Mitsubishi Repair: engine cut off chip, worst case scenario, head gasket

Question
I have a 1999 gst Mitsubishi eclipse 2.0 manual. Two days ago I was coming home and my chreck engine light came on. I pulled over and my boyfriend checked the oil and everything was ok. Istill had about 65 miles before I would make it home. We went on and about 40 miles later the car was over heating and the oil pressure dropped and I could smell something burning. As I was pulling over the engine cut off. I lifted up the hood and there was oil everywhere. A man that stopped to help said that the car hade a engine cut off chip that would protect the engine. Is this true?

Answer
Karen,
Your car's computer (ECU) does have cut off protection to keep you or the engine from destroying itself.  If your ECU detects conditions are getting over the limits of what your engine can handle, it'll usually blow the ignition fusible link - this causes the car to shut down.

You have a very bad oil leak somewhere.  You may have a warped head gasket, switch can cause oil to leak out all over.  Without oil, your engine will overheat very quickly and burn off all the coolant in your system.  Your worst case scenario is that you lost so much oil and coolant, you engine got extremely hot and completely seized up (melted together).  If that was the case, you will need a new engine.

But hopefully your ECU shut off your engine in time before any catastrophic failure.  You will first want to get your engine cleaned up and checked to see if the engine is seized.  Your mechanic will most likely need to replaced your head gasket.  Common oil leaks in turbo Eclipses comes from the oil return line, front crank seal, and oil cooler lines.  Make sure all those areas are checked.
Good luck!