I think I killed it. I was bombing down the highway lastnight coming home from dinner following my friend's dad in his BMW M5, and needless to say, we opened them up pretty good. I think I more or less topped out my Vette. Anyways, right as we got off the highway, I noticed my temp gauge shoot waaay up. I put it in neutral and let it coast so the rmp would drop, and it stalled on me. Lost my power steering and power brakes at about 120. Got to the top of the off ramp and pulled it over to the side to let it cool off. After about 20 minutes I tried to crank it again, and nothing happened. We then pushed it about a 1/4 mile down the road to the closest gas station and locked it up and let it sit for about 2 hours.

We came back and tried to start it again, and it cranked very slowly, but did eventually start. It did, however, have a very bad "knocking" sound that matched the rmp, and 0 oil pressure.

After getting it flatbeded home, I parked it and thought up what could be wrong with it.

The exhaust note sounds fine, so I don't think there's anything wrong with the rotating assembly. My guess is the oil pump went out at high rpm. That caused the motor to overheat and stall. As for the knocking/chattering sound, it sounds like there's no oil in between the cam and the lifter.

Does this sound like what I think it does? Any help would be appreciated.

 

I think you lost a rod bearing or two, and lack of oil might be a good reason. Were you watching your oil gauge when the high speeds and high RPMs were being achieved?

If you wiped a rod bearing you would hear bad knocking and oil pressure would probably be almost nothing.

 

Took on an M5!?! With your C3!?!? That takes some huevos

You spun a rod bearing is my guess. Time to get out the cherry picker. Maybe it is time for that stroker kit?

-Mark.

 

You didn't say who won! I just jotted a few ideas for you because it is probably more complicated than a bad sending unit. Have you checked the oil level? At high rpm you could have lost enough oil to cause a problem, or if it was overfilled the oil could be aerated, or due to high rpm's for an extended time the oil flow in your engine was not sufficient.

If the level is low, add oil and restart it and check for noises. Is the oil you are using the right viscosity for that type of driving? The valvetrain sound you hear is probably starved lifters due to no oil flow to them.

At worst you'll probably need to dig into the engine and check for a clogged oil pump pickup screen or pump problem. You'll also need to check bearing clearances and journal sizes.

 

Its a sinking feeling you get when things go silent at 140mph, my 455 HO lost oil pressure, stalled and coasted to the next exit on the hiway. When I tried to restart...nothing after it cooled down it had some major rod knock...cracked the crank in 3 places and spun a pile of bearings.

My guess is you are in for a major rebuild....or crate motor time

 

no oil pressure=rods, mains, and cam bearings wiped.....

You're lucky you didn't get nailed the the Strongsville locals, they are usually parked under the bridge on I-71

 

 

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