Cause of Death: Oil Explosion?

[Sapper 157]

Ive been picking around our local junkyards and have found something im rather curious about. Whenever im picking parts from a car, it always intrigues me as to what the "cause of death" was.

 

So far on two EA81s and one EA82 that I have scrounged around, when I open the hood, it looks like an explosion of oil happened when the car quit. Literally everything is covered in oil. What kind of failure could cause such a strange phenomenon?

[jonas]

Not putting the oil cap on.

[Subasaurus]

Not putting the oil cap on.

can't be that violent... can it?

 

Ive been picking around our local junkyards and have found something im rather curious about. Whenever im picking parts from a car, it always intrigues me as to what the "cause of death" was

most cars at the junkyard just needed something as simple as a new alternator belt, or a new wheel bearing and its back on the road, or even just abandoned for some years with nothing wrong with it because its an old vehicle but the owner finds a newer car. "most" people just junk it to get $200 out of it, instead of investing $200 in it.

Example- a 57,000mile 88 GL with a manual transmission at the junkyard, coudn't find out why it went to the junkyard, but i ended up stealing all the lifters (hydraulic lashers) from it.

i also try to find the cause of death on vehicles but most of the time, i can't figure it out.

Edited June 28, 2015 by Subasaurus

[turbosubarubrat]

Probably through a rod.

[-tombba-]

Crankshaft front seal or camshaft seals tend to put oil everywhere if leaking badly.

Edited June 29, 2015 by -tombba-

[DaveT]

A long term leak will get oil everywhere. Around here, it also tends to preserve the underside of the car.

[l75eya]

Around here, it also tends to preserve the underside of the car.

This! The chance of a massive fire is the risk some people are willing to take to have convenient corrosion protection on the undercarriage. As an added bonus if the leak is bad enough, you never have to change your oil as you'll have gone through a fresh five quarts in no time!

[Subasaurus]

As an added bonus if the leak is bad enough, you never have to change your oil as you'll have gone through a fresh five quarts in no time!

lol you reminded me of my friend that used to have a 97 dodge ram. that thing was the biggest piece of crap you could imagine.

[damnsubaru]

dodge stands for drips oil drips gas everywhere or dear old dads garage experiment.

[idosubaru]

this:

Probably through a rod.

they blow a hole in the block and oil splatters everywhere.

 

 

Crankshaft front seal or camshaft seals tend to put oil everywhere if leaking badly.

 

not typically all over the top of the engine or underside of hood so it depends what the OP's description is too ambiguous for any kind of real answer.