you need to find out what failed and why. It could be the bearing support, which could be excessive belt tension or lack of lubrication. Or the drive gears which would be design/lubrication only. Either way I hope it is only in the drive unit, which stated above is about 10% of a complete supercharger.

 

[GTSnake]

I"m just going to take it off and send it to Roe. I don't want to take it apart.

 

[Purdue_Boiler_Viper]

I just checked the oil in mine. A little low, and only 200 miles since the install. Any chance the oil was low?

 

[Martin]

I mentioned in another post that the oil system in these is notorious for leaking oil. I have to check mine weekly to make sure the level is up. I've escaped certain disaster a few times just because I checked the level even when I didn't think I needed to. The good thing is that the nose section and bearings are easy to replace.

 

[Casey]

Might be time for a couple Turbos!

 

[GR8_ASP]

When you buy the unit from Roe is there an indication of the need to check the oil level? If not and this is a recognized issue than I think something should be communicated to owners that have one.

Can anyone help Tom out with what needs to be done to verify if it is the bearing and how to purchase parts and get it fixed? If it is straightforward that seems to be a better answer than sending the whole unit to Florida for vacation.