i guys, I am desperate here, my beloved 2.0 Petrol 2003, 103k miles is dead, no oil in engine!

I took the car to a garage in Newcastle just 3 days ago to change oil with fully synthetic.

However, they don't accept responsibility and claim it's a coincidence and it is just the oil pump that failed!

The car did never make any strange noises, just the light came on suddenly, I pulled over in under 2 minutes and then the car would not start.

The garage also claims "it's a common fault", is it true? I searched the internet up and down and could not find it as a common fault at all, on the 2.0 petrol engine.

Any advice? If the oil pump fails, would the oil be pushed out of the engine? Why would that be? Shouldn't the oil still be in there?

 

The oil wont disappear. If the pump fails or blocks up the oil will stay in the sump.

Where in the world are you?

Do you have a motor industry organisation to seek advice from?

 

bg17aw:
I agree with grim reaper. These guys need to take responsibility and a letter by a lawyer just might get them in line. Here in the US it would be small claims court. I don't know who would handle this in the UK.
Don't let them bull**** you!

 

I am from the UK. So they lied at least twice:

1.Saying it's a common fault
2.Saying it's normal for the oil to disappear.

Am I right?

 

yes. It is not a common fault. It was their fault.
Oil does not disappear. They for got to put the new oil in or they put the drain plug in after they filled the new oil in. This could happen if two guys work on it and they miscommunicate. And that is the onl way oil could 'disappear".

How can you tell when they are lying? -When their lips move.

Oil can burn off at a rate of 1L on 1000km. That is with an engine at the end of its life cycle. Todays engines, including the one you have can easily go 250 000 miles with proper oil changes. And you know exactly what happens if an oil change goes wrong.

Look if they even changed the filter.

 

Don't know how much oil the dipstick can read. There still may be some oil there.
Have you ever changed the PCV valve? (Mazda won't unless you tell them).
In an engine with over 100,000 miles, it is probably worn. Fully synthetic oil flows easier than regular oil and would seep through your worn piston rings, cylinder walls easier, this combined with a bad PCV valve would blow oil through PCV Valve as well and getting in to your intake and therefore burning oil (losing oil).
What engine oil does your engine require? ie: 5W20 ? When putting synthetic in a worn engine i would put in 5W30 or 10W30 synthetic or at least a mixture of 1/2 5W20 and 1/2 10W30 synthetic.
To have the oil gone in 3 days is a little extreme. Does your engine have any leaks as well? Maybe they didn't fill it with oil, many quick change places are required to show you dipstick when it's done.

Have you tried adding oil and restarting it?

 

Noggin makes good points. Still, even a malfunctioning PCV valve should not allow the oil to disappear. You would find oil in the intake plenum.

Before you do anything you should collect as much evidence as possible.

For example; dates, odometer readings, receipts etc.

Then talk to another shop and maybe a lawyer. hopefully the shop is willing to be a witness in court. Drain the remainder of oil from the sump into a clean glass container, take a video of the action, date, label, Have it signed by the mechanic. You could have it analyzed to determine how old it is and what contaminants it contains.

Again I would not try to revive the engine if you want to sue them for damages.

 

Thank you guys.

PVC valve: is this a problem for 2.0l engines? I did put fully synthetic oil in, but still can't believe the PVC would leak so much in a few days.

They took their time, it took them 1 hour to do the change. They returned to me the oil can with less then 1l in it, so I don't think they forgot to put oil in. Actually, I found the oil on my driveway, so it was oil inside. Very very clean oil.

Unfortunately, they already filled it up with oil, with the same filter in place. They started the engine, but it rattles.

Today I went to them and they changed the story, they said they are not sure it is the oil pump, but maybe is the "low end rattle" problem that is common on Mazda's ???? Really? Do you guys know anything about that one?

They said they cannot know what happened unless they would strip down the engine !

I have one big argument though:

Is it oil under the car now? NO. Then it is obvious the oil went out the first time because of something you did.
-No, because you did not drive the car now.
-So what?
-Well if you drive the car, the oil will come out.
-Come out through where?
-Through "the seals".
-What seals? The head gasket? It is clean clean clean.
-Well, the seals, any seal in the engine.

Any comments on this little piece of dialogue?

 

Call an attorney

 

The PCV valve is a generalized thing, i have no clue about your particular engine. It's not on Mazda's service schedule at all to check or change on any other vehicle i have seen as per attached pic as it is usually hard to change. Search for service schedule for your vehicle, engine or phone Mazda. In the old days these were changed yearly.

If you found oil on your driveway then you have a leak. You'll have to get under the car and try to see where it came from, open the hood. It could come from rocker covers to oil pan seal or anywhere. You need a second opinion from another shop to diagnose your leak and your noise. It is possible it is a bad engine connecting rod which connects your crankshaft to your piston which goes up and down in each cylinder.

It is also possible that if your catalytic converter failed and pressure built up, you could have had little bits from catalytic re-enter your engine thru the EGR port causing engine damage like you are experiencing.

Again a second opinion is required to get these things looked at.

You may have to also remove your oil pan for further investigation and to inspect the oil pan for bits and to get your oil tested by a lab.