Car was driven with no oil... what damage is done?

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quote:

Originally posted by Al:

quote:

Originally posted by labman:
Reading some of the other posts and thinking about this some
more. I wouldn't worry about the metal shavings. They would be
on the outside of the return nipple and if any oil was still going back
into the engine, it would be passing through the inside of the
nipple. Likely any shavings went on the road with the oil.


I disagree here- the threads that were ripped were internal ones (from the filter) on the outsideof the nipple. As nipple entered the filter-the shavings would be at the leading edge of the nipple.


If the shavings were in the threads out of the box, always possible,
you are right. If the threads stripped due to cross threading, not tight
enough, or impact, they would go where the oil went, the road. If
some sort of impact loosened the filter, the can should show some
damage.

If the oil pressure is still OK, and no scary noises, I would guess you
dodged the bullet.
 
I dont know if I could trade it in with the possibility of it dying on the next person. I mean chances are the dealer probably wouldnt notice anything, then they'd go and sell it for too much money to some downtrodden individual with terrible luck. And what do you know there stuck with needing a new engine a few thousand miles After the short warranty the dealer put on it.

Is there anyway to avoid possibly passing on this hardship to someone else? who knows maybe its 100% but still....
 
There is always the possibility that the tap that threaded the filter's internal threads was worn, and the metal shavings are from the stripping process as the filter stripped the threaded mounting bolt when the oil pressure rose to make the filter a rocket.

I would do a UOA and a compression/leakdown test before shucking it.

A couple of years ago I sold an S10 PU to a college kid, but I told him AND the father that the engine had been rebuilt (by me) and that the only problem I had was with the carb.

I made this declaration on the Bill of Sale with the condition that the car is sold AS IS. After Notarization, the Dad handed me $200 and said his mechanic would take care of any future problems as they arose, and not to worry, and thanks for being Up-Front with them.

[ July 02, 2003, 02:38 PM: Message edited by: MolaKule ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by Chris142:
When an engine runs w/o oil it really tears up the main/rod and cam bearings.

The rods usually last the longest and my guess is because the centrifical force from the spinning crank throws what oil is in the crank to the rod bearings.

The cam bearings die first then the mains.

It may last a while but 10 minutes is a long time w/o proper lubrication and the engine is on borrowed time.

If it was my car I would pull the pan and inspect the main/rod bearings and prolly replace them.


I ruined a cam by running an engine low on oil once (a hard learned lesson not to be repeated). I think the cam goes first because as the system runs low on oil, the first things to totally lose lubrication are the highest pressure fed bearings. At that point, the lower pressure fed bearings are still probably getting a dribble of oil, but it's more like a gravity fed oiling system.
 
Take a 10 hour run on the interstate to no where. Do not let any vehicles pass except Lingenfelter twin turbo Corvettes and Porsche GT2's. Return home the next day and send a batch of oil in for analysis.

If wear is ok, the engine is ok.
 
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