If its the rod bearings, they can be replaced then the pan is off. It might be worth doing that.

I can't hear the noise on my phone, I'll have to use my PC later.

But if it was rod bearings, I would think it would make the at all RPMs. Realistically, the pan will need to be dropped to inspect for damage to have an idea as to what options there are.

 

Got a chance to take a listen, and even on my PC I can barely hear it. Not really much I can do on the Internet. I'd like to see the damage and if it's bad, the pan needs to be dropped to have an idea as to what is damaged inside.

 

Thanks so much for your help. I wish I had just gone outside the car and recorded the engine noise, but I didn't think of it at the time. The noise is either not there or barely there at low rpms and in reverse (though that might also be because the rpms were low). Once it gets up to about 3,000 or higher, the clacking sound starts.

I didn't hear from the body shop or the insurance adjuster during the week. I will contact the adjuster tomorrow to try and get an update. I hope the body shop knows what they are doing (they were highly recommended by the insurance company).

I'll post again when I have more information. Thanks again.

 

Update.

After many phone calls, delays, etc., I finally received notice today that the insurance company is going to pay for the engine - and they ordered a NEW engine from volvo. Was told taht they normally do not cover the engine damage, but due to all the specifics of this case, they decided to do it. I'm not celebrating quite yet - I'll save that for when I have the car back, everything is working fine, and I haven't been asked to pay for it.

The head supervisor of the adjusters (or whatever his title is) did a very thorough investigation and I think he nailed what actually happened. I suspected the same thing - so we both arrived at the same conclusion in different ways. Bottom line: we both think the oil pan damage was from driving over a snow bank left by the plow. We had one last freak snowstorm near the end of March. My car was totally buried and surrounded on all sides by ice and snow - especially the ridge left by the plow when they do the street (I park on the street). I shoveled quite a bit before attempting to get my car out, but I still had to drive it over the ice/snow "bank" to get out of my spot. That probably caused a small crack in the oil pan. But due to the fact that I drive VERY little, the cold weather, and the small crack - the oil took a long time to empty out. Fast forward about a month (yes! a month!)...much warmer weather, started driving more often, and then we went for that long highway drive the day the engine got killed. Still have no idea why the oil pressure warning light didn't go on.

When the guy I spoke to called volvo parts to inquire about the oil pan and other things, he was informed that they go through a much greater than normal number of oil pans on the C30 because it's so low. Geez. How about better protection under there Volvo?

I had the guy e-mail a pdf with photos of the underside of the car - so I could see the damage. But I really don't know what I'm looking at. lol. If you want me to upload it, just say the word.

Estimate total (I have a copy of the estimate): Almost $10K. Unreal.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

Thanks for the update, glad they're covering it. If you don't mind uploading the pics, I'd be interested in seeing how bad it is

 

The pdf filesize is too large to upload (but just 432k app.), so I uploaded to box.net.

https://www.box.com/s/blt7hirvpsuyx7e742z0

Let me know if you can't access the link.

 

It says the owner requires viewers to log in. Can you change that? If not I'll sign up later when I get a chance

 

Try this: https://www.box.com/s/vza1hyyhmsbd8iypbt91

Box makes something that should be so damn simple unnecessarily complicated. Annoying. Collaborators, etc. How about just allowing me to make the file public and giving me a url. Yeesh.

If it doesn't work, I'll upload it to google or my ISP's webspace (FTP).

 

Uploaded to google drive. This should work (collaboration not necessary).

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B09k...it?usp=sharing

 

Yep, small crack right where they usually get hit. Thanks for uploading