# What's wrong with my car?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 19, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893 "2001-01-19T17:53:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@JCThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCThunder)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/1 "2001-01-19T17:53:01Z")
Driving last night, I smelled a strange burning smell, followed by some smoke under the hood. Pulled over & there was a good amount of oil spayed all over. It continued to leak. I put 2 quarts in & made it about a mile before she died. It’s being towed to the mechanic now. What happened & what’s it gonna cost?
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### Author:  [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2001, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/2 "2001-01-19T17:57:25Z")
Sounds like a blown head gasket. It also sounds like in continuing to drive the car, you blew the engine. If it’s simply a blown head gasket, it’ll cost between $600-1200, depending on how easy it is to get to the head gask etin your make/model vehicle. If you’ve blown the engine … $4000 and up, depending on the make/model. This happened to me about year ago, almost the same scenario. Your best option is to buy a new car.
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### Author:  [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2001, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/3 "2001-01-19T18:42:18Z")
I have to agree with evilhanz’s assessment. This sounds like a classic case of a motor “fusing” due to lack of lubrication. Unless it’s a Ferrari, you’ll probably want to be looking into a new set of wheels.
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### Author:  [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2001, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/4 "2001-01-19T18:51:31Z")
Hopefully your car is still under warranty, or the head gasket on your car was under recall. Can you tell us the year, make, model, and mileage? You might want to check [http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/](http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/) to see if you have any recourse with the manufacturer. I doubt it.
When this happened to me, I did some research to determine whether I was a bad driver, or if I was driving a bad car. Unfortunately, in recent years, American-made cars have been engineered with an inferior head gasket design, relying on composite materials that are subject to failure at around 50-60k miles. This vital component should NEVER fail during the useful lifetime of the vehicle.
Just last week, I had the head gasket replaced on my Dodge Stratus, (under warranty this time _whew_, and it was caught before any damage occured). Fortunately, the replacement gasket is made with multiple layers of steel.
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### Author:  [@JCThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCThunder)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2001, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/5 "2001-01-19T22:07:30Z")
It’s an '87 Olds Calais w/83K.
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### Author:  [@Neurodoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurodoc)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2001, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/6 "2001-01-20T05:43:32Z")
You failed to mention whether you recently had your car serviced (e.g. oil change). If so, one possibility is that the mechanic failed to tighten the crankcase oil plug or the oil filter, allowing the oil to drain out. If so, the mechanic would be liable.
You describe an ACUTE & CATASTROPHIC loss of oil. That demands an explanation.
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### Author:  [@Clairmont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clairmont)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2001, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/7 "2001-01-20T12:21:49Z")
If it is the head gasket, you will be pissed when you see the bill.
The price of the gasket will be around 20 bucks.
Labour will be around $1000.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2001, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/8 "2001-01-20T15:54:48Z")
“Labour will be around $1000.”
On an olds? More like $1400. But then since he drove it after, add the head to it.
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### Author:  [@JCThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCThunder)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2001, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/9 "2001-01-20T22:35:48Z")
Well, it’s gonna cost about $250 (I didn’t take the call, so I’m not sure what it was exactly yet). Thanks for scaring the shit out of me, though!
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [January 21, 2001, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/10 "2001-01-21T16:47:57Z")
What was it JC? What did they say?
At least it was your car, you should see what the guys say when its your body.
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### Author:  [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2001, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/11 "2001-01-22T10:14:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by evilhanz \*
> **Just last week, I had the head gasket replaced on my Dodge Stratus, (under warranty this time _whew_, and it was caught before any damage occured).**
[snl]I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!!![/snl]
–Tim
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### Author:  [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2001, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/12 "2001-01-22T10:21:11Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by JCThunder \*
> \*\*It’s an '87 Olds Calais w/83K. \*\*
Every single person that I know who has driven a mid-80s Olds Calais (myself, my former roommate, two neighbors, a friend and a cousin) has had this happen before 100,000 miles. I’ve been told numerous times that it isn’t the design of the car but I still feel differently.
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### Author:  [@JCThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCThunder)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2001, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/13 "2001-01-22T21:49:41Z")
He said one of the gerbals exploded 😕 . The replacement gerbal only costed $9, but $241 was for labor.
He actually said it was the ‘front crank gasket’?.. ($9).
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### Author:  [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2001, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-car/50893/14 "2001-01-22T22:20:39Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by JCThunder \*
> He said one of the gerbals exploded
Yet another bizarre incident in the macabre history of spontaneous gerbil combustion.
(No wonder the labor was so expensive. Have _you_ ever tried to clean up an exploded gerbil?)
Thanks for the best laugh I’ve had all day. 🙂