empty sump start - Biggest blunder EVER…..

[Urshurak776]

So, doing oil change in Mazda 3. Started POURING rain. Had just spun oil filter on.

Jumped in car to roll up my windows and STARTED IT without oil!!!!!!!!!

Ran for probably 10-15 seconds without me realizing it and then I was like OH ..........

Put in oil, restarted it. Sounds fine. But getting an engine malfunction, have vehicle inspected message on dash……

Advice?

 

[Chris142]

No oil pressure effected the cam phasers or it just knew there was no oil pressure and threw a code. Clear the code(s) and go on.

 

[ripcord]

Just tell yourself in your best Jedi Mind Trick voice, "Nothing to worry about. Nothing unusual happened," and continue on. And clear the codes.

 

[MRC01]

Ouch! My guess is the engine is probably fine. It had no load, still had some residual oil film, and only ran for a few seconds.
I agree with @ripcord , clear the codes and move on.

 

[Urshurak776]

Thanks all. Okay. I pulled code and it was a low oil pressure code like you all said.

I reset it and everything cleared.

Taking it for a drive.

I can’t believe I did that. I want to cry. Seriously…….

 

[JRay’07]

Don’t worry. There are still oil additives that function during the boundary lubrication regime.

 

[brages]

It's fine, don't worry about it

 

[dishdude]

Idling won't hurt it. Back in the 90's (I think it was Slick 50) would run Chrysler 2.2s without valve covers to show how great Slick 50 was. Of course it was snake oil, all it showed was an engine under no load at idle could run without oil.

 

[JimPghPA]

That's called a BRAIN FART. Expect a few of those more often as you age.

 

[djb]

As others have said, running for a few seconds at idle with no oil pressure is almost a non-event for the engine wear surfaces. There was still plenty of oil on the bearings from being recently run.

 

[Urshurak776]

Thank you everyone!!! I feel better.

Took it for a 10 mile run on a back country road. All seemed normal. Got home and lifted hood. Engine sounded nice and quiet.

Appreciate everyone talking me off the ledge.

I still can’t believe I did that. Changing oil since I was 14 and NEVER did anything that stupid…..

 

[JavierH19]

I think it's fine. there's still some layer of oil and for a lot load low time idle it's not that bad. Clear the codes I doubt it'll come back if the engine runs normal which I imagine it will.

 

[cptbarkey]

YT has/had a plethora of videos where mechanics were grenading engines on purpose for cash for clunkers with saline solutions. It was a very, very sad thing to watch where cars that were perfectly operating were destroyed because of a boondoggle.

It was still facinating to watch how long these engines ran (several minutes) before they gave out. I've watched several other videos too where its intentionally done for redneck reasons. Some last a very long time.

I'd say in general, 10 seconds your fine, 1-2 minutes, your ok. 3+ minutes, things start getting hot, and damage probably occurs.

 

[JavierH19]

Thank you everyone!!!

It happens. Worst I've done is forgetting to put the bolt back in and drained the new oil into the used oil pan but I still ran the mix I just changed it at half the interval.

 

[meep]

No issue. Plenty of oil left on those surfaces under no load.

Now, if only you’d had Slick 50 in the sump!

 

[Urshurak776]

I’m trying to think exactly how long it was. Even recreated my actions.

I started engine, rolled up front windows. Stepped out of vehicle and it hit me what I had done. Dove back in vehicle and turned it off.

Maybe 15-20 seconds.

 

[Furious]

What code is it throwing?

It is probably fine but if you want to be sure cut open the new filter since you ran it with fresh oil and see if their is any metal, drain the oil and look for sparkles.

If you got a clean container and you see no metal on the filter and no metal in the oil you could dump the oil back in instead of wasting brand new oil and you will just be out of the cost of a filter. Just be sure the container is clean.

 

[FoxProTwisty]

Well, before there was the 3 there was the Protege.

You forgot to put oil in, but I had already mastered the fine art of putting the oil back in, but leaving the cap off, on a couple occasions, thus practically running it dry and also coating the entire engine bay.

This, my friend, is skill. You just made a boo boo.

 

[D60]

x1000 forget it unless future problems arise. Absolutely not ideal but unlikely any significant damage was done.

 

[Urshurak776]

What code is it throwing?

It is probably fine but if you want to be sure cut open the new filter since you ran it with fresh oil and see if their is any metal, drain the oil and look for sparkles.

If you got a clean container and you see no metal on the filter and no metal in the oil you could dump the oil back in instead of wasting brand new oil and you will just be out of the cost of a filter. Just be sure the container is clean.

It threw a low oil pressure code. I can’t remember the number.

I will definitely cut filter open. Right now, I don’t hear any issues or notice anything abnormal.

I may run it for a few days and then swap out the oil filter and cut it open. Inspect closely for any metal. May just wait until next oil change if I don’t detect anything.

Thanks again everyone.