Questions and Answers

Pontiac Sunfire Threw A Rod Q. Hi. I have a question I am hoping you can help me with. I have a 1996 Pontiac Sunfire, 4 cylinder, automatic, 86,000 kilometers (53,438 miles). One month ago, I had fuel injector #3 replaced, as there was fuel leaking outside the car and a strong gas smell. Since then, for another 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles), the car has run fine.

No problems, no shaking, it started normally, no roughness etc. But last night, I was driving at 40 to 50 km/hr (25 to 30 mph) on the way home from work, for about 5-10 minutes, when there was a sudden KLUNK, the oil and battery light came on, and I lost power. It seems that the Connecting Rod #3 broke, and went through the oil pan, I now need a new engine.

The Dealer is saying there is strong relationship here and I should seek legal advice. If the seal is not positioned properly when replacing the fuel injector, raw fuel can leak into the cylinder, and destroy the engine. He has seen it happen before, in the same way. Especially since there is such low mileage on the engine, and I was driving at such a low speed. It is not normal for the engine to self destruct under such conditions.

The mechanic who replaced the fuel injector states that this is not possible, there would be symptoms during the last month, and it would not be a sudden break, and not while driving. He says it would need cranking several times when starting, it would shake, and be rough, and there would be hydraulic lock up. If it were to affect the engine in such a way it would occur while starting it, not after driving it for at least five minutes, with no problems.

He is claiming that because it was so sudden, a bearing or something must have just let go, with no correlation to the fuel injector. I am just looking for your experience, advice etc. Do I have a case against the mechanic who replaced the fuel injector, or would it be very hard to prove the cause and effect? Is it just coincidence that it is rod #3 and fuel injector #3?

Thank you,
Sharon

A. The technician sounds like he knows his stuff. If the injector was replaced because it was leaking outside, you said there was a fuel odor, that would rule out any hydro-lock. It would have run very rough if at all if it was leaking into cylinder #3. It also would have been hard to start because of a flooding cylinder, especially on a 4 cylinder engine.

They could still check fuel pressure in the rail with the engine blown. See if it holds and no leaks. I just can't understand why the Dealer is throwing this guy under the bus. Are you trying to get GM to pay for it?