DID I DESTROY MY ENGINE?! Need encouragement

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Today has been one of those horrible days. The biggest horror-Changing the oil and filter on my '05 Honda Element/2.4 liter, and partial R and R on the P/S fluid. Had a huge brain poot and ran the engine twice with NO oil, for about 20 seconds each time, when trying to get more P/S fluid into the reservoir.
No nasty noises after filling it and running it at idle. Please tell me that Honda engines can tolerate some stupidity abuse without spinning a bearing.
Also, what else should I be looking out for in the future. I really, really hope I haven't wrecked my car.
 
I think enough oil sticks to the metal parts that a couple of briefs runs with no oil is not going to cause you any grief. So, I'm encouraging you. Your anxiety will pass.
 
You will be fine...that extra 1,000 miles or so of wear that you put on will only be missed long after you've got rid of the car.
 
I had a 2006. I would never ever do that again but I suspect you will be okay. No use in worrying about it now.
Good luck and forget about it.
 
I'm pretty sure i saw a video of some guys trying to kill a Civic and it ran for about 15 minutes with no oil, and they were giving it gas
 
While not recommended idle for that amount of time shouldnt do any immediate damage.

Also,I doubt it was 20s each time that's forever when doing fluids.
 
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
I think enough oil sticks to the metal parts that a couple of briefs runs with no oil is not going to cause you any grief. So, I'm encouraging you. Your anxiety will pass.


this.

plus, you didn't put any load on the engine
 
I'm not going to try to pretend that you did no harm.
If I were you, I wouldn't feel particularly sanguine about the whole thing.
Realistically, if nothing bad develops in the next thousand miles or so, then breathe a sigh of relief and realize that you did no measurable harm.
You may have reduced the life of the engine from 280K to 270K, but the entire car will be in Chinese remelt heaven before then.
I don't think you have serious cause to worry, although you do have just cause to kick yourself in the behind.
We all make mistakes. You won't make this one again and your having posted this may result in others avoiding this particular error.
Incidentally, this is the reason that I make an oil change a one item agenda. I also lay out the fresh oil and filter so that I have visual evidence of whether I've put the new oil in or not, although the decanting of the new oil into the filler is the high point of any oil change for me.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27

You may have reduced the life of the engine from 280K to 270K, but the entire car will be in Chinese remelt heaven before then.


Well said, the engine will outlast the transmission and body!!!! Sleep well!!
 
My dad (who was born in 1903) taught me to always start a car after draining the oil to get the last bit of oil out of it. I did that for a few years until I decided it was not a very good idea. And those engines survived.

So you'll probably get away with it. But I wouldn't make a habit of it.
 
Years ago I had a 175 Yamaha 2 cycle motorcycle that my friends and I use to take out to some abandoned strip mine and take turns beating the heck out of it. In the winter we would throw big snowballs at the cylinder whenever the person riding it got close enough. If you hit the cylinder with a big snowball the cylinder would shrink enough to grab the piston and stall the motor. The person riding would have to wait a minute or so for the temperatures of the cylinder and piston to equalize before the motor would again turn freely. We beat the heck out of that bike and the motor, and years later when I sold it it still ran fine.

Motors can sometimes take a lot more abuse than you would think. There is a good chance that your motor will be OK.
 
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