S60 2001 Dead after Oil Trap replacement

[Cablewriter]

First, I'm new so I may be in the wrong sub group altogether, so if I am, please forgive me and point me to the right place.

I have a 2001 S60 5.4T. It's been a great car that has hit 216,000 miles. It was my primary travel car for Texas and business since it averages 27.5 miles to the gallon.

I noticed an oil leak, pretty good size, and found out that the oil trap had never been changed. I ordered one (the entire kit) and went to a oil place where a mechanic works on imports all the time. He put the oil trap in and replaced a few plastic hoses that simply were worn.

I got the car back and drove about two-three miles and it died. I was left sitting on the side of the road. The dash had indicated "Immobilizer". The guy from the shop came out and did the lock-unlock thing with the locks and the car started. I thanked him and drove off.

The car started almost immediately having a decrease of power. I could not go over 15-20 mph at best. I was headed back to his shop when it completely died. I had it towed in where he spent a week working on it and trying to figure out what was wrong.

The end result, he said he could not start it (it just turns and turns as if it has no fuel-it does), he said he could not figure it out and could not get compression on the motor (how he checked this on a non-running car I don't know). He recommended that I take it to a dealer or another mechanic and have it looked at.

Needless to say it's sitting out front doing nothing. The nearest dealer is about 80 miles away which means I will have to tow by renting a car carrier. I'm simply afraid the dealer is going to charge me a huge amount on a car that really is worth about $3000 running (it has other minor issues by the way-a ding here and there, sunroof makes loud noises when opening and closing and the leather in the front is worn through) - and actually the car is likely only worth $1500 at best right now not running.

I guess my question is simple, am I overlooking something on this car-maybe a reset or some other possible issue? My options are clear - spend somewhere around $500-600 to tow and have inspected with no idea what the repair estimate might be, or sell for $1000 and find a new one. I was just hoping someone might have an idea on this forum.

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

Moved to I hoe the correct section - this is not an LPG fuelled car?

Zero compression is possible if you have hydraulic valve lifters and you have no oil where you need it. Cure for this it to turn the engine and keep doing so until you get her firing.

Des. . .

[Cablewriter]

First, thank you for moving this to the right section. Like I indicated I'm new and was fairly sure I was at the wrong place.

I have tried to start this car a lot. I mean to the point that the battery is dead. It is a 2.4T 5 valve gas engine. It has sat for a month now. I will do some charging on the battery and try again to get it to start. It did just seem to lose all power like I said to the point where it had to be towed.

It's a great car, but I'm no fool on value and repair. If I take it to a dealer, I'll easily spend $500-$600 in fuel, car tow rental (Uhaul), time, etc. The dealership can put it on the computer and give a complete once over for $115, which is not bad at all, and is part of my $500-600 figure, but I'm afraid that once they return their verdict, I'm going to find the car simply isn't worth repair on my part with a dealer.

Anyway, I will put it on the charger, do some more tinkering and try to start it and see if I can get it to fire up. Thank you for the guidance on placement for this thread and the information. I'll keep checking back to see if others have some pointers as well. Thanks again

[reggit]

Have you tried some easystart type stuff into the air tract, if the engine/ignition is good it should fire on this, if it does you are looking at a fuel issue.

The immobiliser issue suggests that the reader coil in the steering column shroud isn't reading the transponder in the key - this will shut the ignition down (i think)

[savabill]

I know you said the car had fuel, but how much in the tank?

[Cablewriter]

I have not tried any sort of easy start stuff in the air intakes. I will try put this on the list. The car does the usual turn of they key and makes like it is going to start, it simply does not.

It's got about 3/4 of a tank full.

The key is old and someone suggested going to the dealer and getting a new key and key lock put in connecting to the Immobilizer, but that only popped into the computer screen once. With this car, sadly, there is all sorts of stuff that pops into the computer screen from time-to-time.