I fear my motor is FRIED
 

Anyone plz help if you can. I have a 2000 Blazer w/4.3 V6
Had it for 6 months with absolutely no problems. This morning I went to McDonalds for some coffee. Its only a mile away. I had no problems, it started right up. a few hours later my girlfriend needed to use it. She came in screaming that the vehicle was really loud and sounded bad. I checked the oil and it was bone dry. I dont see a leak anywhere. I have never got an oil light come on or a service engine light come on. I put 5 quarts of oil in it. Now it is turning over but it will not start. While turning over there is that sound a motor makes when it not lubed up. But its not a metal to metal sound.

Its getting spark at the coil and each of the plugs.
It has gas in it.
I just want to hear it run so I can decide whether the motor is fried.

is there some kind of switch to reset?

Anyone plz help if you can.

RE: I fear my motor is FRIED
 

Sorry, There is no MIRACLE SWITCH that reset's the engine.... Did you ever check the oil in it during the six months that you owned it???
A broken oil cooler line will empty your engine of all oil in 1 to 2 minutes depending on how fast you are driving the truck.... then you will only have (minutes) of driving left on it before your engine becomes TRASH...
Also, you had no signs of oil leaking anywhere? Something's not right here, unless you recently had your oil changed somewhere, and they forgot to ad oil to it, Still, you would not have gone very far on no oil in the engine.

If you had to put 5qts of oil in the engine, I would guess that your engine is trashed...

RE: I fear my motor is FRIED
 

jaydogg, you had to add five quarts of oil before the dipstick showed it was in the operating range?

i wasn't going to post this, but i guess i'll bite: the dipstick should at most indicate two quarts low. if he checked it and it was "bone dry" and he added 5 quarts, theoretically he could have around eight quarts of oil in the engine.

RE: I fear my motor is FRIED
 

I put 3 quarts in and it appears as though it was a bit too much. Since there was nothing on the dipstick I assumed it was bone dry. So I put 3 quarts in and then checked it. Now its about a quart too much. There is no oil around the drain plug or the cooler lines. I changed my own oil about a month 1/2 ago and there were no problems. Could the oil pump have went out? its just weird that a trip to mc'donalds goes fine and a couple hours later the engine is trashed. Now that I put 3 quarts in and there is about 2 quarts to much then i'll assume that there was enough oil in the truck to begin with. It does turn over really rough though. I will just have to take it in to the local GM dealership and pay out the ass to get it fixed or to get the bad news of a trashed motor.


About how much are the 4.3 motors going for these days?
are they hard to come by in salvage?
what years would fit my 2000 LT?

Thanks a bunch so far guys.

RE: I fear my motor is FRIED
 

drain the extra oil and it might turn over easier.

RE: I fear my motor is FRIED
 

I am thinking the same thing. You have too much oil in it and the oil is causing problems with the engine while turning over.

Your truck has an a way of telling how much oil it has in it. It is part of the fuel pump curcuit, called the Oil Pressure Sending Unit. It is designed to kill power to the fule pump should the engine get too low on oil. I have never tested to see if mine works, and it could very well do the same if you have too much oil. Having too much oil is just as bad as not having enough.

Strange noises is not a good sign though. Might not even be related to oil. Could be your starter. Have your girlfriend turn the engine over and listen the the passenger side on the ground. See if that is where the noise is coming from.

RE: I fear my motor is FRIED
 

Well, I sent the truck to the dealership and it turned out it was the fuel pump. Thats what he says is the problem. The fact that I noticed the truck was low on oil was just a coincidense he says. So, i'm off to change the fuel pump. I'm clinging to the fact that adding 3 quarts of oil was too much and my motor is not fried. It did turn over so it is not seized. Now my only concern is; Is the fuel pump really bad? I never trust dealerships. I hate to say it but I have been burned in the past. Could it be simply the relay? or oil sending unit that Hanr3 spoke about. Sure, if I pay $972.23 for a new fuel pump to be put on i'll prolly be on the road. But who is to say what was really fixed? I asked them to save me the bad fuel pump if I were to get the work done there and he said NO. There was an exchange that needed to be made.

Well, I found a mechanic that would drop the tank and replace the pump for $320.00 including the pump which I found for $213.00 or $330.00 for the bosch with Lifetime warranty. That beats the $597.00 they wanted at the dealership for the pump. My fingers are still crossed.


Thanks a bunch guys. I'll post again when I change the fuel pump.

-Jaydog