Ran out of oil over the weekend.

barryfitz · 13-12-2010 11:08am #1

Long story short - The rubber seal on the oil filter split while on the motorway on the way to Limerick over the weekend. Pulled in when the oil light came on, checked the dipstick and there wasnt a drop of oil on it. Came back to the car on Sunday and put 2 litres in it - started it and saw the oil p1ssing out around the filter. Luckily I had a spare filter in the boot as I was planning on servicing the car on Sunday anyway. So I changed the filter on the side of the road, topped it up and started it again - That sorted the leak.

My Questions is, is there anything to watch out for after this happens? There are no knocks or funny sounds from the engine and its running smooth, Drove from Limerick to Maynooth and all seems fine so far.

13-12-2010 11:11am

Could well have damaged the engine, time will tell. What car is it ?

barryfitz · 13-12-2010 11:19am

95 corolla - 1.4 - petrol. 218K miles on the clock already.

VinnyTGM · 13-12-2010 11:34am

Depends on how long you drove it with no oil.

barryfitz · 13-12-2010 11:37am

Engine ran for about 10-15 seconds from when the oil pressure light came on solid. It flicked on and off for 10-15 seconds before coming on solid.

biko · 13-12-2010 11:40am

Hopefully there was enough oil in the car anyway so that components didn't go fully dry.
I think the capacity is around 3-4 litres? How much did you put in to get back to normal level? Just the 2 litres?

13-12-2010 11:44am

biko wrote: »

Hopefully there was enough oil in the car anyway so that components didn't go fully dry.
I think the capacity is around 3-4 litres? How much did you put in to get back to normal level? Just the 2 litres?

I think he threw in 2 L before he spotted it was p1ssing out through the filter, presumably he threw in a full gallon or whatever it takes after putting on the new filter

barryfitz · 13-12-2010 12:05pm

Correct RoverJames. I only put in 2 litres to locate the the source of the leak. After I changed the filter and saw that the leak had stopped I filled the engine with oil (up to the full mark on the dipstick). Not sure what the volume was to bring it to this level.

BrianD3 · 13-12-2010 12:11pm

We had a car that had a crank pulley oil seal burst causing it to dump probably 95% of its oil at some point during a 50 mile journey. No warning lights came on but when the car was stopped the driver noticed oil dripping from the undertray, brake disc and suspension etc. Not a drop of oil on the dipstick. Car had 50k miles on it and after fixing the seal and refilling it went on to do 200k+ with no engine problems

bmw535d · 13-12-2010 3:29pm

id say your okay. engine failure from a lack of oil usually comes from months of low level oil or pressure, or idiots driving on with a big red light in-front of them.

13-12-2010 3:35pm

Anyone else always madly tempted to start the car after they drain the oil out to see what would happen ? Sort of like a big red button with do not press on it :pac:

biko · 13-12-2010 3:38pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlSsbqjt9Ps

Ardennes1944 · 13-12-2010 3:44pm

biko wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlSsbqjt9Ps

Ouchies

Could ya imagine doing that to a Lambo

feelites · 13-12-2010 8:07pm

i would not be worry about your car as far as u didnt drive it for a long time with no oil
have seen many documental programs where people drove cars with no oil at all and they were fine
obviously u r loosin some compression after and general performance
but it will not die if wasnt rallied.

but do never even try to drive with no oil

Ran out of oil over the weekend.

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