VS change over engine?

[motortw]

Hi Everyone,

I have a VS V6 Commodore that sadly siezed half way between Adelaide and Melbourne. The oil light came on, so I stopped immediately and checked the oil. It was full and there were no obvious leaks. I started the engine, no oil light, so I continued. About 10 minutes later it came back on again. I stopped again and checked the oil again. No change, still full. I continued like this to the next town, stopping each time the light went on. The local mechanic had a quick check over it and concluded that it was a faulty oil sensor. After asking if we had passed through rain on the way (which he had) he was certain it was the sensor and confidently said "well it's definitely got oil pressure." Back on the road for another 15 or 20 minutes and the light came back on. Something felt wrong, there was a slight loss of power. I stopped and when I went to restart, the engine just went 'click' like when you have a real flat battery, or a loose terminal. After a call to the local mechanic (not the same one) he said the the engine had seized. It ended up being an expensive weekend away after getting the car brought back to Adelaide and getting done by the car rental company (one way fee) we used to carry on to Melbourne with.

Anyway, I'm curious to know what would have caused this. A faulty oil pump? I remember seeing a post here somewhere about cleaning out the gunk in the oil lines. Is gunk in the oil lines a likely cause? How do you check oil pressure on a VS?

Also I'm looking for a cheap way out this. The rest of the car is in pretty good condition, so am trying to work out what my options are I'm thinking a change over engine might be the way to go but don't have the knowledge or the space to do this myself. I don't mind having a crack, but don't want to spend more money and find I can't finish the job. Does anyone know a good mechanic that would do a changeover for a reasonable price? Or am I best just to sell it and buy something else. I'm located in the western suburbs of Adelaide.

[Stokesy VS]

mate honest opinion... it sounds liek a dead poil pump... he should have hooked the guage up and went for a drive and kept an eye on it... easiest way if your motor is siezed... goto a commodore wreckers and 2nd hand motor .. goto supercheap or somewhere like that spend 40$ and buy yourself a gregorys workshop manual... and change the motor yourself i did one in my vs ute before i started my apprenticship 2 years ago the motor was around 800$ from newcastle just north of sydney.. but when you do that make sure you put a new waterpump on it before you put the new motor in because the seals dry out youll start it drive away and have a leaking waterpump

[hako]

A few wreckers will fit the engine they sell you for probably less than paying a mechanic - reason is they get all the bits off your old engine and they can honour any guarantee problems more easily.The person at the wrecker will probably not be a trade mechanic but there are some pretty versatile blokes working at wreckers and when your job is pulling motors out, it ends up being a piece of cake to fit one. I'd say around $1000 to $1200 tow in/drive out. Trying to sell a car with a blown engine will nett you about $200.
Good Luck.

[[p]wrr-247]

i just got my motor changed over at the wreckers cost me $900 all up and i got new engine mounts new heater tap new hoses and a service and ofcourse the motor comes with 3 months warranty and when i say new i mean out of the box not off a other car but im in western sydney so it doesnt help you much

[motortw]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to shop around a bit more. $900 is sounding pretty good but the first couple of quotes have been $1500 to $1800 which seems a bit high. I couldn't bear to sell it for $200 after paying over $500 to have it towed back to Adelaide. Although at the time I did think it might work out cheaper to abandon it.