Engine: D52447: Now here's a question...

[NMB]

So,

On holiday we bumped up an 8" grass bank (to let another car pass) and unbeknown to me there was a hole in the bank and rock beside the hole in the long grass...

Long story short, the car sump smashed down on this pointy rock and the engine oil poured out. The car was moving at less than 5mph as i bumped up the bank. The engine was revved to 2,500 (ish) revvs before i realised the car was "stuck" so i got out and looked under the car to see oil spilling out. I then quickly turned the car off and the car has been recovered.

So here is the question.

Is the engine repairable with a new sump/oil filter/cooler that sits on the back of the engine which is what i assume is what has been damaged?

Or

Is the engine just dead as the likely event is oil starvation of bearings and seals that will lead to engine falure?

Thoughts?

For info oil continued to come out at a lower speed once the engine was shut off and i do not remember seeing any warning lights when i killed the engine with the key.

[XJSDriver]

Sorry to hear this - if you did not see any warning lights then there is a good chance the engine is OK. I guess the only way to be sure is to replace the sump and see what happens when you start the engine. Worse case is big end bearings shot which in some cars can be replaced in situ - I had this done on an old BMW so there is hope; not sure if this is the case for an XC90 though but your bearings may be ok from what you have observed.

[Tannaton]

Your engine will be fine.... even if sufficient oil was lost to cause oil pressure to fall away, the forces exerted on the bearing surfaces on an unloaded engine, even at 2,500 rpm, are a fraction of that at full throttle and higher rpm, and engines can tolerate brief periods of low/no oil pressure.

You would need to have been driving for maybe 30 seconds to a minute or more with no oil before permanent damage starts to be done.

Don't try this at home....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUE5fcdBf9Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfipRXooCTM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx6sRCelBss

[NMB]

Well let’s hope that no damage has been done and our car is repaired.

Of course, the whole weight of the car was on the engine at that point so they could be other damage around the DPF/flex joint on the cat, engine mounts/driveshaft ATC so we will see.

I’ll let everyone know!

[SwissXC90]

Originally Posted by NMB

Well let’s hope that no damage has been done and our car is repaired.

Of course, the whole weight of the car was on the engine at that point so they could be other damage around the DPF/flex joint on the cat, engine mounts/driveshaft ATC so we will see.

I’ll let everyone know!

Impossible to have whole weight on the impact point. You would have had some wheels on the ground. In normal driving there is around 500kg per wheel. You would not have had the full 2tonnes plus on the sump.

But regardless of weight, I hope a new sump etc fixes it for you and there is no greater damage.

[NMB]

Insurers have written the car off as uneconomical to repair - they say they would need to fit a new engine, undercover and subframe.

I'm looking at the salvage option as we speak.

[XJSDriver]

Definitely go for the salvage option - the sooner we all become greener and preserve stuff rather than throw away the better. These are great cars and if it was in reasonable fettle before the incident I would say definitely worth fixing it - even if you then sell it on, you have done the environment a favour!

[Harley Dave]

Agree 100%

If you can find out if anyone has tried to drive it in the interim, so much the better.

I bought the salvage of a previously owned Harley, only to find it had been started up with the crank/cams/valves out of sync and was trashed.

Expensive lesson that was.

Cheers

Dave

[Bashy]

Originally Posted by XJSDriver

Definitely go for the salvage option - the sooner we all become greener and preserve stuff rather than throw away the better. These are great cars and if it was in reasonable fettle before the incident I would say definitely worth fixing it - even if you then sell it on, you have done the environment a favour!

Isnt that what scrapyard have been doing for years though, not so sure you can get much greener than a scrappy, most things get reused.....

[NMB]

Originally Posted by Harley Dave

Agree 100%

If you can find out if anyone has tried to drive it in the interim, so much the better.

I bought the salvage of a previously owned Harley, only to find it had been started up with the crank/cams/valves out of sync and was trashed.

Expensive lesson that was.

Cheers

Dave

I was worried about an idiot starting the car with no oil so i put a sign over the dash display statingf the car had no oil and I also disconnected the battery so it could not accidentially be started.

If I can I will buy the salvage but it depends on the cost.

I'll update as im sure a new sump and gaskets with some oil may resolve the problem as it ran for less than a minute with oil pouring out - in any case, a 2nd hand engine with 100k miles will cost £600 or there abouts so i could swap the engine out if needed - OR i could attempt to rebuild it myself as a project!!!

I'll let you all know!