8000 Miles Without Oil

rodram · August 19, 2010

Many years ago ... my brother had an oil change done on his car (an old T-bird) ... and the shop gave him back the car with no oil in it... he drove it about 4 or 5 blocks, the whole time wondering what was wrong with the car ... then it overheated ... he climbed under to look and then was no drain plug installed ... so he left it right there for the shop to tow back ... after a few (heated) discussions with the shop owner ... they decided to buy the car from my brother at a fair price to avoid any future unknown claims for engine failure ....

.. if you have no oil.. you will know very soon ... even if you don't have all the warning lights going off!

.. maybe you've never been to a country fair, where at some point for amusement they drain the oil out of some old beater, fire it up, and see how long it will run before it blows up (and sell tickets on a bet to see how long it will run)... some last 10 minutes, some 15 or or 20 minutes ... but guaranteed they will all quit with a loud ka-bang before very long...

jblakeney · August 19, 2010

No oil = engine failure.... my machine shop run every engine in on a run in stand. This is done without cranking and running on fuel. We have an electric motor that spins the engine. We have a pressurized oil can dump the required amount of oil on the engine.

One time they forgot to add the oil to the can..... turned the electric motor on. I was a floor above this happened, I dropped the stuff I had in my hands and ran down stairs..... the noise was quite definite no oil. Ruined the crankshaft and bearings. It ran less that 30 seconds. More like 10 seconds.

Engine bearings rely on OIL. No oil = bearing failure. Period. No way can you drive with out oil. The oil keeps the crankshaft from bumping into the bearing. If the crank actually hits the bearing its over the bearings Are trash and possibly the crankshaft tooooo. Same thing with the camshaft.

Jbo

dewfpo · August 19, 2010

When I was low on oil on my '05 I believe a chime sounded and a message came up on the DIC saying I was LOW on OIL, and that was only about 1 qt. low.

DEWFPO

pj5454302 · August 19, 2010

One of my uncles bought a new truck and drove 5 miles and the truck shut off. He called the dealer and they towed it back. Turns out when they changed the oil before they sold it to him and never put new oil in. So they gave him a new truck and he was on his way. Now my guess is somone drained the oil at the quick lube place and put the plug back in. Than he got called away to somthing and a diffrent guy went to drain oil, and than ran to the boss. Unless every sensor in your engine was broken you would have known if you had no oil. Also it would have over heated.

pm26 · August 19, 2010

No oil = engine failure.... my machine shop run every engine in on a run in stand. This is done without cranking and running on fuel. We have an electric motor that spins the engine. We have a pressurized oil can dump the required amount of oil on the engine.

One time they forgot to add the oil to the can..... turned the electric motor on. I was a floor above this happened, I dropped the stuff I had in my hands and ran down stairs..... the noise was quite definite no oil. Ruined the crankshaft and bearings. It ran less that 30 seconds. More like 10 seconds.

Engine bearings rely on OIL. No oil = bearing failure. Period. No way can you drive with out oil. The oil keeps the crankshaft from bumping into the bearing. If the crank actually hits the bearing its over the bearings Are trash and possibly the crankshaft tooooo. Same thing with the camshaft.

Jbo

What you are describing are journal bearings that rely on an oil film for proper lubrication. those bearings will indeed fry almost immediately if there is no oil supplied to them.

pm26 · August 19, 2010

So hopefully the best scenario is the actual one - there was always plenty of oil in the engine, no damage done, nothing but confusion at the last oil change place as described above. Good luck.

the hammer · August 19, 2010

I will tell you what happened.

1. When they finished draining and changing the filter, one of their own techs forgot to add oil and then they started the engine up and noticed something wrong, and decided to tell you that the prior place forgot to add oil so that they would not be liable for future problems.

2. They drained and installed a new filter, and one of the other techs randomly came up and went to do the job, only it had been done already. To his surprise, no oil was there and then they told you there wasn't any.

VMaxtastic · August 19, 2010

Got any oil in your radiator coolant?

dlstewart01 · August 19, 2010

Where did Ole Fred go???

tanked_darren · August 19, 2010

I know what happened!! This is the internet and he made it up!!

SilveradoWV · August 19, 2010

Went to a national chain to get my oil changed. Right before I took the wife and kids on vacation. We traveled through everykind of terrain from 7500' elevation to the sea level and through death valley. I did notice slightly less gas milage and a brief knock at start up. I took it last week to get an oil change(at a differant place) after our adventure and was immediately taken into the office and asked to sign a waiver, because the last place I took it to drained the oil and changed the filter, but did not add the NEW OIL. I am seeking an attorney to take care of the national chain (any suggestion) but I am incredibly impressed with GM's motor. I have a 2009 sierra

Thanks

Fred

The plain and simple fact is that the last place you took your truck to get the oil changed did nothing wrong, I would say they did a pretty good job if you had no problems for 8000 miles. I think there are too many warnings and signs of low oil to eliminate all chances of there being no oil at all.

I have underlined what I believe to be a huge factor in this case and I think it holds the answer to all of the questions.

lsuguy · August 19, 2010

Went to a national chain to get my oil changed. Right before I took the wife and kids on vacation. We traveled through everykind of terrain from 7500' elevation to the sea level and through death valley. I did notice slightly less gas milage and a brief knock at start up. I took it last week to get an oil change(at a differant place) after our adventure and was immediately taken into the office and asked to sign a waiver, because the last place I took it to drained the oil and changed the filter, but did not add the NEW OIL. I am seeking an attorney to take care of the national chain (any suggestion) but I am incredibly impressed with GM's motor. I have a 2009 sierra

Thanks

Fred

The plain and simple fact is that the last place you took your truck to get the oil changed did nothing wrong, I would say they did a pretty good job if you had no problems for 8000 miles. I think there are too many warnings and signs of low oil to eliminate all chances of there being no oil at all.

I have underlined what I believe to be a huge factor in this case and I think it holds the answer to all of the questions.

I agree here. Why would they get you to sign a waiver? Don't waste your money on an attorney

[email protected] · August 19, 2010

Exactly, why would you sign a waiver? If I walked into a shop and the first thing they wanted is for me to sign a waiver. I walk right back out, inspect my truck and go somewhere else. I've just never heard of signing a waiver just to get an oil change.