Accidentally spilled water into oil! Change or not?

[FCD]

Don't ask me how, but i managed to drop about 20-25ml ( 0.6 fl oz ) of water into the oil of my 1988 Ford Escort XR3i ( sump capacity 3.7L ish )
Should i change it? i only changed the oil about 1200 miles ago...

 

[PimTac]

I would.

 

[FCD]

Would such a small amount not evaporate relatively fast once the engine is up to temp?

 

[jhs914]

It's probably OK, but if makes you sleep better you could let it sit overnight and drain about a quart out. The water should be at the bottom of the pan since oil is lighter than water.

 

[atikovi]

Isn't that like 2-3 tablespoons? You probably get that much just from sitting overnight in cold weather.

 

[doublebase]

You’re only talking half an ounce, I wouldn’t worry about it. Your engine probably produces as much on a cold start.

 

[dlundblad]

1. Change it.

2. Run it for 30 mins or so at decent speeds and check it. If it looks normal, motor on. If not, change it.

People run their engines with head gasket failures and the engine can still live.

 

[PimTac]

Isn't that like 2-3 tablespoons? You probably get that much just from sitting overnight in cold weather.

You’re only talking half an ounce, I wouldn’t worry about it. Your engine probably produces as much on a cold start.

Check your Pee Chee for the correct conversions.

 

[FCD]

1. Change it.

2. Run it for 30 mins or so at decent speeds and check it. If it looks normal, motor on. If not, change it.

People run their engines with head gasket failures and the engine can still live.

I haven't changed it yet at least and the oil looks normal , not milky or murky in any way, i did drive it after and it got up to temp.

 

[atikovi]

Drive it like you stole it.

 

[Lubener]

That's about half a shot glass, I would leave it. It will burn off.

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

Just take if for a long drive...

 

[javacontour]

As others have mentioned, 25ml of water vs 5000ml (or so) of oil, or about 0.2% of the total volume assuming an 5L fil. (The value I could find on-line.)

A good long drive getting the oil up to temp will boil off any water in the sump.

 

[FCD]

As others have mentioned, 25ml of water vs 5000ml (or so) of oil, or about 0.2% of the total volume assuming an 5L fil. (The value I could find on-line.)

A good long drive getting the oil up to temp will boil off any water in the sump.

3.7L oil capacity not 5 , but still, a relatively small amount i guess.

 

[Bonz]

Don'tgive it a second thought, drive it like you normally would and that water is gone when the engine warms up. It's not gonna sacrifice lubrication ability whatsoever, which is the only reason there would be a concern.

 

[HiPowerShooter]

It'll be fine. Drive it as usual and it'll evaporate rather quickly.

 

[stangguy]

Believe it or not, when I was young, MANY years ago I was adding a little antifreeze to my almost new 64 Chevy 6 cylinder, and for some reason I took off the oil cap instead of the radiator cap, and dumped about a cup of green antifreeze in before I woke up. I had just changed the oil also, and I was too cheap to change it again, so just run it till was time to change it. Never seemed to hurt anything. Now I would drain it. But not that small amount of pure water.

 

[RDMgr]

In industrial applications the goal of oil analysis is to minimize risk. To many authorities, the caution level of water in engine oil is 0.2% vol. At 0.4% vol they recommend action. Your water content is 0.7%. Why jeopardize the engine for the cost of an oil and filter change?

 

[thelostotter]

I would probably pull the pan off and check the main bearings for corrosion before doing anything else. If they look good, then pour the oil you drained back in and run it.

 

[kschachn]

I would probably pull the pan off and check the main bearings for corrosion before doing anything else. If they look good, then pour the oil you drained back in and run it.

Wut? He hasn't even run the engine yet.