Somebody broke my car engine - Page 2

TRaGiK · 02-11-2007, 08:55 PM

calm down.

toyotafj40s · 02-11-2007, 09:01 PM

Quote:

You know whats crazy though, towing company can claim it was inoperable before they towed it. The beauty, and shitty side of it depending on your side, is that you cant prove when this happened. Neither can they though.

agreed let's go blow up their tow trucks engine and see how they feel >_<. sorry im just frustrated for Johannah i would be so pissed if it happened to me!

Hanya · 02-11-2007, 09:18 PM

Well I have records of the maintenance done on this vehicle for all 149xxx miles of its existance b/c my parents bought it new in 1992. It was running already b/c I was parked in someone's space that evening, where there had been cars in the spot I was pulled from all week so it wasn't out of commission obviously. The person called in the tow called me for being there that night where it wasn't there earlier in the day.

I am going to the garage tomorrow I guess to inspect the tires which are fairly new (about 5k on the front, 1k on the rear). For a vehicle with no mechanical problems in the engine for years I don't know how else to explain the newly arose problem except that they towed it improperly. I can see if security at the apartment saw them leave with my car that night if they remember how it was situated. For how it was parked though, they would have had to have pulled it out, come around the other end, and picked up the front to tow it properly given the trucks they had available at the tow site.

For those of you who say they aren't going to pay for it, I wasn't looking for negative comments like that. I already mentioned they legally have to have coverage from this sort of thing (negligence) and I am going to get a statement from the garage mechanic on the condition of the car (1992 Mazda Protege worth about 1k). The comapny can earn that money in 10 tows; I am going to fight this as best I know how and I am going to take legal action if necessary.

Hanya · 02-11-2007, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrparrish

Call me crazy, but the oil pump on your car should be directly driven off the crank. If they tow it with it in gear, itll be just like turning an engine over by hand, albeit faster, and it should spray oil.

Your oil pump is in no way shape or form electric, its mechanical, and forced to operate in unison with the rotation of the crank.

Shouldn't going backwards be a problem if that's your argument?

wrparrish · 02-11-2007, 09:58 PM

Nope

And hey, not trying to kick you when your down at all. Youve got a uphill battle in front of you, just trying to advise you of the scope of what is going to be brought against you from there end, prepare yourself for it.

toyotafj40s · 02-11-2007, 10:14 PM

if ur car is left in 1st gear, and u drag it backwards for miles ur telling me that isnt going to fuck anything up? the wheels would lock the hell out and it would fuck the tranny at least

Eskimo · 02-11-2007, 10:25 PM

Think about how fast the engine is turning being in first gear going 35... heats up, heats up, heats up, and when it sits and cools, it siezes.

wrparrish · 02-11-2007, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toyotafj40s

if ur car is left in 1st gear, and u drag it backwards for miles ur telling me that isnt going to fuck anything up? the wheels would lock the hell out and it would fuck the tranny at least

Why do you think that ? Sure i admit it sounds scary, but its really not.

wrparrish · 02-11-2007, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eskimo

Think about how fast the engine is turning being in first gear going 35... heats up, heats up, heats up, and when it sits and cools, it siezes.

Shouldnt heat up, there isnt any combustion going on. Water pump should be pumping water through the block, oil pump should be flowing oil through the passages as well. These things are mechanical, and work without regards to combustion.

However i do love your point at the rpm the engine would be forced to spin to sustain those kinds of speeds while in first gear. Thats the best ive heard so far. MPH + final drive and tire size will give you a RPM. Odds are really high that rpm was way out of the realm of safe operation.

Hanya · 02-11-2007, 10:40 PM

By the way the car would have been towed 2.5 miles on a road with a 45 mph speed limit in the middle of the night with hardly anyone on the road - hence few red lights.

wrparrish · 02-11-2007, 10:43 PM

Shouldnt have broken anything.
They tow cars the way they did yours everyday. Its not the right way to do it, but it is what it is.

toyotafj40s · 02-11-2007, 10:48 PM

hey it broke her car ;)

HUTSCBR · 02-11-2007, 10:49 PM

Regardless if there is combusting or not any engine revving past it's tolerence is going to have internal components break and seize. They are built for a certian range from the factory, that is why there are limiters and when it is exceded it is catastrophic. Your combustion theory was a little off point, and there will be heat generated oil or not through friction that is ever present, again, not the point. Now if the oil pick up was high and dry due to the rear of the car being picked up then the oil pump couldn't do it's job.

Hanya · 02-11-2007, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrparrish

Shouldnt have broken anything.
They tow cars the way they did yours everyday. Its not the right way to do it, but it is what it is.

You say that, but they tow cars like that b/c most of them are not manuals or are not left in gear with the parking brake up. Just because I'm not a genius with cars doesn't mean I don't know something is obviously wrong with the way they towed it. I'm not going to continue to debate this anymore until I get a full statement from the garage on the condition of my car and what is broken and how they suspect it happened.

Basically the car ran fine, then it was towed, and now it's busted. You are saying I simply don't have a case where everyone else seems to instinctually know that with it in gear is the source of the problem for being towed with the front wheels on the ground for a front wheel drive.

wrparrish · 02-11-2007, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HUTSCBR

Now if the oil pick up was high and dry due to the rear of the car being picked up then the oil pump couldn't do it's job.

Shouldnt be a factor, she says the car was properly maintained, its oil level was probably good. Pickup probably had access to plenty.

Otherwise, people in sanfrancisco or other hilly areas would be SOL.