the 3.9 v6 in my 2002 dodge dakota started knocking and spewed oil out of the front of the engine block, what the heck happened to my motor?
Asked by dane_williams Mar 05, 2013 at 06:05 PM about the 2002 Dodge Dakota SXT RWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
i think i blew the 3.9 V6 motor in my 2002 dodge dakota. it knocks durring idle now and oil spewed
from the front of the block covering the fan, alternator, and what i believe to be the heat pump. its
now 11 years old and 120,000 miles. this happened "out of the blue" with no indication anything like
this would happen. any thoughts???
9 Answers
It sounds like you could have put a rod through the block.
dane_williams answered 11 years ago
well it still runs. throwing a rod would probly cause the engine to seize yeah? other than the new knocking, the idle still sounds the same as always. also the knocking isnt timed, in other words it knocks randomly
No. I drove a Ford Pickup 40 miles with a broken rod, it did not puncture the pan so I lost no oil but it does not necessarily mean it will seize. Sound like a hammer on a 55 gallon drum, yeah, but ran and got me home ....the connecting rod broke off the crank
But if t/s is right and you did toss it through the block, which makes sense, you engine is a goner...sorry
migration_judge_roy answered 11 years ago
damn. hate that when this happens. A junker engine will last a scoach longer, if the tranny and seats are good, might be worthwhile to see if you can find a wrecked one with the engine still good, at the local salvagers.
dane_williams answered 11 years ago
I just took it to my mechanic. Turns out the knocking I was hearing was an extremely loose fan and water pump. And what I thought was oil was really dirty antifreeze. Still not sure how it got clear up on top of the motor but to me the words water pump and coolant flush sound a whole lot better than shot motor! He also said I'm supposed to be using orange antifreeze rather than green. Dodge has been that was since 2000 apparently. Thank you all for the good info and advise!
Thanks for the follow up. The type of liquid should have been easy to distinguish. Totally different look, smell and feel.
dane_williams answered 11 years ago
That was my thoughts at fist as well. I have always changed my own oil and done my own tune ups. I wouldn't say I'm mechanicly inclined but I know all the common sense stuff. It fooled my mechanic as well being a dark brown color. Until he tasted it, he was thinking it was oil as well.
dane_williams answered 11 years ago
When I talk to him today I'll find out more. Whether it had oil mixed in or just really dirty antifreeze I'm not sure but I'm curious to find out exactly what happened.
