v-6 grenade--gone in 60k - 2003 cadillac CTS V6 engine failure

- hi all, I blew it up!  58k on my caddy v-6, recent oil change, knocking/ rattle on the top end
started, got worse, engine quit on the way to the mechanics. At the tear down he found
melt down, like lack of oil, but that was the firt thing I checked when i got noise, perfectly full and clean. I got no warnings on my info screen of low oil pressure. I am hoping one of you can shed some light on this mystery.

need more info.

model year plus

http://www.cadillacforum.com/m_9792/tm.htm

2003 cadillac CTS  v-6

 still not enough info ...

what melted down?
did it lock up?
did it just quit?
would it crank over?
do you have a oil starvation issue?
do you have a intake manifold issue?
did it spin a bearing?
hydrolock?
is engine torned down already ?  if not, then what?

please .. do read .. it will help US, help YOU:
http://www.cadillacforum.com/m_9792/tm.htm

quote:

ORIGINAL: Stealth

 still not enough info ...

what melted down?
did it lock up?
did it just quit?
would it crank over?
do you have a oil starvation issue?
do you have a intake manifold issue?
did it spin a bearing?
hydrolock?
is engine torned down already ?  if not, then what?

please .. do read .. it will help US, help YOU:
http://www.cadillacforum.com/m_9792/tm.htm

ok, here's what I got. On the way to the mechanic it seized, (would not turn over) before that it just got progressively louder in the upper engine. At tear down he found the cam had siezed, found gear pieces ans alot of blue metal.the car has never had an issue with  the intake manifold or anything else for that matter. It looks like oil starvation from all the discolored metal and cam bearing sieze, but again I had no warning from the computer on the car. QQ- what is hydrolock? ( i did put 2 extra qts of oil in it as a last ditch effort, when the upper end noise got louder) about 10 miles later.. KABOOM!

quote:

ORIGINAL: ducksducks

ok, here's what I got. On the way to the mechanic it seized, (would not turn over) before that it just got progressively louder in the upper engine. At tear down he found the cam had siezed, found gear pieces ans alot of blue metal.the car has never had an issue with  the intake manifold or anything else for that matter. It looks like oil starvation from all the discolored metal and cam bearing sieze, but again I had no warning from the computer on the car. QQ- what is hydrolock? ( i did put 2 extra qts of oil in it as a last ditch effort, when the upper end noise got louder) about 10 miles later.. KABOOM!

hydrolock is when water seeps into the cylinder, in your car usually by way of the intake .. water cannot be
compressed, so the piston hits it and  every stops .. if your lucky, nothing breaks, you pull the plugs, get the
coolant out, fix the leak, change oil and go on.

in 4x4 off-road, hydrolock is common as the engine swallows water through the intake from water at a pond
or stream .. so we are always on the lookout for that.

oil starvation is uncommon on new engines, usually something got into the crankcase that shouldnt have
and clogged a passage .. using contaminated oil, dirty spout, a seal lets go of a chunk .. old engines see it more
as crud builds and a chunk lets go .. kind of like a human  stroke with a chunk of cholesterol blocking a vein.

its too late for you .. but .. the next guy ..
when the engine starts to get clunky and louder, STOP - DO NOT DRIVE IT  ..
one can diagnose that and pull the top off, clean the oil passages if that is the problem .. replace damaged parts.

in the old days we saw engine after engine fail .. MOPAR .. seems someone at the assy line didnt do the job of
torquing the piston rods, the engines would get clunky and noisy .. if the cust came in early, the bottoms were
dropped, new bearings went in and things re-torqued .. if not, they usually came in with a locked up engine, bent crankshaft .. new engine compliments of Dodge.

when suddenly, it dont sound good, it gets worse, one has to stop, ask, check.

The big question here is ..
WHY did the oil stop flowing to that area?

At 60k miles, an engine is barely broken in .. you might have somer recourse .. what is the status of the warranty?
should you get the run-around, lets us know ..we will try to find a factory contact to help you out.
what have you been told ?

well i thank you for your info, I'm kinds feeling out the oil change shop to see if they want to help me out, but there claiming no responsability. i was hoping a member has had this happen to them so I could find out why. It's gonna be expensive, I checked TSP's.. nothing there.
just way lost on this one :(

 
if your mechanice could determine the cause, pinpoint the physical evidence, find the item that plugged the oil passage if that is what happened, you be in a stronger position.

i would think that something had to plug up an oil passage .. it didnt come that way or the failure would
have occurred long before.

true true, thanks again! I will post again when I find out.