all right, i know some of you guys know something about cars. i had an oil change on Sunday. Just as i was driving home on Monday the oil pressure light comes on. I didn't go very far with it on, as i was just about in my apt complex. had it towed, there was no oil drain plug. appartently the idiots at the oil change place had either not tightened it or stripped it. whatever. i got home. no oil. i got it fixed. new plug, gasket, oil. the car seems to be running fine. it's not running hard or hot, no strange noises. is there any way i can tell if there's been engine damage? how long would it take for that to become apparent? thanks
It really matters on a couple of factors. 1. How long did you drive with the oil light on? 2. How much oil did they add at the shop (should be on your receipt?) 3. What kind of oil did you lose (xwx, brand and regular/synthetic) You may be okay, but give us the answers to those...
if its running fine then youre good. since it was an obvious leak, and appears to be solved, i wouldnt worry about it at all. basically, in a no oil situation, youre either going to catch it in time, stop the engine, and be ok, or you will run the engine too long in which case it will just seize up and become an expensive piece of metal art, there isnt much of an in between.
I'd agree, but we're talking less than one day of driving, I dont know how long she's even had it running. A smooth idle with no water temperature increases would seem to indicate that you're okay. There's things to do like pull the filter and look for metal contamination, yank the oil cap and check for blowback... but in all honesty all that probably happened was you shortened the life of your engine a couple thousand miles. The best thing you can do is make sure you have no temp increases, no difference in idle, and change your oil again in 1000 miles or less.
oh, right, thats what im saying, that shes very very likely in the clear. if she wasnt, shed have a nice sculpture in her engine bay.
Take records... if your car is worth something (ie not a rustbucket) you could probably take legal action against the oil change guys if your engine gives you problems in the future.
Absolutely....and find yourself someone new to work on your car. A good reputable independant shop. You take what you get at those quick lube joints. When I worked at Nissan the Jiffy Lube down the street bought THREE Turbo chargers from me because they kept overfilling the oil. I can see burning one and learning from your mistakes, but 3? At $800 a pop all I did was laugh all the way to the bank. We have a saying in the parts trade...."Stupidity Costs Money"