On my 1999 Firebird 3.8l series 2 purchased 3 weeks ago, the engine threw a rod through the block and the shop I took it to in order to confirm my fears, said the cause most common on this engine was the fuel pressure regulator continuing to dump gas into cylinders on the intake stroke when the engine is shut off, thus eventually diluting the oil and of course the subsequent loss of lubrication results in what happened here. Whats the consensus on this? The oil appeared ok to me a few days before this happened, I was only turning about 2200rpm at 65mph, and other than a barely audible ticking sound on acceleration, which was attributed to poor gas, I was given no warning signs. Is this a viable explanation? And is it actually a common problem on the 3.8 series 2?

Asked by Steven Aug 02, 2017 at 08:03 PM about the 1999 Pontiac Firebird Base

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

103,215

KenF answered 7 years ago

Knocking, pre-detonation or post-detonation are absolutely great ways to throw a rod. It's not that having excess gas dumping into the cylinder that can cause this (it would have to leak past the rings, which it may well be doing on an older worn engine) but that it can fire on the wrong part of the stroke.

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On my 1999 Firebird 3.8l series 2 purchased 3 weeks ago, the engine threw a rod through the block and the shop I took it to in order to confirm my fears, said the cause most common on this engine was the fuel pressure regulator continuing to dump gas into cylinders on the intake stroke when the engine is shut off, thus eventually diluting the oil and of course the subsequent loss of lubrication results in what happened here. Whats the consensus on this? The oil appeared ok to me a few days before this happened, I was only turning about 2200rpm at 65mph, and other than a barely audible ticking sound on acceleration, which was attributed to poor gas, I was given no warning signs. Is this a viable explanation? And is it actually a common problem on the 3.8 series 2? 1 Answer

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