The series of events that happened to me with my vette are almost unbelievable. I'll try to make it as short as possible to not bore anyone.
On a short trip to play in a golf tournment my Y2k coupe starting losing oil pressure according to the gauge so I pull over and stop to check things out. Oil level was fine, just had it changed along with a new sending unit, so I start her up again pressure goes up then drops to ZERO and I hear a distinct tap and a miss in the engine. Shut her down again and start to get real concerned with the miss and tappet noise so I call a friend and have her flatbedded to my local dealership. He dropped it off on friday night after they closed. Monday morning I'm there when they open and they tell me they will call when they get to it because they know I want to be there when they start it. Three days go by and no call so I call and then they tell me they are swamped and might get to it next week I tell them no way and start making other arrangements to try to find out what damage might have occured and what I need to do to find out. I had to wait untill today to get someone to look at it and by then all kind of scenarios were playing out in my head Still with me because this is where the weird part comes in. Bright and early this morning I have her towed to a guy who came highly recommended because he has been doing engine rebuilds for years. We start her up and I'm thinking the worse but the oil pressure comes up to 60lbs then drops to around 50lbs and holds but the tapping and miss are still present. We let her idle and reach operating temperature with oil pressure gauge ok but fluctuating more than normal. He listens to the tapping noise and tells me that it is not an valve tapping and that it sounds more like spark jumping to him. I kill it and he reaches down in the engine and says try it now with a s@#t eating grin on his face. I start it up NO MISS NO TAPPING JUST BORLAS GROWLING OIL PRESSURE PERFECT I said what did you do? He said I put your plug wire back on I said you mean a damn spark plug wire caused all this . I felt stupid for not checking but he told me the way it played out with the plug wire coming off, losing oil pressure ,loss of power I did the right thing by not driving it.
He said the spark plug wire must have been jumpimg fire and the oil pressure gauge was the only one affected which in itself was just weird. He said I didn't owe him anything but I gave him 100 bucks for his time thanked him and left with a s&*@t eating grin on my face

 

Damn!

 

Put that guy on your Christmas card list!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:fla g:

List his business so others in your area can take advantage of his services!!!

BC

 

Good ending. What ya wanna bet the dealer would have come up with a listing for parts and labor around $600?

 

Interesting story!
Distinguishing and identifying 'telltale' sounds can sometimes fool us all.
Ask me how I know. :o
Yes!... the mechanic who helped out certainly deserves recognition (and business).
Makes me wonder about 'cause and effect' re/oil pressure readings though. Hmmm? Strange indeed.
Glad things turned out well for you!

 

You have now found yourself a good honest mechanic,now use him and send him business!

 

I'd have reattached your plug wire for only $75 He's right though, it could have been something worse. ,

 

No kidding!

 

NAAAA they wouldn't do that!!! It would be more like $1,200 to $1,500!! Took the wifes Focus to the local ford dealer for door latch recall(03 with about 75k on it),,came out with a free inspection and a $1250 estimate!! Mostly little crap that cost next to nothing when DIY. $85 to change fluid in the M5 tranny,,wow maybe 4qt. of Dexron III,,120 to flush the power steering,,and on and on!! Take care of that honest guy,,he's worth his weight in gold,,,even at today's prices!!

 

 

I've just been through a long process of diagnosing using NGK plugs causing a charge system fault on my C-6 but never heard of a plug wire causing a problem with oil pressure...but, from what I learned on the C-6, anything is possible and even on the C-5's.

 

I learn something almost every day, thanks.

 

S**T HAPPENS

 

Glad it worked out and you found an honest tuner.........

 

That sucked you had to wait that long, but i guess it was worth it for you not having to replace an engine

 

Yeap, been there done that during a header install, one plug was bad, and another wire was loose.
I always start with the simpliest stuff when the car acts funny, battery, plug wires, make sure everything is connected nothing loose on MAF etc.

Good that you had a nice honest mechanic. I am sure dealer would at minimum have tried to charge you, or said you neeed all ne w plugs and wires