[boosted beetle]

2001 1.8T 97k miles. Long story short the turbo beetle took a massive hit to the oil pan from unidentified (rock) debris in the road during a massive rain storm. The hole is large enough the pan drained almost immediately I would imagine. I know exactly what could happen from such a hit so Instant emergency maneuvers were made though traffic to get off the road and shut down ASAP. At shut down there was a very audible dry running sound from turbo bearings and shutter felt though the chassis. Oil light literally flashed on the second I killed ignition. The worst part of the story is the cop that showed up and didn't want to get out in the rain said he couldn't write an accident report because it appears I was just broken down on the side of the road....insurance doesn't know what to think. What I know is I can put my fist in the oil pan and it ran with rapidly dropping oil pressure for 1-2mins at low rpm and was shut down quick essentially before oil light came on. I also know the turbo bearings sounded dry and the slight rattle and shake as she wound down was very obviouse.

What would your thoughts be on the chances that the motor is seized and or fully compromised? On a 2001 would a full engine replacement/rebuild pretty much make it totaled? Best case scenario a new oil pan and fill her back up and hope the turbo bearings aren't wasted or the rod bearings spun?

Thanks

 

[jfoj]

I would pull what is left if the oil pan off and inspect thing carefully.

You would be surprised how resilient a motor can be. The oil pans are not hard to remove other than the last 4 bolts partially hidden in the bell housing area, just do not drop the rear bolts and have a magnetic pick up tool handy. A 1/4" drive socket set with a ling wobble extension is a good option, you can get the wobble extensions as Advance, AutoZone or probably Sears.

What I would be looking for is any contact damage on the crank or connecting rod(s) based upon the damage description.

Also check the oil pump and chain for damage. You could inspect a rod bearing or 2 if you had any concern, this would be an easy time to do this. Just be careful to keep things organized and have the proper tools as you may also just reuse the current rod bearings if they look good.

If things look pretty good on the bottom end I would at a minimum replace the oil pickup and O-ring, install a new oil pan, oil filter(fill the oil filter about 3/4 full of oil before installing it), fill things back up and then try to get the engine running again.

You might consider pulling the fuse/fuel pump relay and crank the engine over a few times for 20 seconds in an attempt to get some oil pulled into the pump and into the engine before starting the engine.

Good luck and hope you can salvage things. Once you know the engine is running fine, you need one of these - New Beetle skid plate

 

[PRM502STREET]

Just for what it's worth... I have owned my little bug for over 10 years now, and have knocked out the oil pan three times. Each time the whole was huge, and the oil drained out very rapidly. Each time the engine ran for less than a minute and the oil light started blinking right before I turned it off. Mine is a 2.00 so I don't have to worry about the turbo going bad, but I do have a hundred seventy thousand miles and still going strong! So put a new oil pan on it, ECS Tuning may have one for 59 bucks.
So, put a new pan on it. And put some fresh oil in it. You are going to need those two things anyway!
umitu
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[jfoj]

Just for what it's worth... I have owned my little bug for over 10 years now, and have knocked out the oil pan three times.

3 times!!

You have a Panzer Plate yet?

 

[PRM502STREET]

No, but it's on my list of things to get.

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