Oil plug fell out on the highway...how jacked is my engine?

[MP McGrael]

I was driving down the highway the other day and at some point my check engine light and oil light on the dash came on. I didn't notice when it happened, so I kept driving. When I got to my destination I checked my oil, my dipstick was dry, and I realized my oil drain plug was completely missing. I had a temporary plug in there since the threads on my oil pan are stripped--my temp plug bit the dust.

Basically I just drove down the highway with no oil. What kind of damage did I do to my engine? (I got another temp plug, filled up with oil, and drove home after the whole situation. It's been parked since.)

[whodwho]

And it wasn't knocking driving home?!?!?

[redsubdivisions]

And it wasn't knocking driving home?!?!?

That's what I'm surprised about too!

[rcsoundn1]

I have seen people do this before w/o a filter. Literally ride into the repair shop smoking like hell. They often say, "I have no idea whats wrong the check engine light came on, the oil lights on and its smoking." Next time Stop immediately. My former friend did this and put a hole in her engine. She put oil in it after it went BOOM, and it would pour out as fast as she put it in there. Best case scenario, you took a lot of miles off of the engine life. Worst case, ya need an engine. Was it not making a racket?

[MP McGrael]

And it wasn't knocking driving home?!?!?

No noises out of the ordinary. Nothing blew up or seized, so that's good...right?


So it's amazing my motor didn't implode immediately. I'm guessing I should get my engine checked before driving it daily again

[nrubenstein]

Change the oil again after a little bit and inspect for metal particles. You might as well keep driving it - rebuilding the engine isn't cost effective, so you'll be swapping it regardless.

If you really care about the engine that's in there, swap the rod and main bearings. They will almost certainly have taken some significant wear, even if the engine is running normally.

[Exodus_2pt0]

I wouldn't even bother swapping bearings. Your crank is almost certainly damaged. Top end cam bearings as well.


Just drive it until it shits the bed, but I would start saving for a motor. Also, don't sell the car without mentioning this. That would not be cool. You can't run an engine without oil for more than a few minutes without doing damage, even at idle. driving down the highway without oil guarantees significant internal damage.

I'm surprised your cam didn't seize up.

[Aleksey]

I would put a pan under that plug and see how much oil you recover over night. If you noticed the failure right away you would have been fine :(

[Stanley Rockafella]

I would keep running without oil and see how long before it shits the bed.

then do a 302 v8 swap

[TurboJake]

Check compression, check noises, if it sounds fine and checks fine, drive it. Engines can actually go a quite some time without oil, so long as there's still an oil film that still remains.

If it doesn't check out, or sounds funny. Up to you. But don't just assume it's dead without getting proof. Any damage done is already done, but it may be less than you think.

And for the love of god. If you ever have a car and an oil light come on. STOP

[E30 Wagen]

what oil were you using?

[TobyB]

what oil were you using?

none, he said....

t

[kway]

^
^
This made me lol.

[Aleksey]

none, he said....

weight savings ftw

[MP McGrael]

Check compression, check noises, if it sounds fine and checks fine, drive it. Engines can actually go a quite some time without oil, so long as there's still an oil film that still remains.

If it doesn't check out, or sounds funny. Up to you. But don't just assume it's dead without getting proof. Any damage done is already done, but it may be less than you think.

And for the love of god. If you ever have a car and an oil light come on. STOP

Yeah sounds good, I'll do dat shit.

And I know, lesson learned...

none, he said....

t

Lol