🚀 go-pugleaf

On Sun, 06 Apr 1997 12:34:13 -0500, debbie mulcahy <irdm@msg.ti.com>
wrote:

>I took my elderly (10 yr old) car in for an oil change last week.  The
>fellow that was taking care of it told me that the car was making a
>clicking noise & that something was wrong with some bearings or 
>something (gee, don't I know alot about mechanics!) and that he couldn't 
>change the oil because it would ruin the engine.  Since I'm pretty 
>ignorant about cars, I don't know whether or not this is true.  He 
>immediately followed this info with the name of a nearby garage where 
>his friend could fix it for me ("Ask for him by name since he's the only 
>one who'll give you this special deal...etc.").  
>
>Maybe he was just being nice & helpful, or maybe he was trying to send 
>his friend some extra work.  Any ideas if changing the oil might really 
>wreck the engine?
>

No, the guy's full of crap. *If* there is bearing damage, changing the
oil might even help to prevent the damage from spreading throughout
the engine. The metal particles that are ground away when there is a
bearing failure will contaminate the oil in your engine and will be
circulated to other internal parts of the motor. 
Of course, if there is actual bearing damage it needs to be repaired
ASAP or catastrophic failure is just a matter of time. So if the guy
is being honest with you, he only saved you the price of an oil
change.

There are quite a few things that will cause a "ticking" sound in a
motor other than internal damage to the engine. Diagnostics is best
done by a real mechanic and not some quickie lube guy.

Rick