MudEye

O.K Guys.... I can't believe I'm admitting to this. I have changed my oil in my civic a hundred times or more ( 489,000 miles) ran out of oil a half dozen times, but because I used synthetic I think it saved the engine. However...
Today I changed the oil on My Cutlass. Drained oil, replaced filter. As usual start the car and let it idle a few minutes. While cleaning up this time however I suddenly realized that there was no oil in the car! I made haste and turned off the car. Oh Brother! I thought... What a Moron! ( You don't have to repeat )
The car was idling for probably 2-3 minutes. I checked gauges. No overheat, no sounds, etc. I filled it up with oil , started again ran for 10 minutes. Seems fine. But now I'm a bit worried. Not synthetic oil. A few minutes idling with no oil?

Your input here... Should I change oil again in case there may be some shavings? Or just drive and not worry. Was counting on a rebuild in a couple years anyway. Has anyone else done this before? Results? Thanks

Tedd Thompson

Major ooops, I would pull the oil filter and cut it apart and see what the gods have left you. How is the oil pressure now?.... Best as I can remember I haven't ever done that as yet, I have ran one dry though......Tedd

Rocketowner

Yes,a friend of mine had the oil changed on a '59 olds when it was almost new and they forgot to put oil in it. His wife was driving home and noticed the lifters chattering and before she could pull off the road, noticed that the oil pressure was registering "0" .They filled it with oil ,restarted it and everything returned to normal. The garage insurance paid him for a new engine,but he never had to replace the engine! Thats "Rocket tough" Larry

Oldsmaniac

Time will tell but you may be ok.... My pop had a 67 Cutlass 4dr, our "good car" for long trips. It was starting to use oil and two other drivers were in the house who sometimes borrowed the car so at times the oil level would not be checked. We were heading to NY from Jersey tooling down Rt1 at about 55 mph when my pop heard a hammering coming from the engine. I was driving and did not hear it at 1st. He told me to slow down and pull into the next gas station. There we checked the oil and nothing was on the stick. I think it took 4 quarts but the engine survived just fine... The oil light never came on....

steverw

I wouldnt think only a few minutes of idling would hurt the motor, All the parts still have some oil on them. Change the oil and filter again if it makes you feel better but i personally wouldnt worry to much. Time will tell if theres any damage.

oldspackrat

Run it as normal & if it's hurt it will show it soon enough.

oldstata

Run for a bit change the oil again cut open filter and see what you have

During the cash for Junkers a few years back I got to blow up a few cars pulled all fluids and installed some chemical to help seize the motor on the first few I didn't install the chemical

I had ran them at 2500+ rpm the old tired (high mileage ) motors tans for hrs before kicking the bucket the lower Mileage one 20 30 min top drove all of them out of the shop and way in the back before installing the stuff dry motors so,I think a few mums at idle you are safe.

L69

Still must be a gut wrenching feeling

MDchanic

I wouldn't worry about it (too much) either.

Obviously, you'd rather not do that, but at low RPMs there is very little force, and very little heat generated at the bearings, and with the residual oil on there, it's probably just fine.

- Eric

'69CutlassVert'

The wife noticed the temp light come on in our Delta a few 20ish years ago, she thought she better check it when she got to town........25 miles down the road, well, it died, she waited till it would roll over and got her going again. She finally stopped when it wouldn't go anymore and called me at the office and told me she was stranded. I pick her up at the farmhouse she called from and we get to the car, it's still just smokin hot. Friend of mine had a motor so I sold it to him for 500 bucks figuring it was toast. He replaced the freeze plugs, changed the oil and drove that car another 150k. The residual oil comment is spot on, for the time you idled it I bet your fine

71rocket

Should be fine.

allyolds68

I left the oil filter off a ford 302 I had in my Correct Craft boat one time. I ran it for a minute or more before I realized the lifters were screaming and clacking. I spent another minute reving it to try and pump up the lifters and quiet the noise before I noticed the five quarts of oil in the bilge. I put the filter on, added new oil and never had a problem with it after that.

chip-powell

Just a few minutes at idle should not have caused damage, unless the engine had already been weakened from prior abuse.

Just remember, there was a reason race car drivers used Olds engines in the '60's and '70's. It's hard to damage an Oldsmobile block unless you are really, really trying.

Funkwagon455

I seriously doubt that 3 minutes from cold would tear anything up. Especially considering it was not under a load. Several years ago, one of my coworkers participated in an annual inspection of a Cessna with an IO-550 conversion and had done the exact same thing. They noticed the oil pressure after 5 minutes of running... Being an aircraft engine, of course it needed to be torn down and inspected for damage. I think they ended up paying for an exchanged 0 time engine from Continental. You want to talk about an expensive mistake!!! That guy still works there,....on helicopters no less!

MudEye

Oil pressure is still pegged on High. Have drove it 50 miles today. So far nothing out of the ordinary.

Sampson

In my youth I was an engineer on a small oil tanker. Was servicing the engine while we we laid up at the dock. I needed some other parts and left the boat to go into town to pick them up. The captain come back while I was gone and fired that puppy up. I think a Caterpillar 3208 cost about 15,500 back then! At least that is what the Captain said that mistake cost him.

MudEye

Just an update ....Been driving 2 years since then every other day with no issues! I think your right about the Olds engine! Thanks!

cherokeepeople

an engine will run longer without oil then water.

farmer52

as long as it was just idled the oil film should be adequate to protect the engine.

m371961

Glad it was no problem, thanks for the up-date. I believe it is less harmful on a used engine, then one with low miles, as the bearing clearance is larger.

oldsmobiledave

Glad to hear that there was no damage.


Did you have a serious heart to heart with your chief mechanic?

DewChugr

A guy I went to school with was working at a department store oil change place a long time ago. He wasn't a car guy, but he did an oil change one day and didn't put oil in it. The customer left with it like that. He wasn't very popular with the management when they had to pay for a new engine for the customer.

toymobile

Had a customer that did his own oil & filter, he ran a newspaper route and was up early after he returned home decided to let the oil DRAIN while he went back to bed his wife got up and needed to go shopping and drove the van, had gauges and she didn't look, first slant 6 I ever had to replace.

Another customer had a 79 Dodge with 360ci and the oil pump shaft BROKE he drove it 7 miles for me to CHECK HIS oil sender, I was sure it was toast but he insisted I try a new drive, he drove it several years after that, GO FIGURE.

You got lucky.

Johnny

MDchanic

Now THAT is impressive.

- Eric

RetroRanger

Usually you have to go out to the quick change oil places to get that kind of service

oldcutlass

It happened at the car dealership I worked for more times than I care to admit.

MDchanic

When I change my oil, if I'm going to walk away from the car for any reason, I put the oil plug or the filter box on top of the dashboard, right in the center of the steering wheel, so that there's no way I'll start the car without seeing it, or I pull the fuel pump relay (which is the best way to re-prime: crank with fuel pump off until oil pressure comes up, then replace relay and start up).

- Eric

texxas

Back in 99 I had a friend who worked at a local full serve Texaco, one of the few and last. He changed, no wait, drained the oil in a new 99 Trans Am WS-6 car at about 3500 miles on the odometer. Lost that job shortly there after. The station is a fancy dentist office now, in the same building which is rare for Dallas. We tear everything down.

MudEye

Wow! Anyone ever get sued! Lol!

MudEye

I actually had one these places rotate my tires with the oil change...Right before I accelerated onto a very busy highway...The back left wheel fell off! They forgot to put the lug nuts on! I had half my car onto the road lane! They pulled it back ( after much vegetarian curse words ) and re attached the wheel.....

MudEye

Just an update ....Been driving 2 years since then every other day with no issues! I think your right about the Olds engine! Thanks!

Professur

I usually put the jug of fresh dino juice on the core support so that you can't close the hood. Nobody's going to drive off with the hood up, and nobody's going to move a full jug of oil to close it without asking why there's a full jug of oil there to be moved.

Rocketguy

I would have pulled the coil wire and let it crank till it got oil pressure and then started it.

My 90s C and H bodies are huge theft magnets. The thieves pry the column apart with a screw driver and twist the rod going to the ign switch and it unlocks the wheel at the same time. I put kill switches on all of them at the fuel pump fuse. Whenever I pull a car from storage in the spring I let the engine crank until it gets oil pressure and then start it; same thing after changing the oil.

jpc647

Glad you came back and updated!

Even more so glad that you car is still running fine!

Mine typically doesn't start unless I hit the gas once(engaging choke) so it my Cutlass has been sitting more than a couple days, I let it crank for 10-12 seconds until the OIL light goes off then I hit the pedal and let it fire. It's probably grossly unnecessary. But oh well.

BOOWAH

My father used to trust a local garage to change oil in his Chevy. One day when I was checking a minor anti freeze leak around the radiator neck, I popped the hood and was shocked! A half full plastic quart of oil was jammed between the exhaust manifold and the fender well! It had been there for a while as it was melted to the exhaust headers. Then I checked further and found the oil level on the dipstick way above the full mark. I drained it and had to dump the catch pan twice! They had apparently used two men on the job and one forgot to drain the old oil before adding the new. The half quart was there because it wouldn't take any more. In addition, he had been paying for grease jobs and the grease around the fittings was hard as concrete. They hadn't been touched in years! A few months later the head gasket blew! That's why I change my own oil!

bw1339

I thought of doing that, but I decided that the added wear on the starter and flexplate didn't make it worth it, unless the engine sat for a long time. Modern engines start instantly and it doesn't seem to hurt them.

Cosmic Charlie

What happens when you drain the oil and run the engine to redline?

Fun Ending !

You Tube

Schurkey

Most GM vehicles will run the fuel pump based on oil pressure, as a bypass for the fuel pump relay. The engine will get fuel right after the sending unit sees oil pressure.

Pull the fuse instead.

Better yet, don't bother.

Excess cranking to build oil pressure before starting is probably worse than just letting the engine fire right away.

Letting the engine start as soon as possible not only builds oil pressure faster, but it would be easier on the starter, alternator, and battery, too.

matt69olds

The engine will build oil pressure far faster at operating speed, verses just cranking it. The oil lamp will go out long before the oil reaches the top of the engine.

I bought a aluminum intake manifold from a swap meet, couldn’t wait to get home and install it. It was my first high performance part purchase! Everything went pretty smoothly, it started right up. It has been running for a while, long enough to burp all the air out of the radiator. It was about that time I noticed the oil drain plug sitting on the cowl. Crap!!!

it’s safe to say I showed that engine NO mercy. I beat up on it all the time, it was still running when I pulled it out. Keep in mind, it was a used engine when I put it in the car.

I wouldn’t worry about idling for a few minutes with no oil.

Koda

I ran a pushmower out of oil till it seized. I took the B&S head cover off (they're flatheads), put a little oil everywhere, got it loose, put oil back in it, put head cover back on, fired it up. I think it's maybe 10% weaker and has a few extra clanks in it, but is running fine years later. I gummed up the carb, mowed a stump, and did the above to this thing in its 17 year life so far. $175 Bolens in 04. No new wheels needed, I am impressed with that.