Lost a rod bearing

[JPaul]

So today I was driving down to St George UT from Salt Lake and about halfway I started getting a knocking sound. Drove a little ways thinking maybe it was something loose on my skids, but eventually decided it was rod knock.

Hours and hours later after trying to see if I could get someone with a trailer to help me get it back home, but eventually swallowing the cost for a tow ($290) halfway back home (dropped it at a dealer in Spanish Fork), I'm finally home, but the engine is clearly in a really bad state. I changed the oil last Thanksgiving, I didn't think I put that many miles on it, and the change oil light notice hadn't come on yet, and I had actually reset it well before I changed it in November. But when I checked the dipstick after finally getting a low oil pressure warning, it wasn't even registering.

I realize all engines burn some oil, but I was shocked that even after adding another quart I had on hand it still wasn't registering on the dipstick on level ground. The engine only has 86,000 miles on it, I don't think it should be burning THAT much oil!! Plus I have never lost a rod bearing before, and I've been worse at keeping up my oil changes on previous cars for more miles without any ill effects.

Is burning a ton of oil normal on the 3.7's? I figure I only put about 6,000 miles or so on it from the last oil change. I know when I changed my oil in November it didn't seem like it was super low, and I would have put about the same amount of miles on it from when I bought it at the end of May last year to November last year. I'm thinking that this issue has been a while in the making and it finally gave out.

I'm hoping the warranty will cover it, though I could see them denying the claim if they think I wasn't changing the oil properly, since it's probably just going to be a whole new engine, I doubt they'd pay to have a shop rebuild it.

If they do cover it, then great, I'll pay my $100 deductible and move on. If they don't, well then it's under consideration that since I have to redo the engine anyway, I might as well swap in a V8, even though I know that'd cost more than just rebuilding or even replacing the I5. I'm only a year down on a 7 year loan, so selling it is not an option. I've been watching humvee's swap thread, but it seems like his process is far more involved and expensive than it would need to be for us here in the USA. My H3 is a 2008. Thoughts?

 

[alrock]

My H3 "uses" oil I think primarily in high rev situations, including Off Road. I'm not sure if it's burning, blow-by or both. I can easily go through a quart in Moab and I tend to go through 1.5 quarts every 4000 miles. I do have 162,000 miles.

But even with lower miles and several years ago I would go through oil Off Road, especially in situations like climbing mountain passes while in 4 low.

 

[4speedfunk]

I tend to agree about the repair....junk the 5-cyl. Given the replacement cost vs. a V8 (or Cummins 4b) swap, it's sort of a no-brainier. However....my opinion is based on my own labor. Not sure I could afford either swap if I had to pay someone to do it.

 

[4speedfunk]

P.s. Sounds a lot like Squeaky's bottom-end failure a few years ago.

 

[amrg]

My oil changes (synthetic) are every 7K miles. On my last oil change (98K) the oil level was fine and It didn't show that I was low.
The change oil msg did come up which is why I went and replaced it.

 

[JPaul]

I tend to agree about the repair....junk the 5-cyl. Given the replacement cost vs. a V8 (or Cummins 4b) swap, it's sort of a no-brainier. However....my opinion is based on my own labor. Not sure I could afford either swap if I had to pay someone to do it.

I'd do the swap myself, I have done engine rebuilds before and did a swap with my Neon a few years ago (put 2.4 in to replace the 2.0, needed a fair bit of modification to make it work, but others had done it before so I had a pretty good write up to follow on their forum). I actually just recently picked up an engine hoist and stand a couple months ago, it'd been several years since I last had my own.

All I'd have to pay for are the parts themselves, for the most part anyway. One thing I'm curious about is the transmission, would it be cheaper to just source a V8 version (I've seen reman for around $650 locally with warranty) or convert my current one to work with the V8?

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[JPaul]

My oil changes (synthetic) are every 7K miles. On my last oil change (98K) the oil level was fine and It didn't show that I was low.
The change oil msg did come up which is why I went and replaced it.

If that's the case (which given its a newer engine than my 1998 neon I had that from the factory burned oil like it was a drug) then I'm thinking this was a problem a while in the making. Just seems strange to be more than a quart low after 6k miles or so on a newer design engine.

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[JPaul]

P.s. Sounds a lot like Squeaky's bottom-end failure a few years ago.

I remember seeing that thread last year I think, was there any oddities he found with it failing? Or do you have a link to the thread?

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[SedonaBound]

Did you inspect the oil filter? Was it a good brand or a no-name? Cheap filters have been known to fail internally and plug oil galleries with filter media plugs.

 

[JPaul]

Did you inspect the oil filter? Was it a good brand or a no-name? Cheap filters have been known to fail internally and plug oil galleries with filter media plugs.

Pretty sure it was a Bosch filter, the 15,000 mile one or whatever their nicest one is. I haven't bought a cheap filter in forever.

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[JPaul]

The oil was Mobil high mileage synthetic

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[SedonaBound]

Pretty sure it was a Bosch filter, the 15,000 mile one or whatever their nicest one is. I haven't bought a cheap filter in forever.

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Smart. I've known guys who buy $10/qt syn oil with a no-name filter to save a few $ per year. I use only filters made by industrial filter mfrs like Wix or Baldwin. I hope the shop can determine why the rod failed.

 

[4speedfunk]

Fram Fram Fram

 

[JPaul]

My concern is that I don't like the risk of having them pull the engine, pull it apart, and then have the warranty deny it and leave me with the bill for the labor of pulling it all apart. I called the dealer I brought it to and talked to the service guy there, but he was busy with other customers and couldn't give me a very straight answer. He said he'll call me back when he has more time to talk about it with me. The warranty company is closed on the weekends apparently so I wont be able to talk to them until Monday about how it would all work, since it sounds like they'd need to send someone out to inspect it before they could approve the claim.

I just don't want to be stuck with even more costs on this if I end up having to fix it myself. Secretly I would like to just use this opportunity to swap in a V8, but it'd be financially wiser to have the warranty repair/replace the engine if I can get then to.

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[SedonaBound]

Get the warranty out and read all the fine print. Make notes on the sections that apply so you can refer to them if necessary. If you bought it through the dealer, that's a plus. Got oil receipts? I don't think they can exclude you for low oil if there was no CE or Low Oil Pressure light logged.

 

[JPaul]

I only changed the oil once, and I never keep receipts (never needed them before, but I think now I will start being better at it...). But yeah, I had absolutely no indication there was a problem. Even when it started knocking, there was no other indication of a problem, which is why I initially assumed it was one of my skid plates banging around, since I knew I have at least two spots that I've never gotten around to bolting down.

Only thing I can figure is if I somehow accidentally reset the oil change tracker again, but I'm going to ask the tech when I talk to him again if that is something he can check (I'm assuming they can read it out with their diagnostic tools.

Is it possible to drop the oil pan without removing or lifting the engine? Since my H3 is an hour away from my house right now, I can't easily look. Seems you could unbolt the diff crossmember and be able to drop the oil pan, but I'm not sure what the clearance is like with the front cross member and the oil pan and if it'd be in the way or not.

 

[JPaul]

If I go with swapping in a 5.3, does it have to specifically be a 5.3 from a H3? Or would other 5.3's work and I'd just need to use the H3 accessory brackets/exhaust manifolds/intake/etc?

 

[SedonaBound]

Check out the several threads on swapping a 5.3 for a 3.7 in an H3.

 

[cowboy_tech]

If I go with swapping in a 5.3, does it have to specifically be a 5.3 from a H3? Or would other 5.3's work and I'd just need to use the H3 accessory brackets/exhaust manifolds/intake/etc?

I believe 06H3 used the drive train out of a Chevy Trailblazer. He had a complete vehicle for the swap. You still need an oil pan for an Alpha.

The rod knock is a heart breaker. I have a 99 K2500 Suburban sitting in my yard with the 7.4 Vortec that I would love to use again sometime.

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[amrg]

If I go with swapping in a 5.3, does it have to specifically be a 5.3 from a H3? Or would other 5.3's work and I'd just need to use the H3 accessory brackets/exhaust manifolds/intake/etc?

No for specifically. But it sure solves alot if you have an H3 with a V8 standing there ready for you to get whatever you need off it!
So many parts are H3 specific, many are V8 specific.
Make sure the harness from the replacement engine is compatible with your pcm.

 

[CaseyS]

Burning oil was a problem in my high mileage I5. After about 150K it would consume more than a quart in 5000 miles. Later on it was consuming more than that. I ran synthetic most of its life and extended oil changes out past 10k regularly. I had to check the oil periodically between changes to keep it from getting low. At the end of its life at 259K it was burning a quart every 100 miles.

As far as your transmission question, anything you get will have some work involved in it. To keep your existing transmission, you will have to go into it to change the input drum, stator support, bell housing and torque converter. If you are in it that far, a rebuild is not that much more. If you start with an LSx transmission that mates up on the engine end, you will need to swap the pan, valve body, 1-2 accumulator and accumulator base plate along with a filter into the old trans. You will need to be careful with a transmission from an older year as in an 08 you will likely need the input speed sensor.

If you get that deep in, let us know, we have enough info now to guide you through.

In my opinion, if you are going v8, they all have the same footprint, might as well go 6.0 or 6.2. Just have to keep gas in it.

 

[woodwardsh3]

Did you top off the oil before you towed it to the dealer? And I would let them do the talking. Don't offer any info they dont ask for they may use it against you.
Good luck

 

[Ghostbuster]

Good luck dealing with the warranty people.

 

[JPaul]

I added a quart while on the side of the road, but it still wasn't registering, I'm thinking of adding more when I go down there on Monday (it's off to the side of the dealer and I don't think anyone would notice me doing it).

My H3 only has 86K miles on it, it's barely considered high mileage. I really don't think it should've burnt more than two quarts of oil in ~6K miles, and that's the minimum it'd have burnt up (if one more quart brings it full), for all I know it could've been more and probably was. I won't be able to tell until I add more oil and see how many quarts it takes to fill it back up. I'm pretty confident the only reason the low oil pressure light finally came on towards the end of trying to limp it back was because too much oil was gushing from whichever rod it is the bearing went out on, rather than me not having enough oil to keep the engine lubed. I always park in the same spot at home and at work, I've never seen a drop of oil on the ground.

I really don't like that manufacturers stopped putting oil pressure gauges on everything except super HD trucks and anything bigger. The low oil pressure light they provide basically tells you "Hey idiot, your engine is now #$%@ed, HAHAHAHA. Loser!" :roll:

I should have pulled the oil pressure gauge from my Neon when I sold it, but I mainly had it in that because I was using a slightly different oil pump and wanted to keep an eye on the pressure (it was a pump for the turbo'd Neon SRT4, I didn't have a turbo yet on it so it pumped a little more oil than the engine needed). From now on I am putting an oil pressure and vacuum gauge on every vehicle I own, they do more to tell me if anything is going funky than the stupid computer ever would (combined with temp gauges and listening to my engine).

 

[Reloader]

Hummer 5 cyl holds 6 quarts of oil when full and will survive just fine running 2 quarts low for a while. Most manufacturers used to say 1 quart of oil usage in 600 miles is acceptable . Not in my book though.
V8 conversion lots of work and $$. Much cheaper and easier to replace with used or reman long block. You could install crank kit in you block if rod or main bearing is gone. Reground crank with correct undersized bearings, one resized rod and lower gasket set should be most of what you need. May even be able to pull bad rod with piston out bottom and not have to disturb head.
Last H3 I put used engine in only took me 8 hrs and I think we got a used one from a Colorado or Canyon.
I just discovered a very low mileage 6.2 to swap into my Alpha. Gonna borrow the Camaro it's in while the owner is traveling out of town for work. Should be an easy swap and they probably won't notice the difference .