My 89 z28 has been running fine for the last few weeks, was running great today until I get on the bypass. I'm like 1/4 mile from the exit I'm planning to take, and I hear a LOUD bang and there is smoke pouring out of my car. I coast it out with no power steering or power brakes to the shoulder of the exit. I make some calls and my brother comes. We try to start it but it cant turn over.... he said it could have thrown a rod. So anyway, waiting 35 minutes for the tow truck, then he takes it away. Frankly, I am pissed. There goes my ride to school/work/everywhere. But yeah, anyone have any ideas what could have happened?

after the bang and all the smoke if the engine stopped running that would cause the loss of brakes and steering. unfortunatly its probably engine failure. maybe get some pics to share? to bad really, its a shame when these things blow up, but hey look at the bright side now is a great time to do an engine upgrade.

when was the last time you checked the oil?

If a good starter won't turn the crank then you've lost a rod or have numerous parts inside a cylinder. orrrrr you've had a complete bearing and crank melt down(broken crank).

I would have taken some pics...but there is nothing really to show, it all looks normal from the outside, and I cant take an engine apart. But yeah, at least its out of the way now and I can upgrade.

the oil was fine, it was replaced like a month ago. We checked it again (my bro said if there was antifreeze in it (something, I forget) could have blown and it wouldnt have been that expensive to fix.

The starter had no trouble turning it 10 minutes before it blew when I started it up. I'm just hoping it won't be much damage and expensive to repair.


Right now it's at Bob's Service Center, waiting till tomorrow when my dads friend is gonna look at it. I'll let you guys know what happens

Well there goes my engine.

is it worth it to get it rebuilt....or just get a new engine?

I'd like to get the same, or one that wouldn't involve too much work (or money) to switch over to.

So what exactly happened to it, what went wrong?

Was it making any noises before it blew?

I dont know much ab out engines, so I'm not totally sure, but I think he said the bearings went and then a whole bunch of other things went wrong and basically the engine is f***ed and not worth rebuilding.

no, it was running strong and sounded great.


Found a 5.7 350 with 10k miles on it, apparently some work done to i, so. I'm looking into that, while everyone else is telling me to sell the car and get something else. No freaking way.