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In my previous post... I bought a cash 2003 ford explorer with 168K miles on it, it needed a new timing chain and spark plugs ect. I spent $1300 and it was fixed.
I have been driving it about 2 weeks and drove it today and noticed a burnt smell and when I turned around to go home.. my gage lights came on, and my oil level dropped all the way to low. I parked it.. looked under the bottom and oil dripping everywhere and it was smoking under my hood.
friends what do I do? its worth $1700 I spent $1300 on it already.. it might sound like it may cost a lot more.
I took a chance and bought a 12 year old car, its all on me... I know. im not looking for sympathy. but want everyones honest opinion on what should I do from here.
In my previous post... I bought a cash 2003 ford explorer with 168K miles on it, it needed a new timing chain and spark plugs ect. I spent $1300 and it was fixed.
I have been driving it about 2 weeks and drove it today and noticed a burnt smell and when I turned around to go home.. my gage lights came on, and my oil level dropped all the way to low. I parked it.. looked under the bottom and oil dripping everywhere and it was smoking under my hood.
friends what do I do? its worth $1700 I spent $1300 on it already.. it might sound like it may cost a lot more.
I took a chance and bought a 12 year old car, its all on me... I know. im not looking for sympathy. but want everyones honest opinion on what should I do from here.
Or... It could be something as simple as the oil filter falling off.
You won't know until you get under there and clean everything, refill the oil, etc. If it's smoking under the hood, that's probably actually a GOOD thing... because it means that your engine isn't burning the oil for whatever reason, because that smoke would come out the exhaust.
A sudden major failure like that makes me think whoever you took it to didn't tighten the oil filter enough, or didn't torque something down properly while they were replacing the timing chain.
After you clean it really good, fill it back up with some cheap oil, and start it up and look for leaks. Should be easy to spot a major oil leak like you are describing.
Or... It could be something as simple as the oil filter falling off.
You won't know until you get under there and clean everything, refill the oil, etc. If it's smoking under the hood, that's probably actually a GOOD thing... because it means that your engine isn't burning the oil for whatever reason, because that smoke would come out the exhaust.
A sudden major failure like that makes me think whoever you took it to didn't tighten the oil filter enough, or didn't torque something down properly while they were replacing the timing chain.
After you clean it really good, fill it back up with some cheap oil, and start it up and look for leaks. Should be easy to spot a major oil leak like you are describing.
Sadly, I have heard and read stories similar to this for decades.
You would have been better off to get a better car for the $3,000.00 that you have already spent.
Granted, any car, new or used can destruct itself.
Two things wear out a car. Age and mileage. Next time seek a lower miles car. And yes, there are many here who are driving cars with many, many more miles then yours and are quite dependable.
But yes could be something as simple as the oil filter or gasket.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Too late now, but remember for future reference. Ask a trusted mechanic what their experience has been with the longevity of the vehicle you are looking at. We traded in our 1996 Explorer at 124,000 miles, because my transmission guy told me that he had been seeing them come in needing rebuilds at about 130-140k. There could be several causes for the oil spill. If it was something as simple as a loose filter blowing out the seal, and you stopped it quickly and had it towed, the fix is a $5 filter and 5 quarts of oil. Some of those Explorer engines require removal of the engine to replace the timing chain, and normally the mechanic would drain the oil first. Your first step should be to review the invoice. If it shows charges for oil, tow it to whoever did that job, there's a good chance that they messed up and should handle the oil issue free of charge.
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