89 Lincoln Continental "Help Please" (It's Complicated)

The gauge shows the oil pressure, not the oil volume.

I think the problem is either that the engine is so worn that the oil leaks out between the crankshaft and bearings, so the engine can't hold enough oil to keep the oil pressure up or the oil pump is not working well.

I am guessing that the oil pump is not working well and you need to replace it.

Sadly, you may need a new engine. I suspect that you damaged the engine and it is time to either rebuild it or replace it.

With a '89, it's probably time for new car, too, but that will be expensive.

Jeff

It's the end of the line for your ol' 3.8 engine.

How many miles?

How's the coolant?

How's the exhaust been looking recently?

Rob

"NeedHelpPronto" wrote: ( 89 Lincoln Continental )

The digital gauge keeps indicating low oil, but when I check the dipstick, it always shows full.

Last night on the freeway the engine made a gurgling sound for awhile, then a loud knock and it died. I pulled off the road and checked the the oil again and the dipstick showed full. AND there was smoke coming out of the inside when I took the cap off.

It is now parked at my apartment, and the engine barely cranks. Could I have burnt it up? ___________________________________________________

That gauge records oil pressure, not oil volume. It's like a blood pressure gauge. If your blood pressure goes to zero you are still full of blood but you will die. If engine oil pressure drops to zero you must immediately stop operating it until the cause is fixed.

There is not enough information provided to guess whether the engine can be saved. Sorry.

Good luck.

Rodan.

Clogged oil gallery?

Low pressure?

Nope, actually the problem is simple: Thinned oil caused by a blown head gasket and subsequent overheating (not detected by the gauge sender), perhaps? VERY (extremely!) common on that vintage Conti with the

3.8L engine. Sorry sir, that failure doesn't care about your financial standing. Repair is pricy. no matter how you go about it. Unless you noticed the signs of wispy smoke out the tailpipe in the morning very early on and stopped driving it right then, the damage is done and the engine is toast. The fix is:

- Head gaskets. This will fix the problem, but bearing damage has likely occurred due to coolant in the oil. (about $6-700)

- A used motor. Only if you know it's history. Most Contis of that vintage(and Taurus/Sables) are scrapped because of this problem. Good used motors are tough to find. They are out there though. ($1000-1300)

-Rebuilt motor. The best alternative, but it often exceeds the value of the car at this point. ($1600-2000)

Tom, of course, could be wrong. But I think he's right.

It is probably best to replace the motor with a rebuilt. The problem is that you would be putting it into a 18 year old car. Getting a newer car say, from this millennium (after 2000), you would have a safer car with newer-designed airbags, etc., too.

I know it is expensive and may mean working 10 extra hours at a part time job a week for two years or something like that.

But that is the way the ball bounces (or the oil thins).

Jeff

I would suggest you take you car to a competent tech and have the problem analyzed before you do damage the engine.

mike

If it's a 3.8, it's definitely too late for that. The engine has "expired"